The FED Weekly 29 Mar - 4 Apr 2026 (Episode 44)

About this episode

This episode discusses key updates affecting federal employees and retirees, including job security, health benefits, and legislative changes.

This episode of The FED Weekly covers key updates impacting federal employees and retirees from March 29 to April 4, 2026. The most significant development is the Merit Systems Protection Board’s (MSPB) new regulation eliminating appeals for job reclassifications into the Schedule PC category, reducing job security for federal workers 00:44. Additionally, federal health benefits are facing scrutiny due to a 12.3% premium increase and the removal of coverage for gender transition services 02:09. Early signals about the 2027 COLA suggest a possible increase below 2%, which has differing impacts based on retirement system 03:21. One year after the Social Security Fairness Act, retirees are seeing full restoration of benefits, the largest wealth transfer in a generation 05:02. On pay, the FAIR Act, advocating a 4.1% raise for 2027, gains legislative support 05:41. Telework policies are tightening, with new HHS rules stressing in-person attendance requirements and stricter enforcement of locality pay rules 06:34. The episode emphasizes the rapidly changing federal landscape and the importance of staying informed 07:36. (00:00) - Weekly Briefing Intro (00:44) - Issues That Affect…

People in this episode

Host: Dave Faulk

Topics covered

• federal employee updates
• health benefits
• COLA outlook
• job security
• telework policies
• retirement benefits

Keywords

• federal employees
• retirees
• health benefits
• COLA
• job reclassification
• telework policies
• FAIR Act
• Social Security

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Merit Systems Protection Board, HHS

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