Federal Pension Advice and Insights

Jun 8, 2026

VA workforce cuts 2026 refer to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) reduction of nearly 30,000 employees, announced and largely carried out by the end of fiscal year 2025, with hiring restrictions, staffing caps, and workforce effects continuing into 2026.

Jun 8, 2026

IRS layoffs in 2026 are part of a broader IRS workforce reduction that began in 2025, with additional staffing cuts still proposed in later budget documents.

Jun 5, 2026

Schedule Policy/Career 2026 is a new excepted-service employment category that reduces standard civil service removal protections for certain policy-influencing federal jobs. It makes removal easier than under standard competitive-service rules.

Jun 4, 2026

Under the FEHB family member eligibility rules 2026, only your spouse and children under age 26, including biological, adopted, step, and foster children, qualify as covered family members on your Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) plan.

Jun 3, 2026

If you're a U.S. Forest Service employee weighing a separation incentive in 2026, here's the direct answer. VERA (Voluntary Early Retirement Authority) and VSIP (Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment) are two distinct offers that can let you leave federal service early. VERA lets eligible employees retire early on an immediate annuity. VSIP pays a one-time lump sum capped at $25,000.

Jun 2, 2026

The latest full-year data shows that more than 300,000 federal employees left government service during 2025. After new hires are counted, that produced a net federal workforce reduction of roughly 238,000 positions, according to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and an analysis by the Pew Research Center.

Jun 1, 2026

DoD civilian workforce reductions have continued in 2026 through deferred resignation, restructuring, hiring limits, reassignments, and possible Reduction in Force (RIF) actions.

May 29, 2026

A TSP in-plan Roth conversion moves money from your traditional TSP balance directly into your Roth TSP balance without taking the money out of the plan. You pay ordinary income tax now. In return, you get tax-free growth and tax-advantaged withdrawals later.

May 28, 2026

The Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) was a federal workforce buyout offered to certain federal employees in early 2025, sometimes called the "Fork in the Road" offer.

May 27, 2026

TSP catch-up contributions are additional retirement savings amounts that federal employees aged 50 and older can contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan beyond the standard elective deferral limit. In 2026.

May 26, 2026

Thrift Savings Plan problems are the gaps, errors, and outdated choices in a federal employee's TSP account that quietly reduce retirement income if left unfixed before separation. These include wrong fund allocations, missed catch-up contributions, outdated beneficiary forms, untracked loans, and uncoordinated withdrawal strategies.

May 25, 2026

As of early 2026, roughly 185,000 to 195,000 TSP accounts held balances of $1 million or more, depending on the reporting date. Public reporting cited approximately 194,722 million-dollar TSP accounts as of January 1, 2026.