Daily Brief | Federal Employee's Retirement Planning Guide

Bits and Pieces – Updates, and Subscriber Feedback

Posted on Friday, 11th July 2025 by Dennis Damp

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced on July 7, 2025, that it’s on pace to reduce the total number of VA staff by nearly 30,000 employees by the end of the fiscal year. Employee reductions through the federal hiring freeze, deferred resignations, retirements, and normal attrition have eliminated the need for a RIF. During President […]

Tags: Big Beautiful Bill, Car Interest Deductions, Daily Brief, OPM's Retirement Application Portal, ORA, Social Security Taxes, VERA, VSIP
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Social Security Tax Relief for Millions of Senior Citizens

Posted on Friday, 4th July 2025 by Dennis Damp

The reconciliation bill HR-1, passed by Congress and signed by the President on Independence Day, ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits. This bill provides meaningful and immediate relief to millions of seniors. Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano recently stated, “This is a historic […]

Tags: 2025 Senior Deduction, Big Beautify Bill, Daily Brief, Reconciliation Bill HR-1, Social Security Tax Reductions
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Apply for Retirement on OPM’s Online Application Service

Posted on Friday, 27th June 2025 by Dennis Damp

Last week’s article announced the launch of OPM’s retirement application (ORA) service. The process mimics the paper application process. FERS employees must fill out the SF 3107 form, and CSRS employees must fill out the SF 2801 online. Only those with a .gov email address can access the new application portal. I tried […]

Tags: CSRS, Daily Brief, Federal Employees, FERS, OPM Retirement Application, ORA, SF-2801, SF-3107
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New Retirement Application Portal Launched

Posted on Friday, 20th June 2025 by Dennis Damp

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) launched a new online portal for federal employees on June 3, 2025. This portal is a fully digital federal retirement system that streamlines the retirement application process for employees, HR professionals, and payroll offices. Getting Started FREE Retirement Report and Analysis You must use Login.gov to set up […]

Tags: Automation. AI, Daily Brief, Federal Retirement Applications, login.gov, Login.gov Sign-up, OPM's Application Portal
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2026 COLA Estimates & Retirement Processing Update

Posted on Thursday, 12th June 2025 by Dennis Damp

This year’s 2.5% COLA for Social Security and the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and 2.0% for Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) decreased from the 2024 COLA of 3.2% % CSRS and 3% FERS. The 2023 COLA was the highest in over 40 years at 8.8% for CSRS and 7.7% for FERS employees. Even though […]

Tags: 2026 COLA Projections, COLA, CSRS, Daily Brief, Federal Retirement Projections, FERS, Social Security
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Projected Annuity Calculator Updates for FERS and CSRS

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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Hiring Freeze, Schedule F, and Social Security Benefits

Posted on Friday, 25th April 2025 by Dennis Damp

The hiring freeze has been extended to July 1, 2025, and applies to all executive departments and agencies regardless of their operational and funding sources. This freeze prohibits filling vacant federal civilian positions or creating new ones, with exceptions for immigration enforcement, national security, and public safety. When the hiring freeze ends, agencies can hire […]

Tags: Daily Brief, Hiring Freeze, Illegal Immigrants, Schedule F Employees, Social Security
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UPDATE – Deferred Resignations and VERAs Return

Posted on Friday, 11th April 2025 by Dennis Damp

In April, more agencies offered deferred resignations and early outs through the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA). The dates for these offers vary per agency, and the time frame for this option is as short as 7 days. The following list of departments and agencies have sent offers via email to their employees; more are […]

Tags: Daily Brief, Deferred Resignations, Fork in the Road, RIF, VERA
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