Your Turn with Mike Causey - Federal News Network | Hubbard Radio

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Are you a lifer with Uncle Sam? Maybe not! Jul 14, 2021

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It is possible to work for Uncle Sam long enough to get and qualify for benefits and an annuity, but still leave government earlier. Benefits expert Tammy Flanagan thinks that may be about to happen.

Taxes target your estate: And yes, you have one! Jun 30, 2021

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Changing estate tax rules and laws need to be understood, and if necessarily, dealt with, if you want your estate handled the way it should be handled. And that means being aware of what Congress and the White House have in mind to make major changes in estate tax laws. Changes that could leave your family with a much bigger tax debt in the future. The proposals are almost always labeled as “reforms”, a key to you to cover your assets. For an update on estates and estate tax law current and proposed, I asked Tom O’Rourke who was our guest on Your Turn today.

Sticking with the TSP: To be or not to be? Jun 23, 2021

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Oversight of the TSP is 20/20. Its participants include members the House, Senate and occupants of the White House — as well as members or staff of the Supreme Court, FBI agents, IRS auditors, astronauts, SEC attorneys and CIA agents. Many prominent investors and financial experts have said they would L-O-V-E to be able to participate in a low-fee fund with such a generous employer match. And yet when it comes time to retire, some 22% of participants take all of their money out of the TSP within one year of leaving the government and invest in an outside account. How come? Many say they get more flexibility outside of the TSP. Others say they want more investment choices. Or more active management advice from professionals. So we asked a pro — Arthur Stein. He’s a well-known financial planner in the D.C. area and his clientele includes many active and retired feds. Including some members of the self-made Millionaires Club. He’ll be my guest today on Your Turn.

Avoiding life’s big three threats! Jun 09, 2021

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Turns out there is not a lot one can do to avoid some of the perils of adulthood. In the case of the IRS audit, the numbers are on our side. Relatively few people get audited. But when they do, WHAM! But there are things you can be doing now, and in the future, to avoid the ordeal. And that’s the subject of today’s Your Turn show, with guest Tom O’Rourke. He’s an estate and tax attorney — and was a long-time lawyer with the IRS.

Avoiding life’s big three threats! Jun 09, 2021

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Pay raise: Not if or when, but how much! Jun 02, 2021

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This year, many of the old demons that haunted them simply won’t be around. Even better, the question isn’t whether there will be a January pay raise, but rather how much that 2022 hike will be. The only question — unless the nation is plunged into a recession or another national emergency — is how much the increase will be. President Biden has proposed 2.7%, whereas some congressional Democrats say they won’t settle for less than 3.2%. Either way, that is good news for workers who in recent times were lucky to get 1%. And who suffered through several years without a pay raise proposed by a Democratic administration during the Great Recession. So what else is coming up? What about the future of work-at-home programs? Before the pandemic, the Trump administration was dialing them down. Now a majority of feds in many agencies have had 12-to-14 months of working from home. How about proposals to beef up the staff at the IRS and other agencies that have been intentionally downsized in the past? What about those round up the usual suspects proposals to cut current retirement benefits and reduce future monthly annuities? So what are these threats? How serious are they and do they still have a political fan base? Let’s ask an expert like Greg Stanford of the Federal Managers Association (FMA). He watches Capitol Hill for FMA and has been to — and survived — numerous political rodeos. Greg will be my guest on today’s episode of Your Turn

Best date to retire? How about never! May 19, 2021

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Working longer, retiring slightly later, can have a big time payoff. And it’s particularly true for federal workers. Most are under the Federal Employees Retirement System, which offers them benefits based on a civil service annuity (for life and partially indexed to inflation), Social Security (fully indexed to inflation) and whatever they have in their Thrift Savings Plan. Although they are likely to have more in retirement than a private sector employee earning the same salary, chances are their total income will be reduced in retirement. So financially, the longer you work the more you have to spend in retirement. And if you never retire, well, do the math. In the real world, however, most people are anxious to retire. Especially if they’ve worked a long time or have other things they want to do that don’t fit in with getting up and going to work five days a week. So how do you compromise to have the best of both the work and retirement worlds? Make sure that your golden years are 24 carat, as opposed to a future of penny-pinching as inflation eats into your FERS benefit. Solution? For the answer, we went to benefits expert Tammy Flanagan. She’ll be my guest on Your Turn today.

Cruising along or penny pinching in retirement? Your call. May 12, 2021

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While the majority of current retirees are under the CSRS or Offset system, the vast majority of people working for the government right now are under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). When they retire under a less generous formula, they will get a lower annuity because of the diet-COLA provision of FERS. Some years that reduction — based on an already smaller than CSRS annuity — means they will get a COLA that is 1% less than their CSRS colleagues. Over time that can really hurt. Imagine what your FERS annuity will be worth 10-to-30 years into retirement, especially if we hit future peaks of high inflation. So what do you do in retirement whether you are under CSRS or FERS? How do you prepare for it? We asked financial planner Arthur Stein what people should be doing. That’s what we’ll be talking about today on Your Turn.

Is your estate due (or overdue) for its 36-month checkup? Apr 21, 2021

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Most people who have been through a death in the family know that being prepared and doing the best for your loved ones and friends is more than a will you downloaded or instructions that your favorite nephew gets your car (and any remaining payments). A growing number of people are setting things up as if they have an estate. And that means keeping up with tax law at the federal and state level. Maybe changing your residence. So we called on estate attorney Thomas O’Rourke to join us on today’s Your Turn show.

CEO Switch: Trump To Biden, now what? Apr 14, 2021

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For millions of current and retired feds the “evil twins” that reduce or eliminate their retirement benefits are the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Office. NARFE and other groups have been working for years to modify them without success. But things may be changing under the new administration. I’ll ask Jessica Klement about that today of Your Turn.