Posted on Thursday, 22nd May 2025 by Dennis Damp
At 5:02 p.m. on April 29th, a storm raged through our community, with winds of 70 to 80 miles per hour, straight-line winds, and rain with hail. This unusual weather event in Pittsburgh lasted 5 to 10 minutes, yet the damage was extensive and spread across several counties. Over 500,000 homes were without electricity. We […]
Tags: Backup Generators, Inverter Generators, Power Outages
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Posted on Friday, 16th May 2025 by Dennis Damp
If you haven’t already, it’s time to order this year’s annuity booklet at OPM Services Online. The 2025 booklets are available for download, and a copy will also be sent via regular mail if requested. I order a new copy each year; it is 28 pages long and outlines all of your benefits, annuity information, […]
Tags: Benefits Booklet, Retiree's Benefots, Retirement Benefits Summary
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Posted on Friday, 9th May 2025 by Dennis Damp
Our updated Excel annuity calculator spreadsheet projects your annuity and maximum survivor benefit growth through 2065 using an estimated average annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). Frank Cullen, an old friend who retired from federal service many years ago, developed this calculator. In the following sample chart, the retiree’s annuity increased 75% over the next […]
Tags: Anjnuity Estimates, COLAs, CSRS, Daily Brief, FERS, Projected Federal Annuity Growth
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Posted on Friday, 4th April 2025 by Dennis Damp
Please forward this to others that may find this informative. Sign up to receive our free e-mail newsletter. I wrote a version of this article in April 2022, and with the market sell-off, it’s a good time to revisit this subject. It’s impossible to time the market. One of the financial advisers I talked with […]
Tags: Conservative Portfolio, Market Correction, Market Downturn, Recession, S&P 500, Sensible Investing
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Posted on Friday, 21st March 2025 by Dennis Damp
Most retirees and federal employees approaching retirement are concerned about rising cable and Internet costs, largely due to the cable companies’ decades-long monopoly. My monthly cable bill is currently $347.76, which is my largest utility bill. I wrote an article last year about cutting the cord, which focused on ways to reduce excessive cable bills, […]
Tags: cable services, Cutting the Cord, Internet Services, Reducing Costs
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Posted on Wednesday, 26th February 2025 by Dennis Damp
The Social Security Fairness Act repealed the windfall elimination provision and the government pension offset last November, and impacted CSRS retirees are waiting for their Social Security checks to increase. You are eligible for Social Security benefits if you accrued 40 quarters (10 years) of employment where Social Security payments were withheld. The Windfall Elimination […]
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Posted on Thursday, 13th February 2025 by Dennis Damp
Approximately 50% of retirees pay taxes on their Social Security benefits, compared to less than 10% in 1984! Thomas Massie (R-KY) reintroduced H.R. 1040, the Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act. It was referred 02/06/2025 to the House Committee on Ways and Means. This bill assists seniors by eliminating the double tax on Social Security benefits. […]
Tags: Social Security, Social Security Tax Elimination, Social Security Taxes on Income, Taxes, Taxes on Social Security
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Posted on Friday, 7th February 2025 by Dennis Damp
Since writing the article “Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Fiasco – The Continuing Saga,” I’ve received over 40 emails and comments from site visitors experiencing the same issues; several are paying considerably more for their prescriptions under the MPDP plan. You can review all of the comments on our blog, they follow the article mentioned above. […]
Tags: GEHA Opt-Out, IRMAA, Medicare Part D, MPDP, MPDP Opt Out, Part D Penalities
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