Hello everyone. What follows below is a letter to the editor discussing federal firefighter pay and retirement. Under the current system, federal firefighters work 53 hours a week to earn the same as other federal workers in the grade scale system. In addition, firefighters work an additional 38 hours of overtime a pay period, which does not count toward retirement and with only a fraction more pay. The letter below spells out the reader’s concerns in full, and feel free to add your thoughts, opinions or comments below. Dear Federal Times, I am a retired federal firefighter, and have been…
Browsing: benefits
The Veterans Affairs Department’s outreach strategy to try get Boston area vets enrolled in benefits is targeting the town’s famous love of sports. The VA is paying $7,500 a piece to run ads in annual yearbooks for the New England Patriots and Boston’s Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins, which, by the way, need two games to win hockey’s Stanley Cup. Michael B. McNamara, outreach program manager for the VA’s New England healthcare system, said in a phone interview that the VA as been running ads in the yearbooks for two years. So far, the strategy of reaching out to vets…
A recently launched six-month pilot at the Veterans Affairs Department is intended to reduce the time it takes to collect veterans’ health records from private physicians. VA awarded Virginia-based DOMA Technologies, LLC a six-month, $384,000 contract to aid in collecting records needed to process veterans’ claims for disability benefits. “We are committed to harnessing the best technology and the brightest minds in the government and private sector to ensure veterans receive the benefits they have earned,” VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, said in a news release. Wayne Zinn, DOMA’s chief operating officer, said the pilot is off to a strong start. More…
It’s amazing how expensive something as simple as benefit checks can be. The Treasury Department is getting ready to stop mailing government benefits to citizens in check form and, instead, switching to electronic payments. In a blog posted this morning, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag said this will save $300 million over the first five years, and more than $120 million each following year. But what about those who don’t have a bank account, or who don’t want to use direct deposit? Orszag said they’ll get their benefits through Treasury’s Direct Express debit cards. He said this change will benefit…