For Your Benefit

December 12, 2022 on ForYourBenefit, our host Bob Leins, CPA®, welcomes M. Shane Canfield, CEO, WAEPA. As the year comes to a close, it is a time to reflect and to look ahead. Shane will offer thoughts on preparing for the year(s) ahead.

Current landscape

Planning for the year ahead

Preparing for the unexpected

Thinking about insurance needs

Post Open Season considerations

WAEPA Resources

For questions or comments, email us in advance at [email protected]

Dec. 5, 2022, on ForYourBenefit, our host Bob Leins, CPA®, welcomes Patti Hudson, Lifetime Health and Fitness Expert.

What is work/life balance? Does it exist? If it does, how do we achieve it?

Work/life balance is defined simply as, “proper prioritizing, between work life and personal life.” Remember the proverb, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?” While this proverb is not new, the concept of work/life balance is relatively new. It became a concept when technology revolutionized the workplace making it more accessible with emails, computers, and cell phones. New technology helps to blur the lines between work life and personal life. Without a balance between achievement and enjoyment Jack indeed could become a dull boy.

Imbalance affects relationships, health, especially stress levels, and life satisfaction. Efforts to focus on the issue of work/life balance has increased. Balance solutions are being offered by companies to include telework, less structured work hours, and flexible work schedules. Defining clear goals for employees and giving them autonomy with time to “get it done” generates commitment. Compartmentalizing work and personal life is difficult for many, highlighting the need to find solutions.

Achieving work/life balance is a personal process. It depends on an employee’s life stage, life’s circumstances, and personal perception of what the term means. There is not a “one size fits all” for balance. Life changes constantly; ongoing attention and evaluation to achieve balance is necessary. The fit for balance falls on the shoulders of each working individual.

For questions or comments, email us in advance at [email protected].

November 28, 2022 on ForYourBenefit, our host Bob Leins, CPA®, welcomes Tammy Flanagan, Senior Benefits Director NITP, and Karen Schaeffer, CFP®. Karen and Tammy will discuss the retirement topics that cross the line. The line between your Federal benefit decisions and your financial planning, that is!

Is Medicare Part B necessary and if so, how do you present this information to your clients/students?

Social Security claiming strategies: Early or later?

Survivor benefit elections

Determining the need for life insurance at pre-retirement

Is LTC insurance for everyone? How does this coverage affect the family?

For questions or comments, email us in advance at [email protected]

November 21, 2022 on ForYourBenefit, our hosts Bob Leins, CPA®, and Tammy Flanagan, Senior Benefits Director NITP, welcome insurance expert and author Walton Francis and his colleague Kevin Moss to talk about FEHBP Open Season. The Consumers’ CHECKBOOK Guide shows that most families can save $2,000 or more by selecting better plan choices.

Francis and Moss are the principal authors of both online and print versions of Consumers’ CHECKBOOK Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees. The Guide gives you vital insurance information that you cannot get from any other source. It tells you how much money you can save by changing – or by staying in – your health insurance plan and summarizes thousands of facts about the plans to simplify your choice.

At the Guide’s website, www.guidetohealthplans.org, you can check to see if your agency has purchased access to the Guide for you.

It rates about 270 health insurance plans available to all Federal employees and retirees, including twenty national plans, over 200 health maintenance organization (HMO) and preferred provider (PPO) local area options, and over a dozen consumer-driven and high deductible plan options. The Guide rates not only regular insurance plans open to both employees and annuitants, but also about 20 plans open only to annuitants on Medicare that provide special Medicare benefits, pay most or all of the Part B premium, or both. Its ratings of plan costs take into account premiums, catastrophic limits, and estimates of likely out-of-pocket costs for medical expenses of every kind.

The Guide compares plans for insurance value in dealing with unforeseen medical expenses, not just for the routine costs you can predict.

It rates dental and vision plans as well. It provides dollar estimates of likely dental costs, taking into account both premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. It compares dental coverage in all plans, not just stand-alone plans.

For questions or comments, email us in advance at [email protected]

November 14, 2022 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes Marc Levine, Esquire, and Lacey Yegen, Esquire. With the recession in mind, why is it important to have estate planning documents in place? Are they worth the investment? Today’s program will discuss what it is like, financially, when someone becomes incapacitated, and no one is authorized to help.

What banks and health care providers are likely to do

What banks and health care providers are legally obligated to do

What it takes to prepare a guardianship, if necessary

Today’s guests will also discuss practical issues related to what to do when a loved one passes away, helping you to understand the timeline and task list, and how important it is to manage family expectations.

For questions or comments, email us in advance at [email protected]

November 7, 2022 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes Karen Schaeffer, CFP®, and Kaitlin Schaeffer Yardley, CFP®.  There is certainly a lot to talk about on the topic of TSP.  Join our guests as they discuss the following:

The new terminology for making investment changes

The importance of double checking your beneficiary designations

The Mutual Fund Window

What’s going on with the I Fund?

How to make allocation decisions when the market is so volatile

For questions or comments, email us in advance at [email protected]

October 31, 2022 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® and co-host Ray Kirk, Ph.D., Federal Benefits Specialist, NITP, welcome Jay Fritz, Program Manager, Outreach & Program Services, Healthcare and Insurance, U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

It is that time of year again for employees and annuitants to review their Open Season options, which include health plans, dental and vision plans, FSAs, etc.

Today’s discussion will include:

Federal Open Season:  November 14 – December 12, 2022

What programs participate in Open Season?

How can I prioritize my Open Season shopping list?

What options do I have?

What if I do nothing?

Resources for further information:

Visit opm.gov/openseason

Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/usopm

For Twitter News and Updates: https://twitter.com/usopm

See your Human Resources Office

How do I make an Open Season election or change?

October 24, 2022 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® and co-host Tammy Flanagan, Senior Benefits Director at NITP, Inc. welcome back Paula S. Jakub, RHU; CEO at The American Foreign Service Protective Association, sponsor of the Foreign Service Benefit Plan.

Today’s topic will focus on things to consider during Federal Open Season and how to get the most out of the health plan you choose. Paula is a Subject Matter Expert in Federal Health Insurance and serves on the adjunct faculty of the Foreign Service Institute. Paula will discuss:

FEHB PROGRAM

COVID-19 Impact on Healthcare

OPM Initiatives and 2023 Benefits

Lifelong health/wellness and support for chronic conditions

Consider how you use health care

Latest on Medicare, including the new Federal Medicare Advantage Plans

FEDVIP

Make sure you understand these supplemental plans

FSAFEDS

Pre-tax reimbursement for eligible costs

What is an eligible cost?

Rules on carryover amounts

For questions or comments, email us in advance at [email protected]

October 17, 2022 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes Brian Kurrus, CFP® to talk about inflation.

High inflation, how did we get here?

What is the Federal Reserve doing to fight inflation?

How does Federal policy affect stock and bond markets?

What are the best investment options to combat inflation?

How should you plan for inflation in retirement?

For questions or comments, email us in advance at [email protected]

October 3, 2022 on ForYourBenefit, host Bob Leins, CPA® welcomes Mercedes Johnson, Federal Benefits Specialist. Open Season will run from Monday, November 14 – Monday, December 12, 2022. If you are wondering why it is important to understand and participate in Open Season, tune in to this broadcast.

Which programs participate in Open Season?

What changes can be made?

What are the effective dates for enrollments and changes?

Are there any limitations for annuitants during Open Season?

Why would an employee want to change Premium Conversion Status during Open Season?

What happens if I do nothing during Open Season?

Can changes be made after Open Season?

For questions or comments, email us in advance at [email protected]