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Posted on Thursday, 24th March 2016 by Dennis Damp

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(Updated 2/26/2022) The current bull market is the longest in history and as all bull markets do, they eventually end in a recession. You hear a lot today about the uncertainty in the market considering all of the stimulation that the Federal Reserve has applied through their low interest policies. When interest rates are low […]

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Posted on Wednesday, 2nd March 2016 by Dennis Damp

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Social Security File & Suspend I discussed in a recent column the process my wife and I went through to file and suspend my Social Security benefits.  I did this so that my wife will now be able to collect a spousal benefit while I deferred collecting until age 70 and my benefit will increase […]

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Posted on Friday, 15th January 2016 by Dennis Damp

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As of January 1, 2016, FEGLI premiums for many options and age brackets changed due to actuarial adjustments. Annuitants that carried FEGLI coverage into retirement will receive a Notice of Annuity Adjustment showing the new rates. Most of the new FEGLI rates for Option A, B and C decrease. The older age band rates for […]

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Posted on Tuesday, 15th December 2015 by Dennis Damp

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I receive email messages from retirees and survivors each year that can’t find their CSA claim number and are uncertain as to what benefits they elected when they retired. At least once a year we receive a Notice of Annuity Adjustment, shortly after the new year starts, that provides abundant information for annuitants and their […]

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Posted on Sunday, 29th November 2015 by Dennis Damp

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On November 2, 2015 the President signed HR-1314, the “Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.” This law eliminated the file and suspend option for most Social Security applicants and changed the restricted application rules. These filing strategies allowed couples to increase their lifetime total payout. If you are now at full retirement age and planning to file and suspend you have […]

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Posted on Wednesday, 18th November 2015 by Dennis Damp

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I received a number of messages from active federal employees that were not able to get into Employee Express to make FEHB plan changes. Retirees using OPM’s FEHB Open Season Online are getting through and able to request hard copies of brochures and make plan changes. Employee Express is managed by OPM and employees are […]

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Posted on Thursday, 1st October 2015 by Dennis Damp

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OPM announced that the 2016 FEHB premiums will increase an average of 6.4 percent. Enrollees, on average, will pay $5.50 more each pay period for Self Only coverage and those with Self and Family coverage will pay $19.61 more per pay period. OPM also states in their latest press release that, “for over 95% of […]

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Posted on Thursday, 24th September 2015 by Dennis Damp

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Retirement Benefits Update OPM recently added new helpful features to their Retirement Information and Services web site. The site continues to add new features to help annuitants and survivors with benefit and retirement issues. The latest additions provide registered users the ability to view and print 1099-R Tax Forms and a Year-to-Date Summary of Annuity […]

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