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N A R F E N E W S L I N E :
Leeward Oahu Chapter 1657
President's Newsline Report,
September 30, 2025
As you may know we may be headed to experiencing a
government shutdown, on October 1, 2025, if the Senate doesn't
come to an agreement to pass a continuing resolution bill. NARFE
has prepared a "Shutdown Resources Page" at https:\|narfe.org,
where you can get a quick summary of important pay and benefits
information for federal employees during a shutdown. You'll also be able to
see updates from NARFE's advocacy team on the status of negotiations
around government funding. NARFE has also created an extensive list of
frequently asked questions to help federal employees and annuitants
navigate a shutdown at the "Shutdown Resources Page." I've listed below the
"10 Things You Need to Know as a Furloughed Federal Employee below:
10 Things You Need to Know as a Furloughed Federal Employee
1. When the government shutdown ends, you will get paid for the
time you were furloughed. Congress passed the Government
Employee Fair Treatment in 2019, which guarantees back pay for
federal employees furloughed as a result of a government shutdown.
2. You cannot volunteer to work. The Antideficiency Act, which provides
the legal rules governing government operations during a shutdown,
prevents nonexcepted federal employees from performing any job-
related functions during a shutdown.
3. You cannot use annual leave or other paid time off instead of being
furloughed. Paid time off creates a debt obligation that is not
authorized by the Antideficiency Act if no appropriation has been
made. This includes previously scheduled paid leave. "The requirement
to furlough supersedes leave and other paid time off rights," according
to OPM.
4. Your health insurance coverage will continue. Even if an agency does
not make premium payments on time, employees in the Federal
Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program will be covered. Because
furloughed employees enrolled in the FEHB program will be in nonpaid
status, the enrollee share of the FEHB premium will accumulate and be
withheld from pay upon return to pay status.
5. Payments into your federal retirement plan accounts cease when
you enter nonpaid status. Employee contributions into the Thrift
Savings Plan must come from payroll deductions, so furloughed
employees cannot make payments into their plans. Agencies are also
prohibited from matching contributions into their employees' plans
during this time. These contributions will be made retroactively when
the government is funded.
6. Your years of service toward your retirement will not be affected by
a short-term government shutdown. You are allowed leave without
pay for six months in a year before it would be considered a break in
service.
7. You should not use any government-provided information
technology, including laptops and cell phones, except to
intermittently check for updates on furlough or recall (return to
work) status. The Antideficiency Act prevents nonworking federal
employees from performing any job-related functions during a
shutdown if the government cannot pay for it.
8. You may be entitled to unemployment compensation depending on
your state's unemployment compensation requirements. Find out
about the requirements in your state by going to the https://narfe.org
website.
9. You need to be careful about getting a second job. You are still an
employee of the federal government, therefore executive branch-wide
standards of ethical conduct and rules regarding outside employment
continue to apply when you are furloughed.
10. You can take action to pressure Congress to end the shutdown. Call
your members of Congress using NARFE's phone or send them an
email by going to https://narfe.org website at the "hub" webpage to
send them an email.
The U.S. postal mail will still be delivered if there is a government shutdown.
Social Security checks and Medicare benefits will continue to be issued to federal
retirees if there is a government shutdown.
NARFE is urging good faith bipartisan negotiations to end the stalemate of the Senate
Republicans and Democrats. "Republican-only spending bill" that "fails to meet the
needs of the American people and does nothing to stop the looming healthcare crisis.
On January 1, 2026, approximately 22 million people who were on the "Affordable
Health Care Plan", ", will not be covered and will be forced to pay up to 75% additional
amounts in their health benefits costs." Instead, they are requesting their congressional
counterparts (Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Thune) and President
Trump to engage in bipartisan negotiations, and are offering a counterproposal that
includes language so that President Trump can extend the Affordable Care Act health
insurance premium subsidies, and reverse cuts to Medicaid included in H.R. 1. Senate
Majority Leader Thune has pushed back on claims he is not willing to meet, saying
Schumer "knows where his office is.
Changes to Social Security
President Trump signed an executive order in March ending the issuance of paper
checks by the federal government. The deadline for compliance is Sept. 30, which
means September 2025 will be the last month you can receive a paper check for your
Social Security payment.
Starting in October 2025, you'll need to have a direct deposit set up with your bank
account or use a Direct Express card. The latter is a prepaid debit card for those without
a bank account where the federal government can deposit benefits. Be sure to update
your information with the Social Security office, or online at: https://ssa.gov before the
end of the month.
Your social security payments could be garnished.
The Department of Education paused federal student loan repayments in 2020 under
the first Trump administration. That included a pause in collections of defaulted loans:
We're now in September, so those garnishments are likely to resume soon. Social
Security recipients in default can expect the Department of Education to take 15% of
their benefits off the top of their monthly payment.
Some workers will pay more in Social Security taxes.
The main funding source of Social Security comes from payroll taxes on working
Americans. For most workers, they pay 6.2% of their earnings to Social Security with
their employer matching their contribution. But high earners will only pay Social Security
taxes on a portion of their earnings.
The Social Security Administration increases the amount of taxable earnings every year
to account for wage inflation. For 2025, the maximum taxable earnings are $176,100 -
that's up from $168,600 in 2024. That number will continue to climb higher in 2026,
which means more revenue collection for Social Security, as some workers pay more in
taxes.
Social Security Benefits will receive an inflation adjustment.
• Social Security benefits will get a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to keep
payments aligned with inflation; the latest estimates put the 2026 COLA at 2.7%.
• Social Security beneficiaries under full retirement age and still in the workforce
will be able to earn more money before benefits are withheld next year.
• Some workers will owe more in Social Security payroll taxes because the
earnings limit will increase in 2026 to account for changes in the average wage.
NARFE WEBINARS ON 2026 FEDERAL HEALTH BENEFITS
Watch 7 NARFE Webinars starting on Oct. 23, 2025, to Dec. 20, 2025, to assist you
during Open Season to review your Health Benefits. Here are some of the NARFE
webinar topics: Medicare Advantage Plans, FEHB/PSHB with and without Medicare;
FEHB and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans; and Open Season Prep (FEHB, PSHB,
FEDVIP). The Open Season for federal health benefits in 2025 runs from:
November 10, 2025, through December 8, 2025. During this period, a
federal employee and retiree can review and update their health benefits coverage
in either: the FEHB or PSHB Plan for the upcoming 2026 year.
New Email Address for Requesting Information from HIS (Hawaii State
Federation) ESO Office: narfe.hisf.eso@gmail.com
The Hawaii State Federation (HISF) ESO Office has a new email address:
narfe.hisf.eso@gmail.com. They will be available to answer phone calls from 10:00am
to 2:00pm on Mondays through Thursday. If no one answers the phone, you can leave
a message on their phone at: (808) 377-4277. They will respond on the following day or
on Monday if you called and left the message on Friday.
If you need to contact OPM, to report a death of a spouse, you can call:1-800-456-8410, press ext. 1.
If you need to contact someone from NARFE regarding renewing your NARFE or
Chapter 1657 membership, you can call: 1(703)-838-7760.
* * * * *
* * * * :
September 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025, is the Fall NARFE Membership Drive
NARFE is having a Fall NARFE Membership Drive to recruit new NARFE Members
from Sept. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2025. NARFE will give $10.00 to NARFE members who
recruit new NARFE Members to join NARFE. Each new NARFE Member that you
recruit can also receive 1 year of FREE Chapter 1657 membership, when they enroll
as a New NARFE member. I will attach a NARFE membership form so that you can
pass it out to your friends who can join our NARFE organization to get assistance for
retirement or other questions from our NARFE website: https://NARFE.org. All
recruiters will be entered in a drawing to receive the Grand Prize of a Kindle Fire and
each month a name will be selected from the pool of recruiters for $25. Amazon.com gift
card. Don't forget to put your name as the recruiter on the attached NARFE
Membership Form, with your NARFE ID number (found next to your name on the
NARFE magazine label.
Submitted by:
Chieko Higuchi, President
NARFE Chapter 1657
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