Page 20 - The Informed Fed--Hearn (edited 10.29.20)

federal employee with 10 years of service earning $45,000 in annual salary
would accrue over 51% more in retirement benefits for the year
compared to his private-sector counterpart ($5,320 vs. $3,516). Take a
look at this example: a 55-year-old with 20 years of service earning a
$75,000 salary would accrue 31% more in retirement benefits ($14,435
vs. $10,998). The additional benefit to this retirement differential has
even more impact based upon the days in which we live. The fact is that
federal employees can transfer service credits among other federal
government agencies. An Army officer with 6 years of military service
can add his service time should he become a federal civilian employee.
This type of credit is certainly not available in the private sector.
Additionally, a federal employee can secure a considerable amount
of retirement credit at a young age. It is not out of the ordinary for a
federal employee to retire at age 55 and receive as much as 80% of what
they were earning during the high three-year average. How about
vacation time and holiday breaks? Federal employees receive an average
of about 20% more paid vacation and holiday time than employees in
private companies. Consider the fact that a new federal employee earns
4 hours of vacation time for each two-week pay period, or 13 vacation
days per year. After three years of employment, vacation time accrues at
the rate of six hours per pay period, or 20 days a year. A federal employee
with 15 years of service earns five weeks of paid vacation time per year,
which is in addition to the 10 paid holidays that all federal employees
enjoy.
Competitive Health Insurance Benefits are probably the most
complained about benefit in the private sector. We don’t hear that much
from the federal government employees. The fact is that federal
employee health insurance benefits are designed to provide less coverage
than the large private sector employers during the employee’s working
years. The coverage increases during retirement years. Did you know that
a 35-year-old federal employee in 2008 with 10 years of service with a
salary of $45,000 a year would receive $3,265 in health insurance benefits

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