Federal Retirement:
Comparison of High-3, 4, and 5 Salary Factors
GGD-97-84R: Published: Apr 25, 1997. Publicly Released: May 27, 1997.
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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the effects of changing the high-3 salary factor in the formulas that are currently used to compute Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) pension benefits.
GAO noted that: (1) employees retiring under either CSRS or FERS would need to work longer to receive annuities under a high 4 or high 5 that would be comparable to the annuities they would have received under a high 3, before any change in the annuity compensation factor; (2) the amount of extra time, however, is measured in months rather than years; (3) reasons why include the fact that an employee's pay normally increases when he or she works longer, thus, so does the employee's annuity at retirement; (4) employees who work into the next calendar year in order to earn comparable annuities can receive general schedule pay increases early in the calendar year as well as step increases; and (5) in addition, the extra time employees work is added to their years of creditable service, which also increases the value of their annuities at retirement.
Feb 24, 2021
Financial Services:
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Jan 19, 2021
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Elder Justice:
HHS Could Do More to Encourage State Reporting on the Costs of Financial ExploitationGAO-21-90: Published: Dec 18, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 19, 2021.
Oct 30, 2020
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Retirement Security:
Other Countries' Experiences with Caregiver PoliciesGAO-20-623: Published: Sep 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 30, 2020.
Sep 24, 2020
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Retirement Security:
Older Women Report Facing a Financially Uncertain FutureGAO-20-718T: Published: Sep 24, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 24, 2020.
Aug 28, 2020
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Retirement Security:
DOL Could Better Inform Divorcing Parties About Dividing SavingsGAO-20-541: Published: Jul 31, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 28, 2020.
Aug 13, 2020
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Retirement Security:
Older Women Report Facing a Financially Uncertain FutureGAO-20-435: Published: Jul 14, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 13, 2020.
Jun 16, 2020
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Retirement Security:
BLS Should Explore Ways to Improve the Accuracy, Timeliness, and Relevance of Its Cost-of-Living MeasurementsGAO-20-422: Published: Jun 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 16, 2020.
Feb 27, 2020
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Private Pensions:
IRS and DOL Should Strengthen Oversight of Executive Retirement PlansGAO-20-70: Published: Jan 28, 2020. Publicly Released: Feb 27, 2020.
Jan 9, 2020
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Social Security Disability:
Action Needed to Help Agency Staff Understand and Follow Policies Related to Prescription Opioid MisuseGAO-20-120: Published: Jan 9, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 9, 2020.
Dec 18, 2019
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Capitol Police:
Potential Effects of Raising the Mandatory Retirement AgeGAO-20-137R: Published: Dec 18, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 18, 2019.
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