Benefits Newsletter: January, 2025

The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Open Season elections and the 2025 FEHB plan rates will be effective on January 12, 2025.   You will see these changes reflected on your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) for the pay date of January 31, 2025.

If you entered a new TSP election into myPay for 2025, you should check myPay to confirm your election. Additionally, you should view your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) each pay period to confirm your TSP deductions. You can access your LES in myPay.

Last year, NIH employees lost an estimated $5.8 million in annual leave. Don’t let your leave disappear! Please donate your unused “Use-or-Lose” annual leave to the NIH Leave Bank or Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (VLTP) by January 11, 2025!

Leave donations to the NIH Leave Bank or VLTP reinforce the charitable and giving spirit of the NIH community and ensure your fellow employees experiencing a personal or family medical emergency have the paid leave they need. 

It is very important and your responsibility to review your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) each payday to ensure that proper deductions are being withheld.  You can access your LES at any time in myPay. Should you discover a benefits withholding problem, notify your Benefits Contact immediately.

Do you have questions about the terms on LES?  View the LES terms and definitions.  Additionally, you can view the LES overview video.  You can access your LES in myPay.  It is very important that you review your LES re

Under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), it is normally best to retire on the last day of a month.  If you retire on the last day of a month, your FERS annuity will then begin accruing on the 1^st day of the following month, which would be the next day. If you are covered under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS or CSRS Offset), it is normally best to retire on the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, or the last day of a month. Your CSRS annuity will then begin accruing the following day.

Each year, the IRS announces the annual limits that employees can contribute towards their employer-sponsored defined contributions plans, such as the TSP, 401(k) or 403(b).  The 2024 IRS annual limit for regular contributions was $23,000, and the Catch-up annual contributions limit was $7,500.  The Catch-up contributions could be made in addition to regular contributions, if you were age 50 or older (or were turning age 50 in 2024).