Kaimuki Chapter 1518 News Update                                              March 2026

Changes Coming to your Retirement Accounts.   Congress passed the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, and some key provisions take effect in 2026.  The biggest change affects emergency withdrawals. Those are now penalty-free for disasters, domestic abuse and terminal illness.   Other changes:  1) the age where you are required to start taking an RMD increases to age 75 and a lower penalty for failing to make a withdrawal,   2) an increase in the contribution limit for workers 50 and older.

90% of Trump’s tariffs are paid for by American consumers and companies, New York Fed says.  

Despite President Donald Trump insisting it’s foreign businesses paying for his raft of tariffs, mounting data indicates that American households and businesses are footing the bill for his import taxes.  Americans “continue to bear the bulk of the economic burden of the high tariffs imposed in 2025

The clock is ticking on tariff refunds.  [Axios]    Tariff entries — the individual records created for shipments crossing the U.S. border — have expiration dates.  Once those entries expire in the Customs and Border Protection import system, getting back the money gets more difficult for businesses..

Federal Retirees Encounter Weeks of Delay Receiving Tax Documents from OPM.  [My Federal Retirement]  Federal retirees have been complaining about the delay in receiving the tax forms to file their 2025 income taxes.  Due to a policy change, federal retirees and annuitants who have an email address in their OPM online log-in account would only get a digital copy of the form 1099-R unless they specifically request a paper copy.

TSP Announces Schedule for Sending Out Tax, Other Notices     [Fedweek]   The TSP announced its schedule for issuing key notices for taxes.  TSP's 1099-R and Life expectancy recalculation notices & RMD notices went out in January.   OPM's 1099-R forms go out in March.  Feds should  get their 1099Rs by March 18th.

Changes Coming to the Post Office in 2026.   The Postal Regulatory Commission has ruled that, starting in March, the USPS is limited to once-a-year price hikes for mail through 2030.  Post marks on your mail may not indicated the date when it was dropped off at the post office but a much later date.  You may not receive exact change.  With the retirement of the penny, the post office  will round off your change to the nearest nickel.  This does not apply to check, debit or credit card transactions. 

Federal Labor Battles Return to Center Stage as President Trump Marks One Year into Second Term

President Trump’s second term marked a year defined by sweeping changes to the federal workforce and court battles over Trump's executive orders terminating collective bargaining rights.  Union advocates and other supporters urged the Senate to pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act (H.R. 2550), after it passed the House. The legislation would restore collective bargaining rights terminated by the president’s executive orders.

Final Schedule F regulations to describe civil service protections as ‘unconstitutional overcorrections’  [Govexec]   OPM officials told agency HR leaders that President Trump has Article II constitutional authority to remove tens of thousands of career federal workers in jobs over potential “resistance to policy.

Lawsuit contends Schedule Policy/Career exceeds presidential authority [Federal News Network]  An expanded lawsuit comes days ahead of President Donald Trump’s finalization of federal employee transfers into Schedule Policy/Career. A coalition of public service organizations and federal unions is suing the administration over its plans to strip civil service protections from a broad swath of the career federal workforce. 

Federal employees’ options for appealing adverse actions headed for an overhaul.  Federal employees are on the verge of a major change to their options for challenging agencies’ adverse personnel actions.  The Trump administration has issued proposals aimed at bypassing the MSPB and authorizing OPM to make the final decision on all appeals.  

OPM Previews Plans to Seek Forced Ratings Distribution for All Federal Employees   [Fedweek]

OPM has previewed plans for requiring that performance ratings of federal employees, saying the government suffers from “rampant ratings inflation and a lack of accountability for poor performers that fails to meaningfully differentiate between excellence, successful achievement of one’s objectives, and poor performance.”

DOGE prompts Scramble to Feed Troops at Remote US Base. [USA Today]  Fort Greely is tucked in the rugged interior of the 49th state, just north of a gap in the glacier capped mountains of the Alaska Range and is responsible for protecting the U.S. homeland from nuclear missile attack.. The base experienced a "critical disruption in food service operations" after the base lost "essential" federal civilian cooks in the wake of DOGE's workforce cuts.  

Navy launches department wide organizational review that could reshape civilian workforce [Federal News Network]  The Department of the Navy has launched a sweeping,  organizational review that could lead to significant restructuring of its civilian workforce, including possible 5% to 20% reductions in civilian personnel.

Trump plans to cut FEMA workforce in half, court filing alleges.  [The Hill]    Unions and public interest groups challenged the Trump administration plans to cut down the workforce at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA] in court.

New OPM Delivery Method for 1099-R Form

Matthew January 6, 2026

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has updated its delivery policy for the 1099-R form. Annuitants who have provided an email address will receive their 1099-R forms electronically, unless they opt to receive them by mail through their OPM online account. Individuals without internet or computer access should contact OPM’s Retirement Services to request a mailed copy of their 1099-R forms. Annuitants can change their delivery preference by visiting their Retirement Services Online account at www.opm.gov/rso or by calling the Retirement Services hotline at 1-888-767-6738 to request a mailed copy. 

Chapter 1518 October News Update                                                       October 2025

New No Tax on Social Security Benefits Bill Introduced  [cnbc.com]

Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” provides relief to certain Social Security beneficiaries who pay taxes on their benefits.  But it doesn’t eliminate those taxes entirely.  Sen. Ruben Gallego has introduced a bill titled  You Earn It, You Keep it Act.  The bill would eliminate federal taxes on Social Security benefits and extend the Social Security trust funds’ ability to pay benefits in full for 24 years, or until 2058.

How Medicare Prior Authorization Rules Are Changing in 2026   [themedicarefamily.com]

If you’re on Medicare, you might be wondering what the Medicare Prior Authorization Changes in 2026 means for you. Traditional Medicare historically required little in the way of pre-authorization. But that is going to change. Starting January 1, 2026, a pilot program in six states [New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington, and Arizona] will require pre-approval for 17 outpatient services. While AI will review requests, a licensed clinician will make the final decision. The goal is to reduce costs by cutting down on unnecessary treatments.

Medicare Advantage Plan AI Denials:  Humana used algorithm in ‘fraudulent scheme’ to deny patient care, lawsuit alleges    [statnews.com]

Medicare Advantage beneficiaries filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that Humana illegally used an algorithm to prematurely cut off payment for rehabilitation care after patients suffered serious illnesses and injuries.  It is the second suit filed following a STAT investigation that found Medicare Advantage insurers nationwide are using the algorithm to cut off patients’ rehabilitation care, forcing them to forgo treatment or pay thousands of dollars out of pocket.  An earlier complaint was filed against the algorithm’s maker, NaviHealth, and the company that owns NaviHealth, UnitedHealth Group. 

ACA cliff may mean ‘huge premium shock’ for 22 million people in 2026  [cnbc.com]

Affordable Care Act insurance premiums are set to rise sharply next year if Congress doesn’t intervene. That’s because enhanced subsidies that have reduced costs for millions of enrollees in health plans purchased through the ACA marketplace in recent years are set to expire after 2025. (The ACA is also referred to as Obamacare.)

Shutdown talk heats up as Democrats insist on stopping health care cuts  [apnews.com]

“House Democrats will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people. That’s what this shutdown fight is all about, Mr. President,” Jeffries said.  A test vote by the GOP on a short-term spending bill that would keep the federal government fully operational when the new budget year begins Oct. first into mid-November without any ACA relief failed. 

The government could shut down in less than a week. Here's what you need to know    [ABCnews.com]

What happens if there is a government shutdown?  Millions of federal employees will go without a paycheck and many essential workers will be told to come to work without pay.  ICE agents will go without pay. National parks will close.  Federal contractors will not work but will not have guaranteed back pay.  Core programs, like social security, medicare and medicaid, will keep running because their funding is built into law. But a popular Medicare benefit (telehealth) has already ended, and local health centers may be at risk unless Congress acts soon. More than 6.7 million older adults got their healthcare through telehealth last year.  But the Obamacare subsidies that allowed many individuals and families who do not have access to affordable health insurance thru work a way access to  healthcare at an affordable price. Unless Congress takes action to extent the subsidies, out-of-pocket premiums could grow by as much as 114% next year, according to a KFF analysis. Democrats want to work with the GOP to provide some relief for the individuals and families caught in this healthcare dilemma. But so far Trump and the GOP say no. Social Security and federal retiree payments are not affected.

Trump, justifying domestic military action, tells Pentagon leaders to ‘handle’ the ‘enemy from within’

President Donald Trump on Tuesday gave a campaign-style speech to the nation’s top military brass, suggesting that  “dangerous” American cities should be used as Pentagon “training grounds” during a 72-minute speech. “Inner cities are a big part of war,” Trump said.  The unprecedented event, with nearly every general and admiral from the military present, cost the government millions of dollars to fly the officers in from active combat zones and critical jobs.

White House Unveils ‘TrumpRx’ Drug-Buying Site and a Pfizer Pricing Deal  [WSJ]

President Trump on Tuesday unveiled a direct-to-consumer website for Americans to buy drugs, dubbed TrumpRx, and announced that Pfizer plans to offer some of its drugs on the site at a reduced rate.   The latest developments followed on Trump’s call for pharmaceutical companies to participate in a direct-to-consumer drug-buying platform, and to offer the “most favored nation” pricing—commonly understood as prices lower or comparable to those in other developed nations.