April 12, 2021 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® and co-host Tammy Flanagan, Senior Benefits Director at NITP, Inc., welcome Kim Weaver, Director, External Affairs, and Jim Courtney, Director of the Office of Communications and Education, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. Today’s discussion will focus on answering the following questions: The new L Funds went live last summer – how have participants responded? The TSP changed the way catch-up contributions are made.  What did you do and why? Congress passed the CARES Act last year.  What did the TSP do and did participants use those options? The country has been dealing with the pandemic for over a year now – did that impact the TSP or its participants? Stats!  How many participants receive the 5% match?  How many millionaires?  Average account balances? What were the administrative expenses for 2020? Send in a question:  Email us in advance at ForYourBenefit@nitpinc.com

For Your Benefit

TSP Update from the Experts

April 5, 2021 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes Ray Kirk, Ph.D., Federal Benefits Specialist, for a discussion of financial literacy. The definition of financial literacy and the basic steps to becoming financially literate. The big gap in most financial literacy education. How to protect what you have. How understanding the concepts of financial literacy can save you taxes and increase your income. Send in a question:  Email us in advance at ForYourBenefit@nitpinc.com

Kickoff to Financial Literacy Month

March 29, 2021 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes Mr. David Santana from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Understand your Medicare coverage choices to maximize your benefits Evaluate the cost of enrolling in Medicare and premium payments Summarize the choices to make an informed Medicare enrollment decision Social Security offices remain closed for in-person appointments—Find out the different ways to enroll in Medicare Send in a question: Email us in advance at ForYourBenefit@nitpinc.com

Understanding the Medicare Program

March 22, 2021 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes David Melton, Public Affairs Specialist, Social Security Administration, to answer frequently asked questions. Are Social Security offices open? What are mySocialSecurity accounts? What should I do if I get a call claiming there is a problem with my Social Security number? What is the Social Security retirement age? When can I apply for Social Security? How much Social Security will I get? What are the Social Security wage limits for 2021? Send in a question:  Email us in advance at ForYourBenefit@nitpinc.com

Social Security FAQs

March 15, 2021 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes Kari Utz-Wolsky, Nutrition and Conditioning Specialist, CFT, SPN, SSC (ISSA). Feeling stressed and anxious?  Learn how a detox can improve your mental health too. Do you need a digital detox too? For questions or comments, email us in advance at ForYourBenefit@nitpinc.com

Detoxing the Mind & Body for Healthier Living

March 8, 2021 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes Karen Schaeffer, CFP®. Topics include: Strategies for coping with reduced income Cautions about the Cares Act TSP missteps Making good decisions while stressed Embracing the pause For questions or comments, email us in advance at ForYourBenefit@nitpinc.com

What Financial Planners Have Learned from the Pandemic

March 1, 2021 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes Stephanie Baker, Senior Vice President, Member Services and Stacy Outlaw, Senior Vice President, Marketing at WAEPA. As the interview will take place on the first day of Women’s History Month, Stephanie and Stacy will discuss how women are consistently under-covered by a life insurance policy compared to men. Although women make up 47% of the workforce, nearly 40% of adult women have no life insurance. Among those who are insured, they only carry about a quarter of the coverage necessary for their needs. This coverage gap also extends to the amount of coverage an individual has, with many Civilian Feds not having enough life insurance coverage as part of their plan. These WAEPA leaders will also discuss some of the inequities and misconceptions found in life insurance and estate planning and highlight the importance of women seeking out their own policy. For questions or comments, email us in advance at ForYourBenefit@nitpinc.com

The Life Insurance Coverage Gap

February 22, 2021 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes Marc Levine, Esquire, Handler & Levine, LLC. Using Powers of Attorney What Kinds of Powers Do You Need? Who Do You Pick? – Why Is That Not Obvious When Can Someone Use The POA? Health Care Directives – Getting Information Making Sure People Can Get the Information They Need Equipping Your Advocate – What the Directive Needs to Include Revocable Trusts Making Sure It is Set Up to Work While You Are Alive For questions or comments, email us in advance at ForYourBenefit@nitpinc.com

Morbid Improbabilities: Planning for the Unexpected Lifetime Issues

February 15, 2021 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes Josh Huder, Ph.D., to discuss the 117th Congress.  Josh is a Senior Fellow at The Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating Federal employees about Congress and its operation. What can we expect from an evenly divided Congress? How and when will Congress pass COVID relief? Should we expect a normal budget process with unified Democratic control? For questions or comments, email us in advance at ForYourBenefit@nitpinc.com

117th Congress

February 8, 2021 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes Herb Casey, Federal Benefits Specialist, to talk about how you can prepare for transitioning to life after your Federal career. Retirement readiness assessment: What will be your focus? What is your attitude towards retirement? How will you take care of your health and well-being? Where will you live? What community activities will you be involved with? What social relationships will you have? How will you spend your leisure time? How knowledgeable are you of your retirement benefits as a Federal employee? For questions or comments, email us in advance at ForYourBenefit@nitpinc.com

Are You Ready to Retire?

February 1, 2021 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes Tom O’Rourke. It’s the beginning of tax season. Today’s program will focus on updates for this year and more. Is the 2020 Stimulus payment taxable? How much did 2020 Income Tax Rates increase over the 2019 rates? How is my 2020 Federal tax bracket determined and what does that mean to me? What are some of the tax savings opportunities offered by my Federal benefits package? Are there any tax savings opportunities that will be paid in 2021 that will impact my 2020 tax return? What are some of IRS’s audit “Red Flags”? What are some of President Biden’s Income tax proposals of general interest?

Income Tax Questions Answered

January 25, 2021 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes Bob Braunstein, Federal Benefits Specialist. New health, dental and vision plans A major new TSP feature Increased pay for employees and retirees Temporary AL Carryover Increase for 2021 Extending Emergency Paid Sick Leave (COVID-19) And more For questions or comments, email us in advance at ForYourBenefit@nitpinc.com

What’s New for Federal Employees and Retirees in 2021?

January 18, 2021 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes Tammy Flanagan, Senior Benefits Director at NITP, Inc. to talk about the changes to Thrift Savings Plan for 2021 and the Voluntary Contributions Program (VCP). Thrift Savings Plan The Big Change – reaching the elective deferral limit before the end of the year but continue to save, contributions will automatically continue toward the catch-up limit for those age 50 or older in 2021, even if you turn 50 by the end of the CY. For 2021, elective deferral limit remains unchanged at $19,500 and catch-up contributions remain at $6,500. What about contributions spilling over toward the catchup limit? Voluntary Contributions Program VCP available only to CSRS and CSRS-Offset employees. It allows such employees to contribute funds that can equal up to 10 percent of the total basic pay they have earned in Federal service toward their own retirement. CSRS employees who want to participate in this program must establish an account by completing an application to make voluntary contributions (no later than while their retirement application is being processed by OPM). Did you know that you can contribute up to 10% of your lifetime salary to a Roth IRA? Learn about the best kept secret of the Civil Service Retirement System, the Voluntary Contributions Program. Steps for putting the monies into other retirement investment vehicles, such as traditional and Roth IRAs. The VCP is a way to enhance your retirement income. In OPM’s brochure “Retirement Facts 10,” the Civil Service Retirement System offers this explanation: “At retirement, each $100 in your voluntary contributions account (including interest earned) will provide an annual annuity of $7 a year, plus 20 cents for each full year you are over age 55 at the time you retire.” However, it is also possible to withdraw all voluntary contributions at any time before receiving this annuity. For questions or comments, email us in advance at ForYourBenefit@nitpinc.com

Changes to TSP for 2021 & CSRS Voluntary Contributions Program

Host Bob Leins and presenters from NITP, Inc., the national leader in Federal retirement planning seminars, present topics of interest to the Federal community including Federal benefits, Social Security, financial planning, TSP and estate planning.

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For Your Benefit

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