Biden to propose 4.6 percent pay raise for federal employees, the biggest hike in 20 years

[Carlitos Brigante]

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/biden-propose-4-6-percent-110634675.html

WASHINGTON - Federal employees and military service members would receive average raises of 4.6 percent next January under the budget President Joe Biden will propose in March, marking what would be the workforce's largest salary hike in two decades, according to senior officials at two federal agencies.

The pay increase would follow an average 2.7 percent raise that took effect last month for 2.1 million executive branch workers, as Biden proposed early last year. The increase took effect by default under a federal pay law after Congress took no position on the increase by the end of December.

The salary boost Biden will propose for 2023 will be part of a wide-ranging budget the administration is expected to release in early March for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. Raises are paid in January.

The Office of Management and Budget declined to comment. The senior officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the budget proposal publicly.

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This is good, not to mention smart politically.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

1. That would certainly be nice n/t

[PoliticAverse]

2. Speaking of raises, what happened to the raise to Social Security recipients that was a pledge

in the campaign?

From: https://joebiden.com/older-americans/

Provide a higher benefit for the oldest Americans. At advanced ages, Americans become more vulnerable to exhausting their savings, sometimes falling into poverty and living a life of hardship. The Biden Plan will provide the oldest beneficiaries – those who have been receiving retirement benefits for at least 20 years – with a higher monthly check to help protect retirees from the pain of dwindling retirement savings.

Implement a true minimum benefit for lifelong workers. No one who has worked for decades and paid into Social Security should have to spend their retirement in poverty. The Biden Plan will revolutionize the Social Security’s minimum benefit, which has deteriorated over time to the point of being entirely ineffective. Under the Biden Plan, workers who spent 30 years working will get a benefit of at least 125% of the poverty level.

Protect widows and widowers from steep cuts in benefits. For many couples, the death of a spouse means that Social Security benefits will be cut in half – putting pressure on the surviving spouse who still needs to make the mortgage payment and handle other bills. The Biden Plan will allow surviving spouse to keep a higher share of the benefits. This will make an appreciable difference in the finances of older Americans, especially women (who live longer on average than men), raising the monthly payment by about 20% for affected beneficiaries.

Eliminate penalties for teachers and other public-sector workers. Current rules penalize teachers and other public sector workers who either switch jobs or who have earned retirement benefits from various sources. The Biden Plan would eliminate these penalties by ensuring that teachers not eligible for Social Security will begin receiving benefits sooner – rather than the current ten-year period for many teachers. The Biden Plan will also get rid of the benefit cuts for workers and surviving beneficiaries who happen to be covered by both Social Security and another pension. These workers deserve the benefits they earned.

[Carlitos Brigante]

3. That's a good question. November's getting closer and closer. Not that it

should be the motivation to do it.