Retirement & Financial Planning Report: Thursday, November 4, 2004 FEDweek is the largest information resource in the federal government with now over one million weekly readers. To Subscribe, Go to http://www.fedweek.com/subscribepopup.htm *********************************************************** Valued Added Service to Our Readers:
Federal Job Search http://www.fedweek.com/Jobs/default.asp Job Bulletin Board http://www.fedweek.com/Jobs/default.asp Unlimited Internet Access for as low as $10.90 http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294972676/821890/222/0/ Our Readers Will Get Special Discounted Travel Rates Including, Airfare, Hotels, RV's, Car Rentals, and Special Weekend Getaways--Anywhere in the world http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294972676/821890/339/0/ ********************************************************** In This Week's Issue 1. Pay Days 2. Computer Networks Now Offers Unlimited Monthly Internet Service to All of FEDweek Readers http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294972676/821890/222/0/ 3. Drive-Buys 4. In Sickness Or In Health 5. Brand New Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide Just Published New Publication Announcement: The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294972676/821890/338/0/ 6. Patience Pays 7. Trust Fund Grown-Ups 8. Federal Legal Corner: Court Finds U.S. Marshals Service http://www.passmanandkaplan.com 9. FEDweek is Announcing the Upcoming Retirement Planning Seminars http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294972676/821890/342/0/ Over 10. The Complete Guide to Writing a Federal Resume Just Published-- Available for Immediate Shipment Order Yours at http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294972676/821890/338/0/ *********************************************************** This Issue of RFPR is Sponsored By Mail Handlers Benefit Plan (MHBP) If you're a federal or postal employee or annuitant eligible for FEHBP, it's easy to get coverage for dental care and vision care at low group rates. Introducing the MHBP Federal Dental and Vision Plans! Now dental and vision benefits are available to you through the Mail Handlers Benefit Plan, but you don't have to be an MHBP health plan member to get them. Choose either one - or both! The MHBP Federal Dental Plan includes first-year benefits for covered preventive services like cleanings, exams and x-rays, as well as basic services like fillings, root canals and oral surgery. Major services like crowns and bridges and orthodontic benefits for minors are also covered under second and third year benefits. Right from the start of your enrollment, you can receive benefits up to $1,000 per person every year, and up to $3,000 per family. So joining right now pays off! With The MHBP Federal Vision Plan, you can get eye exams & lenses every 12 months for just a $10 co-payment each. This Plan also pays up to $100 for frames (every 24 months) or contact lenses (every 12 months). There are also discounted rates for laser vision correction. You will have access to the nation's largest network of eye care doctors - with no claim forms required. You can receive a full description of these plans, and even enroll by calling 1-800-254-0227, or on the web at: http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294972676/821890/355/0/ *********************************************************** 1. Pay Days Stockbrokers usually earn sales commissions every time you buy or sell securities. If you work with a broker who gets compensated this way, make sure that he's not urging you to buy and sell, over and over, for no reason other than creating more commissions. Today, many brokers and other financial advisors are charging fees rather than commissions. Fees might be: * By the hour. Professionals such as attorneys and accountants often bill this way. * By retainer. You might pay so much per year, or for a specific project. * By assets under management. If your advisor handles $250,000 for you, for example, and charges a 2 percent fee, you'd pay $5,000 per year. Be sure you understand how these fees work, how much you wind up paying, and whether you're getting your money's worth. If you pay by the hour, for example, every phone call might wind up costing you money. On the other hand, if you're paying an annual fee you can call your advisor at any time, to get answers to your financial questions as they arise. 2. Computer Networks Now Offers Unlimited Monthly Internet Service to All of FEDweek Readers http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294972676/821890/222/0/ Computer Networks, Inc. Is pleased to announce that FEDweek Readers can now get UNLIMITED Internet access for only $10.90 per month or $14.85 for Unlimited Internet with Turbo Accelerator--increasing your internet speed up to Five times the speed! Now, all Our Can Get Broadband DSL-Like Speed Over Your Phone Line at Home http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294972676/821890/222/0/ A Few Important Facts: Over 50% of our readers who have called the toll free information number 1-800 452-9201, signed up for this Internet service, it's that good. On-line Signup is available as well! You can get the fastest and most comprehensive internet accelerator on the market and unparalleled 24/7 customer service for only $14.85 per month--You'd pay more than twice that at AOL, Earthlink or any of the others. Take a Look at Some of these Cost Comparisons: CNW $14.85 AOL $23.90 MSN $21.95 Earthlink $21.95 AND CNW does not charge for Tech Support! It is easy to see, Computer Networks will cost you less every month! CNW has added over 7,000 new V.92 access lines to meet the needs of the FEDweek readers! Chances are that you are now covered by CNW with the latest technology that allows faster data thru-put and well as advanced compression schemes. Plus you'll get Spam controls to help keep your inbox free of junk email IF you're in pursuit of a fast, reliable Internet connection, Computer Networks Inc. has partnered with us to provide Internet Services to our readers at a special low rate as low as $10.90 per month with no long term contracts to sign (like most other internet service providers require). Best Choice: Turbo Accelerator Internet Service is the new CNW Turbo Internet access version 3.1 is the fastest and most comprehensive Internet accelerator available today. CNW offers DSL like speed over 56k dial-up connection and fast downloads of e-mail and Web pages--all for only $14.85 per month! For more information or to sign up today, go to http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294972676/821890/222/0/ or call toll-free at 1-800 452-9201. This is a special offer to all our readers only, just another value added benefit for being a FEDweek readers. 3. Drive-Buys There are three ways to acquire vehicles for your personal use: Pay cash. This choice makes the most sense if you want a car you'll hold for many years. If you buy a car that has a history of holding its re-sale value, you'll get a good bit of your money back when you eventually sell. The catch, though, is coming up with the money upfront so this may be a practical move if you have a valuable trade-in. Use a car loan. This method makes sense if you want to own a car for at least five years. Once you pay off your auto loan, you'll have the car and you're through writing checks each month. You'll own the vehicle so you'll get something when you sell. On the downside, you'll pay interest on the car loan and that interest is not tax-deductible. If you decide to hold a car for more than five years, your maintenance costs probably will increase. Lease your cars. When you lease, you'll be able to choose a new vehicle every two or three years. When the car goes off-warranty and high maintenance bills are imminent, you can lease a new one. With leasing, your monthly payments tend to be lower than they are with vehicles purchased over time. However, you never build any equity in leased cars so you wind up paying fees every month, indefinitely. Generally, the longer you plan to hold onto a vehicle, the more it makes sense to buy rather than lease. 4. In Sickness Or In Health Life insurance policies and annuities that also offer long-term care (LTC) benefits may work well for seniors who have more assets than income, which often is the case. For seniors such as these, paying premiums for traditional LTC insurance might not fit in their budget. They may have money set aside for this purpose, perhaps in CDs. Buying a combination product for LTC can help them leverage money they already have in place. Annuity-based combinations may be more appropriate for individuals whose health makes it difficult to buy life insurance. Life insurance-based combinations typically are sold to people between 55 and 70 years old while annuity buyers generally are in the 65-85 age group. The younger and healthier you are the greater the appeal of life insurance, which can provide more benefits per dollar of premium than you'd get with an annuity. Either way, some medical evaluation is likely before any product with LTC benefits can be sold. However, it's very rare that applicants who can get life insurance will be declined for the long-term care coverage. 5. Brand New Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide Just Published New Publication Announcement: The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide Passman & Kaplan announces the October 2004 publication of the SECOND EDITION of the Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide. This comprehensive book, first published by Passman & Kaplan in 1999, has been called the definitive how-to guide for enforcing the rights of federal employees. The second edition of the Guide includes 100 PAGES OF ADDITIONAL NEW MATERIAL (now 616 total pages) and useful advice. New features include information on internet legal research, preparing for and conducting a hearing, sample discovery requests, and up-to-date contact information for federal personnel agencies. The Guide also includes a listing of frequently used civil service acronyms and practical appendices of sample forms, charts illustrating appeal rights, and commonly-needed deadlines. As with the first edition of the Guide, Passman & Kaplan has attempted to move away from the "legalese" which so often complicates an already-bewildering array of regulations and policies. Although the Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide, Second Edition is clearly an invaluable resource for practioners, Passman & Kaplan has maintained its commitment to target the book to the average federal employee. *********************************************************** To place your order for The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide just go to and place your secure order online. The cost of this publication is only $49.95 Plus $6 s&h--Remember, this is a 616 page reference that is chalked full of invaluable information that every federal manager must have! Or you can mail your order with payment of $55.95 to FEDweek, PO Box 5519, Glen Allen, VA 23058. This is a one of a kind book you can't afford to be without! *********************************************************** 6. Patience Pays Deferred annuities, fixed and variable, get their name because they offer tax deferral but they have some negative tax aspects, too. * Taxable withdrawals. Not only will you owe tax on money you pull out, in most cases, there's also a 10 percent tax penalty for withdrawals before age 59 1/2. In addition, insurers may impose surrender charges for withdrawals in the first few years. * Loss of capital gains treatment. Under current law, all withdrawn earnings from deferred annuities are taxed as ordinary income. If you invest in stock funds within a variable annuity, and enjoy gains, you won't get favorable tax rates when you take out those profits. * Double taxation at death. With a deferred annuity, the deferred income tax must be paid by someone, either you or your beneficiary. The account also will be included in your estate, for tax purposes. Therefore, you need to hold onto a deferred annuity for many years, in order for the value of the tax deferral to outweigh the loss of long-term capital gains rates. Moreover, you shouldn't plan to hold onto a deferred annuity until death if you expect to leave an estate large enough to be subject to estate tax. 7. Trust Fund Grown-Ups Many people decide to leave money in trust, rather than make outright bequests. If children are still young, at the time the estate plan is created, final distribution of the money may be scheduled for age 35. At that age, parents expect their children to be responsible adults. However, the possibility of unwise spending still may exist. In addition, many marriages end in divorce. Assets kept in trust won't be subject to a property settlement, if a child's marriage breaks up. For these reasons, you may prefer to specify that assets be kept in trust until age 45 or 50, for greater protection. 8. Federal Legal Corner: Court Finds U.S. Marshals Service to be Joint Employer The U.S. District Court found the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) to be a joint employer along with a private contractor, AKAL Security, when a former court security officer (CSO) was disqualified from employment based on her hearing disability. Walton v. U.S. Marshals Service, C 03-01460 SI (NDCA 8/27/04). The plaintiff, who had worked as a CSO for 14 years, alleged that she was subjected to disability discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 USC � 701, et seq., when she was disqualified from her position and terminated from AKAL Security after audiological testing indicated she had a hearing impairment in one ear. Although the plaintiff worked for AKAL, the court held that the federal agency was a proper defendant because it had "retained significant control over the terms, conditions, and duration of plaintiff's work -- [and] plaintiff can only seek actual relief through the USMS because AKAL Security cannot reinstate her once she has been disqualified, rightly or wrongly, by the USMS." The court rejected the agency's assertion that that it could not be a joint employer and found that the agency and AKAL were in fact joint employers because the USMS gives CSOs the same power held by U.S. Marshals and has significant control over them. Citing Lutcher v. Musicians Union Local 47, 633 F.2d 880, 883-884 (9th Cir. 1980), the court applied the "economic realities" test in determining whether there existed an employment relationship or an independent contractor affiliation. "The extent of the employer's right to control the means and methods of the worker's performance is a primary factor." See also Spirides v. Reinhardt, 613 F.2d 826 (D.C. Cir. 1979), which is applied by the EEOC and includes other factors such as the amount of supervision provided, whether the employer furnishes the equipment used and the place of work, whether the work performed is an integral part of the employer's business, and the method and regularity of payment. The court relied upon the USMS Orientation Handbook for CSOs which confirmed that they are "an integral part of the Judiciary Security Team." Furthermore, the USMS made the unilateral decision to modify the Service Agreement to give itself the right to disqualify CSOs for failure to meet medical, physical or firearms qualifications without the right of appeal which resulted in plaintiff's disqualification. The court concluded that a finding in defendant's favor would unfairly have allowed the USMS to act behind the force of the contract and unjustly limited plaintiff's access to the true source of her termination. It is important to keep in mind that at times federal agencies have influence over private contractors hiring, firing and promoting employees. In such an environment, an illegal personnel action may result in liability for the federal agency if it is found to have control over the contractor employees' terms and conditions of employment. This information was provided by Passman & Kaplan,a well respected law firm based in Washington, DC. For more information on them go to http://www.passmanandkaplan.com. 9. FEDweek is Announcing the Upcoming Retirement Planning Seminars http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294972676/821890/342/0/ Over The Next 30 Years, the Baby-Boomers (YOU) Will Transfer to Your Heirs Over Thirty-Five Trillion Dollars! As you know, the baby-boomers are growing more mature every day and are planning for their retirement. Are you a baby-boomer? Are you prepared for your retirement and to transfer your estate to your loved ones? FEDweek has partnered with two of the most respected federal retirement and estate planning training organizations to provide federal employees with the highest quality of seminars related to your federal retirement, financial and estate planning. Below are the seminar locations through 2004: ************************ Date Nov 9-11 (PBSC) Honolulu HI - Doubletree Date Nov. 16-17 (PBSC) Indianapolis, IN - Radisson Hotel Airport Date Nov 16-18 (NITP) Washington, DC - Washington Plaza Date Nov 30- Dec 2 (NITP) Linthicum MD - Holiday Inn BWI Date Dec 6-8 (NITP) Huntsville Al - Holiday Inn Research Park Date Dec 7-9 (PBSC) Houston TX *********************************************************** There are still a few seats available for these locations. For a complete list of seminar locations and dates through December, 2004, Go to http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294972676/821890/342/0/ We've also recently added additional seminars for 2004 (Even Hawaii and San Diego!!) dramatically expanding the coverage areas to include most cities throughout the entire country, with more to come. Go to http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294972676/821890/342/0/ to see the latest schedule. These comprehensive programs will provide the participant with valuable information about retirement planning and ways to ease the transition into retirement. The seminar speakers, all experts in their field, will challenge you to ask tough questions. These seminars are broken down into a number of components that discuss considerations necessary for planning for retirement, including: FEDERAL RETIREMENT BENEFITS THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN INSURANCE, MEDICARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS FINANCIAL AND TAX PLANNING ESTATE PLANNING LIFE AFTER RETIREMENT AND SECOND CAREERS For more info on these retirement planning seminars, go to http://fedweek.sparklist.com/t/294972676/821890/342/0/ Also, pass the word along to your colleagues that there will also be multi-seminar attendee discounts for employees attending from the same agency office location. Publisher's Note: All Seminar Attendees Who Register For Any Retirement Planning Seminar Will Two Valuable FEDweek Publications FREE! 10. The Complete Guide to Writing a Federal Resume Just Published-- Available for Immediate Shipment Order Yours at http://www.fedweek.com/pub/index.php >From the Publishers of FEDweek, the federal government's largest information resource... We are proud to announce the launch of The Complete Guide to Writing a Federal Resume. This book was written specifically for you and is designed to help you meet the requirements for written materials in seeking a new federal job or advancement within the federal government. There is no longer a single, required method of applying for federal employment. In fact, most federal agencies are moving toward the resume (either paper or electronic) as the preferred method of applying for jobs. That's why we've just published The Complete Guide to Writing a Federal Resume and all current federal employees, retirees, military members and private sector professionals who are looking for a federal job need this all-inclusive guide. Note to Military Members: Many of the federal job openings at this time require security clearances. As a military member, a large percentage of you have the security clearance and the qualifications needed to fill these positions. This all-new guide will show you how to compose your resume to accentuate your strengths and experiences. Here's a partial list of the table of contents: Finding a Federal Job Should I Apply Using a Resume or an Application Form? The Federal Resume Preparing to Draft Your Resume What to Cover (and not cover) in a Resume The Designing of Your Federal Resume Your Accomplishments (including a worksheet) What if You Use an OF-612? Knowledges, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) Cover Letters and Thank You Letters Interactive Worksheets The Do's and Don't's for Federal Resume Cover Letters Contains Many Sample Federal Resumes and Cover Letters And Much More! This book is a "must have" for: All federal employees Military personnel interested in civil service careers Federal managers and supervisors Human resources professionals and federal libraries Military retirees beginning their second career with the federal government All private sector workers that wish to apply for federal government positions. Simply put, designing and writing your resume is not an easy task. You must highlight your accomplishments, qualifications, experience, etc. all while keeping it brief and easy to follow. The Complete Guide to Writing a Federal Resume will show you how to do this. It also gives a complete list of "result and action" words to use in your cover letter and resume as well as a list a frequently misspelled or misused words or phrases. "In today's competitive job market, especially the federal job market, this new interactive resume book is a must have and is guaranteed to help you, whether you are writing a new resume from scratch, making minor changes depending on the position you are applying for or just fine tuning and error checking it." Don Mace, Publisher FEDweek *********************************************************** Order it Today and Have it Shipped to You Tomorrow! Go to http://www.fedweek.com/content/st/index.php to order online or see below for other ways to order. The Cost of The Complete Guide to Writing a Federal Resume is only $9.95 (plus s&h) and here are the ways to order it: Place Your Secure Order Online With Credit Card http://www.fedweek.com/content/st/index.php Call or 24/7 toll-free order line (888) 333-9335. We have representatives ready to take your order 24 hours per day. By Mail Send $13.95 ($9.95 plus $4) to FEDweek, PO Box 5519, Glen Allen, VA 23058 *********************************************************** Published by FEDweek LLC 11541 Nuckols Rd. Suite D Glen Allen, VA 23059 (804) 288-5321 http://www.fedweek.co [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are subscribed to financialplanningreport as [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
