Val discusses the potential impact on federal employees if the government were to shut down. He explores topics like furloughs, pay disruptions, health insurance coverage, retirement benefits, and how the Furloughs and Fair Treatment Act of 2019 could benefit government employees in this situation.
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10.6.23: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix
10.6.23: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.
Val Majewski:
The Federal Retirement Show. I'm your host Val Majewski with American Benefits Exchange. Appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to learn about information pertinent to you as a federal employee, and the topics you've been talking about recently. Well, let me stop there. I recommend highly going back to our previous episodes and viewing some of the topics and things that we've been discussing, because these came directly from conversations I've had recently with federal employees just like you. And today's episode is no different. We're talking about the government shutdown now. Good news is, a shutdown was recently averted, but not entirely out of the woods yet. They still have to reconvene to figure things out because it's only a temporary fix. But we want to talk today because questions I've been getting asked are what happens to me. How would I be affected? Both positively, negatively, or if at all, positively? If there's a government shutdown, what does that mean for you as a federal employee? If the government shuts down, takes a pause, there's a lapse in appropriations. You are no longer at work. How does this work for you? Your benefits, your situation. So let's dive into today's information and talk about government shutdowns. So again, what happens if the government says they're closed? Right. We we shut it down. People are are potentially furloughed. And what does this all look like? We've been through this in the past. If you've been with the government for several years, you've been through these types of things in the past.
Val Majewski:
You've seen how they work. But let's talk about how this affects you as a federal employee. Now, whether it's a full or a partial shutdown, how would you be affected? And the obvious thing is, well, if you're one of the ones that's furloughed, meaning you're not able to go to work or you're told to stay at home because we are officially shut down as a federal government, you're not allowed to work and you do not receive a paycheck. So that's the big thing. First is you don't get paid, right. You're not having income. Come in. You still have bills to pay. You still have things that need to be required of you, right? As far as financially and you're not going to be getting that paycheck that you're used to. Now during the 2018, the 19 shutdown, potentially, or approximately 380,000 federal employees were furloughed during that process. Approximately 420,000 of you all reported to work but did not receive pay. So even in a shutdown, some folks are still going to be required or asked to go to work but not receive paychecks because the government is effectively shut down. This sounds horrible, right? I certainly don't want you to go without pay, but there is some light at the end of the tunnel. And what do I mean by that? Well, thank you to the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019.
Val Majewski:
This bill requires federal government employees who are furloughed or required to work during the shutdown to be compensated for the period of the shutdown. So we just thought, how is this going to affect you? Well, in the present, you're not going to get paid. That's a problem, right? At least I would have a problem with that if I stopped getting paid for a significant period of time. That would not be good for me and my family. So we need to prepare for that. How do we prepare for that? We need to have some reserves. We need to have an emergency savings plan. These are all things that we can talk about individually, but you want to be prepared for the worst. We always say what? Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. That's during the shutdown, during the furlough. But like I said, there is light at the end of the tunnel because of this act. In 2019, you will get paid or the time that they shut the government down. So employees must be compensated on the earliest date possible. After the lapse. And so once the government is back in right, we we flip the switch back out and we're back in business. Once the government is back in operating, you will get paid all that money that you should have gotten paid during that time. So that is light at the end of the tunnel. But in the present, bills will still need to be paid.
Val Majewski:
You know, life still goes on. You still have expenses and things that you need to live on. Now, plays that were required to work during the shutdown can use lead. That's part of the act as well. So if you're required to work during the shutdown, you could lose. Usually I'm going to go back and talk about lead here in a second. On this slide we're talking about, okay, you're furloughed. You're not getting paid. Like at the end of the tunnel. You've got the opportunity to get that money back when the government reopens. What about your benefits? So the questions we were getting asked. What happens to my health insurance? What happens to my life insurance? What about the supplemental benefits? What about those that are retired? They would leave. We just mentioned leave for those that are required to work during the shutdown. Right. Not getting paid required to work during the shutdown. But how does how does leave affect those that are furloughed? Well, first of all, let's talk about the the big question that we have is health insurance. And we'll throw in life insurance as well. But on the and Fegli those will continue. Those will continue. You will still be covered in this non-pay status because typically if you're in non-pay status, your benefits will stop, right? Typically, if you're a non-paid status, your benefits will stop. But here they will continue. You're not in that traditional non-pay status premiums for your health insurance and in fact do accrue.
Val Majewski:
Okay. So they do build out. Just because you're not getting paid doesn't mean you're not going to have to owe those premiums is your health insurance is still okay. You still go to the doctor, still use it. But when you get back to full pay status, those premiums that were accrued during the time where the government was shut down will be taken from your first paycheck. So important to note about that. If you say, hey, what happened to this first paycheck? Well, they're they're back paying you what you're owed and they're taking out premiums that you should have been paying. Sure. And when it comes to the other benefits dental vision, long term care, etcetera, these things are the optional coverages, right, with the different plans like. Benefit or things of that nature. Typically, a bill is going to be sent to you to continue these benefits for a certain period of time after, you know, a couple paid periods go by where you did not pay the premiums or these additional benefits like dental vision, long term care. A bill will be sent to you. And if you want those benefits to continue and not be in a lapsed position when it comes to the benefits, then we would recommend paying that bill to keep those benefits force. Those that are retired, retired and furs will continue to receive their scheduled annuity payments during the government shutdown.
Val Majewski:
So you will not be affected as far as your retirement benefits are concerned. Those that are actively employed TSP contributions will be paused during the shutdown, obviously, because you're not getting paid. So as far as saving up for retirement, you're not putting more into TSP during the shutdown. Tsp is not being funded on your behalf. And for the retirees, your benefits are still being paid even though the government is shut down. Now, we talked about leave for those that are forced to work during the shutdown, right? Those that are still working on Non-pay status, not getting paid during the shutdown, but still working. They can use leave leave though, for those that are furloughed or not working, can not be substituted, so paid leave can not be substituted for unpaid furloughs when there's a shutdown. If you had previously scheduled the right, you were scheduled to go on vacation, you scheduled to use your annual leave and the government shuts down. Well, that previously would then be cancelled because you're otherwise not working. But again, you cannot use paid leave as a way to basically the substitute for the unpaid furlough. So I hope this is all making sense, and I hope that you're getting a better understanding of how this would affect you. Now, there might be little nuances and other questions that you may have. What I'm talking about today is very general in nature. If you do have specific questions, please reach out to us.
Val Majewski:
I'll explain that in just a second. But just to summarize what we've covered today, right. Furloughs are possible. Furloughs generally happen when the government shuts down. But thank you to the Fair Treatment Act of 2019. You will get paid for all that time furloughed. You will get that money back. That being said, bills will still need to be paid. You will need to have some sort of emergency savings. And we recommend, when we talk financially with federal employees, have some money on hand, have some cash saved up that you can draw on in the event of things like this happening, or unforeseen things that also put you out of work, you want to be safe and secure and know that you have all the funds needed to go on with life. If something happens, the benefits mostly stay intact, right? Vaguely. Federal health benefits will continue. Premiums do build up, but they will continue. You can keep your dental vision, long term care, etcetera, even if you have outside benefits. Right? A lot of you will have allotments set up that are going to different things, to pay for different bills or to go towards different benefits or insurances. What have you understand that those will no longer get paid, so you will be getting bills from those companies to continue those payments, keep those plans active. So when it comes to again your situation, you may have like said, specific questions regarding the potential for a shutdown.
Val Majewski:
Being prepared for the worst. Making sure that you're set up properly. You can reach out to us. Go to our website. Federal Retirement Show.com. There's a form on there. Fill that out. One of our representatives that we've got folks all over the country, one of our representatives will be in touch. If it's not me personally, in order to go over your personal benefits and retirement situation and answer all of your questions, you may just have specific questions about the potential for a shutdown. We'll be happy to answer that. But if you also want to get a comprehensive report or comprehensive review done of your benefits or retirement situation, we'd be happy to do so. So I really appreciate you taking the time out of your schedule to learn about the potential effects of a government shutdown, or the effects of a potential government shutdown. Hopefully we avoid all of this and this does not occur, but we rely on those to make those decisions. Make sure that they're looking after your best interest and whether we can rely on them or not, or whether we can reach out to them or not to make sure you're proven your point. We need to be prepared regardless of what happens. So again, thank you for taking the time to view this episode to learn about the potential effects of a government shutdown. My name is Val Majewski with American Benefits Exchange. Look forward to seeing you on a future episode. And.
Producer:
Have you experienced age discrimination in the workplace? I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement.Radio Network, powered by AmeriLife. If you're 50 or older, chances are you've either seen or personally suffered from age discrimination at work. That's true for nearly two thirds of workers in that age group, according to research from AARP.
AARP Bill Rivera:
And the pandemic certainly contributes to that persistence, with 1 in 4 people who have been let go or otherwise left the workplace during the pandemic having trouble finding a job if they're 50 or older.
Producer:
Bill Rivera is senior vice president for litigation at the AARP Foundation. He says spotting age discrimination is not always easy, but there are signs to watch out for.
AARP Bill Rivera:
For example, our promotions or training opportunities or key assignments given to younger workers routinely over older workers. Do you hear around the office, and does the company tolerate jokes about age and ageism, like referring to the idea that you can't teach old dogs new tricks?
Producer:
Rivera says if you see possible age discrimination, it's important to document it, and.
AARP Bill Rivera:
You want to do that as close in time to when it happens. So note the date, what you saw, what you heard, who else was there. Talk to your supervisor. A lot of times you can resolve these things informally, but if you can't, you may need to go up the chain.
Producer:
And he says the AARP Foundation has several resources available to help older workers.
AARP Bill Rivera:
For example, Back to Work 50 plus, which has free workshops, tools and career coaches to help you, as well as AARP's Resume advisor, where we will for free review your resume and provide advice and tips to make your resume stand out, as well as AARP's Job board to connect you with employers who've indicated they are interested in an age diverse workforce.
Producer:
So what would you do if you see or experience age discrimination at work? That's a key question to consider as Americans are living and working longer with the Retirement.Radio Network powered by AmeriLife. I'm Matt McClure.
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