Your Turn with Mike Causey

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.

When they leave or retire from the government, just over half of Thrift Savings Plan participants move most or all of their TSP balances someplace else.

This despite the fact that the TSP has some of the lowest administrative fees in the business and is subject to oversight by the Treasury, the Labor Department and many if not most members of Congress and their staffs belong to the TSP and have keen interest in seeing it does well.

But now that Congress has authorized a modernization of the TSP, many suspect that it will be more attractive to feds when they leave or retire and that they will stick with it.

Financial planner Arthur Stein will explain why when he joins host Mike Causey on this weeks Your Turn. He will also talk about how the changes implemented under the TSP Modernization Act will affect you.

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 it? And by the way, what is it?

The short answer is that it depends. On your age, health, financial situation, etc.

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 good, but some may be wrong for you. Or too expensive for what they cover.

Francis will be the guest today at 10 a.m. ET on Your Turn. Hell be answering questions sent in by listeners over the last two weeks. If you have one, fire it off to host Mike Causey (before showtime) at: [email protected].

Listen at 10 a.m. ET on Federalnewsradio.com or at 1500 AM in the D.C. area. The show will also be archived on our home page so you can listen later.

Every year Uncle Sam holds an open season, when federal workers, retirees and their survivors can update, enroll in or change their benefits package.

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 your financial ducks in a row can be a major gift emotionally as well as financially for those who may wind up taking care of you.

So do you have an estate plan? Does it include beneficiary designations and property ownership arrangements? Do you know the difference between a will and a trust? And which is best for you?

Tom O'Rourke is a Washington area attorney who specializes in estate planning. Many of his clients are active and retired federal workers. He says that many feds are worth a lot more than they think.

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, feds are convinced that Congress is going to make big-time, devastating-to-feds, changes in the retirement plan. There are a half dozen plans that if approved by the House and Senate would deal a major body blow to some or all of the retirement program.

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? If so, welcome to the club.

Obviously, nobody knows when, if and for how long, any correction might be. But we asked financial planner Arthur Stein for his take.