To most just having a job that pays enough to meet needs is a matter of relief and satisfaction in these difficult times but getting a government job is much more desirable because of its accompanying benefits like, job security, retirement benefits, government holidays, insurance and "family-friendly" benefits that go far beyond these obvious benefits.
If you are keen to ensure a comfortable, healthy and hassle free life in retirement, work for the government. Not only are the federal benefits incredibly great they are transferable. By virtue of being the largest single employer in the country and also one that makes the laws, the government can offer the best benefits for its employees.
To give you an example of the flexibility that a federal job offers, assume that you were hired by a federal agency and worked for it for a decade. You then left the job and left for a job more suited to your liking and now possible because of the experience and insight that you got working for the Feds. Assume that you are 55 years old when you left your job and your salary was $73,000.
Portable Benefits
In spite of the fact that you have not been laid off or terminated and left the job of your own will, you would still have earned the following portable benefits:
Pension (FERS Basic Benefit): You will be eligible for the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). You would be eligible for it even if you had left your job after just 5 years. The scheme provides a fundamental well set out benefit pension after only five years of creditable civilian service. However, there are limitations of age and how much you will get under this scheme depends on the combination of years of service and age. Considering your age and retirement you’d probably receive a lifetime pension of $5,600 per year or $466 per month payable at age 62 with annual cost of living adjustments.
Retirement Savings (Thrift Savings Plan):
The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a retirement savings and investment plan, exclusively for Federal employees. It is similar to what many private corporations offer their employees under 401(k) plans. You could call it the government's version of a 401k plan. The federal government provides an automatic 1 percent contribution to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). The government puts in a dollar each for the first 3 percent of the employees contributions and for the fourth and fifth percent, the employees get a 50 percent match.
In simple arithmetic it means that if you have retirement savings of $105,000, add 10 percent of government payroll contribution, and if your investment grew at the rate of 8 percent for the next 32 years, you’d pocket a neat million dollars.
Social Security: All federal employees covered by FERS are also fully covered by Social Security. This too is on similar lines as private-sector earnings. A fed worker stands to get social security benefits at $200 per month payable when you are 67 or opt for a lesser amount from age 62.
Long-Term Care Insurance: In spite of having left the job, the long term care benefit that the government provided you is carried forward to your new employer. So what exactly is long-term care insurance? Long term care is care that you need when you can no longer perform everyday tasks by yourself due to a chronic illness, injury, disability or because you have become old. Long term care is not a cure; it is care that is needed for the rest of your life. It can be very expensive and the benefit provided is one way making those expenses affordable.
Existing Employee Benefits
During your tenure with the government there were other benefits that were also available to you. Let us start with the disability benefits.
Disability Benefits: There are three types of disability benefits. They are the long term disability benefit, the workers compensation and the short term benefits.
Long Term: All federal employees have permanent disability retirement available while employed. This benefit is part of the FERS retirement system; however, eligibility ends after federal employment.
Workers' Compensation: Federal employees are covered under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA). It provides wage replacement benefits, medical treatment, vocational rehabilitation and other benefits to certain workers or their dependents who experience work-related injury or occupational disease.
Short Term: Federal employees earn 13 days of sick leave each year, which if they do not have cause to use can be carried over during a career. After a decade of service this could become 6 months of earned sick leave, which can be can be used for recovery from an illness or accident, maternity leave or caring for a sick family member.
Death Benefits: Under FERS dependent children and spouses of the deceased federal employees get certain allowances.
Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI): The government provides basic insurance equal to an employee's salary plus $2,000, as well as additional coverage of up to five multiples of basic salary. Upon leaving the federal job, the employee can convert this to an individual policy. Moreover, it also contains an addition benefit for employees with a life threatening illness.
Health Insurance: Federal employees have a plethora of health insurance coverage to choose from. Only 25 percent of the premium has to be borne by the employee, the government’s contribution being a whopping 75 percent.
Annual Leave and Holidays: New full-time employees get 13 days per year for the first three years of employment. This increases by 7 days, over the next 12 years of service and beyond 15 years it extends to almost a month per year. Even part-time employees get annual and sick leave. The number of days is calculated in proportion to the time they have put in at work. Unused leave is carried over to the next year and upon retirement, all unused leave is paid for.
