Open season: How to pick the best health plan for you

FromYour Turn with Mike Causey

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Open season: How to pick the best health plan for you

FromYour Turn with Mike Causey

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Length:

43 minutes

Released:

Nov 20, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

On this week's episode of Your Turn radio show, Walton Francis answers your questions. He's the guy who wrote the book on how to pick the best federal health plan: Checkbook's Guide To Health Plans For Federal Employees. Next Mr. Pat Grady, TRICARE Health Plan chief, tells us about changes that active military and veterans should be aware of this Open Season.

Released:

Nov 20, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Federal News Network Senior Correspondent Mike Causey discusses everything of interest to federal employees, from pay, benefits and retirement, to buyouts, COLAs and pay freezes.

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Tips for protecting your retirement nest egg: Are you excited, dazzled and worried sometimes at the same time by the stock market boom? Are you concerned about what many experts say is a long-overdue market correction? Do you still have the occasional nightmare about the Great Recession?... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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Your benefits package from A to Z: Do you know whats in your federal benefits package? If not you should. Federal benefits expert Tammy Flanagan will explain why when she joins host Mike Causey on this weeks Your Turn. by Your Turn with Mike Causey
1 min listen
Is there a buyout (or a layoff) in your future? by Your Turn with Mike Causey
42 min listen
Estate planning: Where do you start?: Your federal retirement could last decades so it pays to plan ahead. As in having a plan. Doing the right/smart thing now means a payoff for you, for your spouse/significant other and your children. And peace of mind. The way you get... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
43 min listen
SES: Alive & kicking: How things are going for the SES and SEA. by Your Turn with Mike Causey
43 min listen
Index Funds & The TSP: Follow The Money: The biggest gains federal worker and retiree investors have made in their Thrift Savings Plan accounts have come from the stock-indexed C, S and I funds. But whats an index and whats an index fund. And why do you need them in your portfolio?... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
43 min listen
A breakdown of the top federal news stories: What are the odds of another shutdown either because of man-made political gridlock or because a late March snowstorm ordered up by Mother Nature? Now that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been ousted who’s next? And what’s happening... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
2935 min listen
Is there a buyout in your future?: Although buyouts are out there, the odds that you personally will get a $25,000 to $40,000 payment to leave are slim and none. You can wait, and hope, and maybe, just maybe get lucky. But the deck is stacked against you. by Your Turn with Mike Causey
43 min listen
What does the future hold for your TSP?: This week on Your Turn, financial planner Arthur Stein tells feds and retirees what, if anything, they should be doing now with their Thrift Savings Plan accounts. by Your Turn with Mike Causey
43 min listen
Congress is back! What does that mean for you? by Your Turn with Mike Causey
51 min listen
Should you stick with TSP after you retire?: Why do so many federal employees move out of TSP when they retire from the government? What should you do? by Your Turn with Mike Causey
1 min listen
FERS Retirees: Treading Water OR Under It?: When they retire after a long career with Uncle Sam many FERS retirees hope for good health, long life and low-inflation. Not necessarily in that order. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D) has introduced a bill that would take FERS retirees off their... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
42 min listen
Congress & your pension plan: Should you be worried?: In addition to a proposed pay raise freeze in January 2019, the White House and Congress are recommending that Congress do away with cost-of-living adjustments for both current and future retirees under the FERS program, which covers most... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
43 min listen
Open season with Walton Francis by Your Turn with Mike Causey
43 min listen
Do you have a plan B for your TSP?: Have you protected your TSP from the next stock market crash? Financial planner Arthur Stein will explain what you should be doing now to protect your financial assets when he joins host Mike Causey on this weeks Your Turn. by Your Turn with Mike Causey
42 min listen
Are changes coming to your retirement plan?: Are there people in your office who love their jobs and dread retirement but who are putting in their papers effective at the end of this month? Why are so many federal workers suddenly very nervous in the civil service? Some, maybe many,... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
46 min listen
TSP: Big changes are on the way: Big changes are coming to the Thrift Saving Plan. Kim Weaver, director of External Affairs for the TSP, joins host Mike Causey on this week's Your Turn to talk about the changes, which include making it easier for participants to make... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
43 min listen
Protecting your TSP account: Did the recent stock market nosedive send you moving money from the stock indexed C and S funds into the G fund for safety? If so, was that a smart move? And what’s next? Are you waiting, as in sweating, a much bigger correction that many... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
43 min listen
Are retirement changes coming in 2017/18?: Congress and the White House are considering several proposals to slim down or eliminate portions of the federal retirement program. Will they pass and if so, how will they affect you? Find out when NARFE Legislative Director Jessica Klement... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
43 min listen
The ‘7 rules’ of retirement: When people close in on their retirement date many become anxious about life after a steady, bi-weekly paycheck. The old Civil Service Retirement System provided a much more generous pension/annuity than the Federal Employees Retirement... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
47 min listen
Whats ahead for feds in 2018?: This week on Your Turn, Federal News Radio reporters Nicole Ogrysko and Jory Heckman join host Mike Causey to discuss what happened in 2017, what didn't happen but could have, and why. Also what might (as in M-I-G-H-T) be ahead for... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
43 min listen
Medicare Part B: Do you need it?: Nearly half the questions health insurance hunters have involve or revolve around Medicare Part B. As in, do I need it? Can I afford it? What, if any, are the alternatives to Medicare Part B? What happens to the premium if I delay taking... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
41 min listen
Buyouts: What, if anything is likely to happen?: Are you one of hundreds of thousands of federal workers who could retire tomorrow if you wanted to? What if Uncle Sam made you a once-in-a-lifetime cash offer you couldnt refuse. And what if that payment, now $25,000, was bumped up by... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
45 min listen
What is your plan B?: Are you planning to retire soon or leave your federal job? What happens to your benefits? Find out when benefits expert John Grobe joins host Mike Causey on this weeks Your Turn. July 26, 2017 by Your Turn with Mike Causey
43 min listen
Is it time to change your health plan?: Most feds will stay in the same health plan theyve been in for years. Maybe even decades. Walton Francis, editor of Consumers Checkbook Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees, says thats a mistake. Francis says all of the plans are... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
43 min listen
TSP investing: The good, the bad & the ugly: So, how often do you look at your Thrift Savings Plan account balance, and does it affect your investment decisions? Do the ups and downs of your TSP account keep you up at night? Are you financially nervous in the civil service, or do... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
43 min listen
Are changes coming to your retirement package?: This week the White House revived old proposals to make feds pay more for, and get less from, their retirement package. The Trump administration submitted a proposal to Congress that, if approved, would: eliminate the gap payment, require... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
51 min listen
2017: A year in review: This week on Your Turn, Federal News Radio reporters Nicole Ogrysko, Scott Maucione and Meredith Somers join host Mike Causey to discuss the top federal news stories in 2017 and what is (maybe) going to be on tap for 2018. by Your Turn with Mike Causey
1 min listen
Ups and downs of 2018 TSP returns: Washington, D.C. area financial planner Arthur Stein joins host Mike Causey on this week's Your Turn discuss how volatility in the U.S. stock market is affecting federal workers' TSP accounts, and whether feds should head for... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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Civil service reform: The SEA perspective: Many say the thin red line between partisan politicians of both parties and the career civil service is the 9,100 members of the career Senior Executive Service. The SES came out of the Carter administration’s effort to revamp the civil... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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Your estate plan: How to secure (or tarnish) your legacy: In many ways, the way you handle your final affairs will determine how your family and friends remember you. So it’s important to get it right. Years ago, my uncle died and left his large, 700-plus acre farm (for comparison, New York’s... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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Your estate plan: How to secure (or tarnish) your legacy: In many ways, the way you handle your final affairs will determine how your family and friends remember you. So it’s important to get it right. Years ago, my uncle died and left his large, 700-plus acre farm (for comparison, New York’s... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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Wanna be a TSP millionaire: Have you got the right stuff?: Many people consider Michelangelo’s statue of David to be the most perfect sculpture ever. It was done in the early 1500s and stands 10 feet tall. Pretty impressive. Yet a friend of mine, Bill B, claims that his brother in-law, who has... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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TSP Jeopardy quiz: Do you dare take it?: Have you got what it takes to make the final cut, and maybe become a contestant on the popular TV show Jeopardy? Maybe become a millionaire? Interested? Take this test. If you dare… What weighs 990 million pounds, is worth $743 billion... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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TSP returns: Who hit the down button?: After one of the best, longest bull market runs in history, the continuing downhill trajectory of the stock market has lots of investors wondering what — if anything — they could and should be doing. At a time of an evolving pandemic, an... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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Gift cards for the IRS? Probably not!: If an IRS agent calls you at home or office and asks you to send him or her a gift card, don’t do it! Even if you owe money, that is not the correct (or legal) way to get back in Uncle Sam’s good graces! By the same token if someone from... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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Pay Raise, COLA, TSP troubles and the G-fund: If you are working, retired, building a nest egg or living off one, these are tough emotional times. If you want good news, you’ve learned to avoid the financial news or stock market reports. Also national news, international news and,... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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Today’s subject: Irrevocable trusts … zzzzzz: When is the last time you and your significant other took a romantic weekend to rekindle the fire? And spent most of the time, at the beach or in the mountains, talking about the pros and cons of an irrevocable trust? Wild guess: How about... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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Social Security: On life support?: When Social Security was launched in 1935, the average life expectancy for men was 59.9 years and 63.9 for women. Full benefits started at 65, so do the math! It sounded almost like a safe, government-guaranteed Ponzi Scheme, minus the... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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New TSP options: Road to riches, or paralysis by analysis?: Retirement benefits for career feds and military personnel will be based on their length of service and salary. Unlike the vast majority of private pension plans, the federal-military programs are protected from inflation. Benefits will... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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The TSP in troubled times: Go long!: It’s hard to think about next summer’s vacation at the beach in February when there is a blizzard outside and your roof is groaning under the weight of all that ice and snow. There are times when it is important to live in the moment and... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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Your retirement trifecta: For many career feds and postal workers the best date to retire is simple! You haul assets ASAP. You leave a soon as you are eligible to receive an immediate annuity. Period. Maybe you hate your job. Or your colleagues. Or the boss.... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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Can you afford not to have a trust?: If you can afford to leave your spouse, kids or significant others a very large pile of money to spend when you are no longer around, you might want to skip the expense and inconvenience of making a will or setting up a trust. But that’s... by Your Turn with Mike Causey
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Open season: How to pick the best health plan for you

Open season: How to pick the best health plan for you

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from Your Turn with Mike Causey

Related podcast episodes