WHY DO FEDERAL WORKERS WANT TO KEEP WORKING

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That is a very interesting question and one most of us think we know the answer to.  Staying in the Federal service is more of a need than a want.  Many workers just don’t have the financial readiness to retire and live the kind of life style they have imagined.  Those individuals who are eligible to retire once enjoyed the benefit of receiving a full retirement check while working as Federal contractors for big consulting firms.  However, due to the sagging economy that pretty painting is fading.  Contractors are simply not getting the big contracts anymore because of cutbacks.  In many areas of the Federal government although there is a need for outsourcing, the dollars are just not there.

In that vein many Federal employees who were looking for that land of milk and honey find themselves still waiting for a biweekly paycheck and hoping that a Reduction-in-Force (RIF) is not in the not- so-distant future.  Individuals eligible for retirement are given a type of consideration during a RIF that places them at the top of the list to leave the organization.  Financial concerns is a big part of decision-making in most families.  It is not as easy as perhaps previous years to think about retirement and when to do it.  Many workers in the Federal government simply fear that they will not have enough resources to live on and that those resources will not outlast them.

This worry is particularly heavy for Federal workers covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).  Their defined benefits plan (pension plan) is not as lucrative as the old Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS).  If FERS employees do not maximize participation in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) they will not be in a good position to realize their retirement dreams.

P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.

Dianna Tafazoli