One of the more seamless aspects on a recent trip to Japan was being able to simply “tap” my iPhone to pay for subway rides in Tokyo. That frictionless transit payment capability, common in many major cities worldwide, isn’t available in Seattle. But that’s about to change.

Seattle’s ORCA transit system is rolling out an upgrade that will let riders pay fares by tapping their credit card or smartphone — no dedicated ORCA card required.

The new “Tap to Pay” feature will let riders across the Seattle region use Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express cards, as well as mobile wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.

A soft launch is scheduled to begin Feb. 2 on the G Line, a bus rapid transit route, before expanding system-wide later in February — in advance of this summer’s World Cup in Seattle, as well as the debut of the new light rail line across Lake Washington connecting the region’s tech hubs.

The Tap to Pay rollout was formally briefed to the ORCA Joint Board during its meeting this week.

The technical upgrade is aimed at making transit easier for occasional riders, tourists, and anyone who doesn’t already carry an ORCA card — while modernizing fare payment across the region’s patchwork of transit agencies.

ORCA’s operations team worked with German tech company Init to implement Visa’s Mass Transit Transaction (MTT) payment model, which allows ORCA fare readers to function as point-of-sale devices capable of securely processing contactless credit card payments in real time.

During the soft-launch phase, riders who tap a personal credit or debit card will be charged a flat $3 adult fare and won’t be able to transfer to other transit services outside the G Line. Once the feature launches across the full ORCA system, transfers will work the same way they do today for ORCA card users, including the standard two-hour transfer window across most participating agencies, according to ORCA officials.

The system will support one rider per card and adult fares only, meaning reduced-fare programs such as ORCA LIFT, Senior, Disabled, and Youth cards won’t be available through Tap to Pay.

Fare inspectors will be able to validate contactless payments by asking riders to show whatever card they used to pay.

In a statement to GeekWire, ORCA officials emphasized that the new payment option is additive, not a replacement. Riders who receive employer-subsidized ORCA cards or rely on discounted fares are encouraged to continue using traditional ORCA cards. Cash and physical tickets will still be accepted.

Tap to Pay also won’t be available on every service. The feature will not initially work on Washington State Ferries, the Seattle Monorail, Community Transit DART, ZIP, or Pierce Transit Runner, according to board presentation slides.

Some users on Reddit this week complained about needing to remove their physical ORCA card from their wallet to avoid getting a credit card charge when tapping at a reader.

Notably, using an ORCA card inside Apple Wallet is a separate feature and is not part of this launch. ORCA officials said they remain committed to mobile payment options but declined to share additional details or timelines. ORCA launched a Google Wallet feature for Android users in 2024.

• Side note: Apple Wallet has a feature called Express Mode that lets transit riders pay for fares without waking or unlocking their device.
• And for those who want to purchase tickets via an app: Transit GO allows iOS and Android users to pay fares on King Country Metro buses, Sound Transit trains, and other regional transit services using in-app ticketing.

For Gen Z military families, navigating life in their early-to-mid 20s means wading their way through unique challenges that can get overwhelming pretty quickly. Between frequent relocations, long deployments, unpredictable life schedules and limited early-career earnings, financial planning is more than a good idea — it’s essential for long-term stability.

According to the Congressional Research Service, 40% of active-duty military personnel are age 25 or younger, right within the Gen Z age group. Yet these same service members face the brunt of frequent moves, deployments and today’s rising cost of living.

This guide is designed specifically for Gen Z service members and their spouses, helping them understand their financial situations, insurance options, avoid common financial pitfalls and build stable careers, all while dealing with the real-world pressures of military life.

Financial pressures Gen Z military families face

While budgeting, insurance and retirement planning are critical, it’s also important to get a real sense of the actual financial stressors younger military families are grappling with:

• Living paycheck to paycheck. Even with basic allowance for housing and basic allowance for subsistence, many junior enlisted families still find it hard to keep up with rising living costs. This becomes even more of a precarious situation when you add in dependents.
• Delayed reimbursements during permanent change of station (PCS) moves, creating short-term cash crunches.
• Limited emergency savings. The Military Family Advisory Network’s (MFAN) 2023 survey found 22.2% of military families had less than $500 in savings.
• Predatory lending, with high-interest auto or payday lenders near bases disproportionately targeting young servicemembers.
• Military spouse underemployment, leaving household income vulnerable when frequent moves disrupt career continuity.

MFAN also found that nearly 80% of respondents spend more on housing than they can comfortably afford, and 57% experienced a financial emergency in the past two years. These aren’t abstract concerns that most young servicemembers and their families can just ignore, hoping that they’ll never be impacted; these are everyday realities for Gen Z military families.

Insurance best practices

Adult life is just getting started in your 20s, and navigating insurance options can feel overwhelming. But taking the time to learn your choices will set your family up for a secure financial future.

• Life insurance: Most servicemembers are automatically enrolled in Service Members’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI), with Family Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (FSGLI) extending coverage to spouses and children. Review coverage annually. Also, compare options across SGLI, FSGLI and trusted military nonprofits to find what fits your family best.
• Disability insurance: Often overlooked, this protects your family if an injury prevents you from working, even off-duty. Supplemental private coverage can be wise if your lifestyle expenses exceed your military pay.
• Renters insurance: Essential for families who move often; it protects your belongings through relocations.
• Healthcare: TRICARE provides strong coverage, but learn the details on copays and referrals, especially when stationed overseas.

Common financial missteps and how to fix them

Mistake #1: Overbudgeting and lack of budgeting

BAH and BAS are designed to offset housing and food costs, not fund lifestyle inflation. Stick to a budget that keeps fixed expenses well below your income. Free tools from Military OneSource can help track spending.

Mistake #2: Not saving for retirement

Retirement may feel far away, but starting early has an outsized impact. Contribute at least 5% to your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) — a military contribution retirement program similar to that of a 401k — to secure the full Defense Department match. Even small contributions now can grow into hundreds of thousands later.

Mistake #3: Misusing credit or loans

Predatory lenders near bases often target young servicemembers. Try to avoid any predatory or misleading lenders. Instead, consider a secured credit card or an on-base credit union to build credit responsibly. Always be sure to pay your balance in full.

Mistake #4: Skipping an emergency fund

PCS moves, car repairs or medical costs can’t always be predicted. Start small: Even $10 to $20 per week automatically transferred to savings helps to build a safety net. According to MFAN’s 2023 survey, enlisted families with children that have undergone recent PCS moves are most likely to face financial hardship, making an emergency cushion critical.

In addition to avoiding pitfalls, here are realistic strategies to strengthen your finances:

• Tap military relief organizations like Army Emergency Relief (AER) or Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS) for interest-free loans or grants during emergencies.
• Plan for post-military life: Keep in mind that SGLI and other benefits change once you leave active duty. Compare nonprofit alternatives early to avoid gaps.
• Leverage nonprofits you can trust: Some offer competitive life insurance, savings products or financial counseling designed for servicemembers’ long-term interests.
• Budget with inflation in mind: Rising costs are hitting Gen Z hard. Nearly 48% say they don’t feel financially secure, and over 40% say they’re struggling to make ends meet. Prioritize life’s essentials and be realistic about what you can afford outside of them.

Maintaining a career as a military spouse

Frequent relocations are undoubtedly disruptive, but they don’t have to end career growth. Military spouses may want to focus on careers that can easily move around with them, like healthcare, education, IT or freelancing.

Take advantage of programs like MyCAA, which offers $4,000 in tuition assistance for career training; Military OneSource, which offers resume assistance, free career coaching and financial counseling; and Hiring Our Heroes, which offers networking opportunities and job placement assistance for military spouses. These programs can help reduce underemployment and strengthen household stability, especially during tempestuous times like during and after a PCS move.

Putting it all together

Starting adulthood, a military career and a family all at once is an incredibly challenging undertaking. The financial pressures are real, but with the right knowledge and proactive steps, Gen Z military families can turn instability and uncertainty into long-term security.

By understanding insurance options, making smart money moves, tapping into military-specific resources and planning ahead for life after service, families can not only weather the unpredictability of military life, but also build strong financial foundations for the future.

Alejandra Cortes-Camargo is a brand marketing coordinator at Armed Forces Mutual.

The post Navigating insurance, maintaining careers and making smart money moves as a Gen Z military family first appeared on Federal News Network.

Revolut Pay joins Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) to support agent-led transactions, extending one-tap checkout across the UK and EEA

The post Revolut Joins Google AP2 to Enable AI-Led Checkout Across Europe appeared first on TechRepublic.

Revolut Pay joins Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) to support agent-led transactions, extending one-tap checkout across the UK and EEA

The post Revolut Joins Google AP2 to Enable AI-Led Checkout Across Europe appeared first on TechRepublic.

Bipartisan lawmakers are seeking to secure a 35% federal pay raise for correctional officers at the Bureau of Prisons, in an effort to address longstanding staffing shortages across the agency.

The Federal Correctional Officer Paycheck Protection Act, which both House and Senate lawmakers introduced this week, would implement a 35% increase to the base pay rates for BOP correctional officers in the 0007 job series, as well as certain correctional officers on various other government pay scales.

“Persistent and often dangerous staffing shortages at federal prisons nationwide cause safety concerns for BOP personnel and incarcerated individuals alike,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), one of the bill’s original cosponsors, said in a statement. “Our bill will help to ensure that staff within our federal prisons are paid adequately for the critical work they do across this country.”

A bipartisan companion bill in the House comes from Reps. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), who said that pay rates for correctional officers fall short of other similar federal law enforcement personnel. In turn, that leads to low staffing levels, coupled with excessive use of overtime to try to compensate for the vacancies.

“This strains workforce morale, disrupts inmate programming and creates unsafe conditions inside Bureau of Prisons facilities,” Bresnahan said in a statement.

The new bill comes shortly after BOP correctional officers received a 3.8% federal pay raise, as part of President Donald Trump’s orders for a larger 2026 pay increase for certain law enforcement personnel.

The American Federation of Government Employees said it “appreciates” the 3.8% raise for law enforcement, including BOP correctional officers. But AFGE added that for the BOP, “the one-time pay bump simply isn’t enough to make up for decades of pay disparity.”

Brandy Moore White, national president of the AFGE Council of Prison Locals, expressed support for the new legislation.

“This reform is critical. It will align BOP compensation with federal law enforcement standards, stem the loss of experienced officers and attract qualified applicants in an increasingly competitive hiring market,” Moore White said in a statement. “Most importantly, it will help restore safe staffing levels across federal institutions, reduce violence, protect staff and ensure mission readiness.”

The introduction of the bill also comes shortly after BOP Director William K. Marshall III announced upcoming retention-based pay incentives for certain correctional officers and other BOP positions seeing consistent staffing shortages. The new pay incentives, which are expected to take effect in February, will give some agency employees a temporary pay boost between 5% and 25%, depending on their job position and geographic location.

For years, BOP has attempted to stave off poor recruitment and retention levels by using pay-based recruitment and retention incentives as a way to try to keep federal correctional officers in their jobs. But because the pay incentives are a temporary fix, many have advocated for a larger and permanent federal pay raise for the BOP workforce.

A Justice Department Office of Inspector General report from February 2024 said the BOP workforce uses excessive overtime hours and staff “augmentation” to try to compensate for persistent understaffing. But the OIG wrote that those factors “overburdened existing staff and potentially contributed to staff fatigue, sleep deprivation, decreased vigilance and inattentiveness to duty.”

Recent federal workforce data also shows that BOP correctional officers’ attrition levels over the last year have resulted in 1,700 officers leaving their jobs, including more than 1,100 correctional officers who have either quit or retired since January 2025. Over the same time period, the agency had about 1,200 new officers join the ranks, resulting in a net loss of nearly 500 correctional officers over the last year.

Under the new legislation, the 35% pay increase would initially last for five years. Within the last six months of that timeframe, the bill would require the Justice Department OIG to assess the progress BOP has made toward improving recruitment and retention levels, as well as reducing overtime hours and staff augmentation. If that OIG assessment shows BOP has made progress as a result of the federal pay raise, the 35% salary boost would remain in place.

The post Bipartisan lawmakers propose 35% federal pay raise for Bureau of Prisons officers first appeared on Federal News Network.

The Defense Department has long tried to simplify and reform the reserve duty status system, which has expanded to more than 30 separate statutes scattered across about 20 different titles of federal law. 

This complex system has created pay and benefits inequities and frequent administrative delays when National Guard members and reservists shift between duty statuses.

A new bipartisan bill now seeks to consolidate dozens of duty statuses under which National Guard members and reservists are called to service to just four.

If passed, the Duty Status Reform Act would ensure service members performing assignments in the same category receive the same pay and benefits. 

Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.), the bill’s sponsor, said the effort is his “number one priority returning to Congress.”

“With the current duty status system, service members doing similar jobs often receive significantly less benefits due to them being under different duty statuses. Currently, at any point during activation, a Guardsman can go between up to 10 different duty statuses, resulting in lapses of pay and administrative hurdles. This bipartisan bill fixes existing problems like this and puts active duty under our one category,” Cisneros, a Navy veteran who returned to the House in 2025 after serving from 2019 to 2021, said at a Jan. 8 press conference.

The current system is a product of decades of patch fixes done by Congress spanning from World War II to the Global War on Terror. And while the Defense Department has attempted to overhaul the system over the last two decades, most efforts have failed to gain traction.

“It’s been a very gradual build up process, and so over time, there have been these gaps that have been developed where a reserve component member may be doing duty of one sort right next to reserve component duty person doing that kind of duty right next to them and they’re receiving potentially different pay and benefits. Or it could be the case where they’re on one sort of duty, they come to do their next day of duty, and they’re on a different status, and their underlying pay and benefits may change,” Lisa Harrington, senior operations researcher at RAND, told Federal News Network in August.

The bill builds on a Defense Department–commissioned RAND report that recommended consolidating the reserve duty status system into four categories, including contingency duty, training and support, reserve component duty and remote assignments.

Contingency duty covers deployments and mobilizations where reservists and National Guard members are called to serve, usually involuntarily, for combat operations, national emergencies, disaster response or other missions requiring additional manpower. 

Training and support assignments include required training, administrative assignments or support to other units. 

Reserve component duty, which is most commonly associated with traditional reserve service, includes training periods, administrative assignments and support activities.

Remote assignments are designed to account for duty that can be completed virtually, such as online courses.

“Let me be clear about what this bill does and what this bill does not do. It does not create new entitlements, new pay or new benefits. It does align existing benefits so service members performing the same mission alongside their active duty counterparts receive the same rights, protections and predictability. This is about parity and fairness, not expansion,” retired Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn, president of the National Guard Association of the United States, said at the press conference.

It is unclear what strategy the lawmakers plan to pursue to pass the measure, but Cisneros said he has spoken with Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, and plans to meet with HASC Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.).

“I think now is the time to move it forward, and we’re going to keep working to make sure that it does get over across the finish line,” Cisneros said.

Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), the bill’s cosponsor, said he is “more than cautiously optimistic on the timing that we have here.”

“When you think of a defense dollar, we don’t talk about the totals, but how do we spend a defense dollar in the right way without overspending? But also the very subtle part of this — in the end, if we do it right, it’s about our readiness, but it’s also about the recruiting and retention of those men and women who have not even yet thought about serving,” Bergman said. 

Harrington said the potential cost of the reform might be one of the concerns since accurately predicting how much the reform would ultimately cost is difficult.

“The costs we think are not something that would stop the reform from happening when people understand exactly how the costs play out,” she said.

If you would like to contact this reporter about recent changes in the federal government, please email anastasia.obis@federalnewsnetwork.com or reach out on Signal at (301) 830-2747.

The post Lawmakers push to overhaul complex reserve duty status system first appeared on Federal News Network.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons is offering retention-based federal pay incentives to correctional officers and other critical frontline positions, in an attempt to address longstanding understaffing across the agency.

The upcoming retention bonuses will take effect in February, according to an all-staff message BOP Director William K. Marshall III sent Monday.

“These retention incentives are about keeping the experience in our institutions while we throw everything we have to deliver reinforcements and bring relief to an exhausted workforce,” Marshall wrote in the Jan. 5 email, viewed by Federal News Network.

The BOP for years has faced significant workforce challenges, including persistent understaffing and high use of overtime. The Government Accountability Office once again named the management of the federal prison system as an item on its 2025 high-risk list, in part due to the workforce issues at BOP.

Retention incentives are one way federal agencies can try to address challenges with keeping employees in their jobs — and it’s a tactic that BOP has used for years. Generally, agencies provide the pay incentives to federal employees in positions that are considered hard to fill. The pay increases are distributed over a certain time period and up to a certain percentage, as long as the employee meets the incentive requirements.

“We will continue to pursue special salary rates for hard to fill positions where they make sense and will have the greatest impact,” Marshall wrote.

Using retention incentives is a temporary pay fix — federal regulations state that agencies must review the bonuses annually to determine if they are still needed. Agencies are required to terminate incentives when the conditions that warranted the incentives in the first place no longer apply.

Because the incentives are susceptible to being revoked, some have advocated for larger pay fixes for the BOP workforce. A representative with the American Federation of Government Employees, speaking anonymously for fear of professional retaliation, called for the implementation of an across-the-board, permanent federal pay increase for all frontline BOP staff.

“While the retention incentives are appreciated, it’s doing nothing for us long-term. You’re attracting them, but you’re not retaining them. Within two years, they could say, ‘I’ve met my requirement,’ and then leave us to go to a different agency,” the union representative told Federal News Network. “We have to fix the pay structure to incentivize people to stay.”

The new incentives also come as BOP correctional officers are expected to receive a 3.8% federal pay raise, as part of President Donald Trump’s orders for a larger 2026 pay increase for certain law enforcement personnel.

But the AFGE official said that leaves other critical BOP positions, such as psychologists and nurses, with the smaller 1% raise — something that will likely sow tension among the frontline employees.

“The agency is putting a divide in our workforce — a lot of people in the field are just genuinely frustrated that the agency would take one group and pay them a certain amount and not the others,” the union official said. “This causes such a wedge.”

The upcoming federal pay incentives are a departure from BOP’s actions last March, when the agency reduced, and in some cases fully removed, retention incentives for certain correctional officers and other BOP staff. At the time, BOP said the decision to remove the incentives was made in an effort to address budget shortfalls. But the resulting pay cuts led some employees to leave their jobs.

Now, the value of the upcoming retention pay incentives depends on the employee’s position and location, as well as the staffing levels at that specific BOP facility. BOP defined three “tiers” of institutions, based on staffing levels, to determine the size of the bonus.

“Tier 1 and tier 2 institutions represent our most critically understaffed locations and will receive the strongest support,” Marshall wrote.

For instance, correctional officers at “tier 1” institutions will receive a 10% pay bonus, while correctional officers at “tier 2” institutions will receive a 5% pay bonus.

Meanwhile, all mid-level practitioners and psychologists — regardless of location — will receive a 25% retention bonus, the BOP email shows. All lieutenants, registered nurses and special education teachers will receive a 10% bonus.

Any BOP employees who are eligible for a new retention incentive, but who are already receiving an incentive, will maintain only the higher of the two values, at least until the end of September.

In his all-staff message, Marshall encouraged more BOP staff members to become correctional officers, saying that “those who choose that path will be eligible for the same special salary rates and location-based incentives while gaining the critical skills necessary to strengthen the security of our institutions.”

The post Bureau of Prisons seeks to address low retention with federal pay incentives first appeared on Federal News Network.

• Federal wildland firefighters would keep their higher pay rates under the latest congressional appropriations package. The spending “minibus” maintains funding for wildland firefighters’ permanent pay raise, as well as job updates that were initially included in the 2021 infrastructure law. The new appropriations package also would not adopt President Trump’s plan to combine wildland firefighting forces into a single agency. According to the legislation, wildland firefighters from the Forest Service and the Interior Department would remain separate.
  (Interior, Environment FY 2026 appropriations bill - House and Senate Appropriations Committees)
• Leadership at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency faces an uncertain future. The Senate has returned the nomination of Sean Plankey to the White House after lawmakers failed to vote on it last session. President Trump nominated Plankey to serve as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in March of last year. But his nomination was held in the Senate over multiple issues and he ultimately wasn’t included in a slate of nominees that received confirmation late last month. Plankey has broad support from the cybersecurity industry. But it’s unclear what happens next with the CISA director position.
  (Sean Plankey nomination - Congress.gov)
• The State Department's $50 billion IT contract vehicle called Evolve is facing yet another protest. Alpha Omega Integration filed its second protest about being excluded from Evolve on Monday with the Government Accountability Office. GAO dismissed Alpha Omega's initial protest of the multiple award contract in August after State took corrective action. But Alpha Omega contends State still misevaluated the firm's proposal. GAO has until April 15 to decide the case. Evolve has so far survived five other protests over the last six months.
  (State Dept. IT contract, Evolve, faces new protest - Government Accountability Office)
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is reinstating former probationary employees it already fired twice. NOAA sent an email to about 40 former employees, informing them that their April 2025 termination is being rescinded, and that they have the option to return to their jobs. Employees who received reinstatement offers had until Monday to accept the offer and will return to work next week. These employees will receive about nine months of back pay regardless of whether they opt in for reinstatement.
  (‘A fresh start.’ NOAA reinstates some probationary employees it already fired twice - Federal News Network)
• Federal retirees can now securely access some of their tax forms online. The Office of Personnel Management updated its delivery method for 1099-R tax forms. The update will allow retirees to view their forms digitally, rather than waiting for them in the mail. OPM said it’s a faster and paperless way for retirees to access important documents. Retirees who still want a paper copy can opt into receiving a mailed version, or request one directly from OPM.
  (OPM announces faster, paperless options for federal retirees - Office of Personnel Management)
• President Donald Trump put defense contractors on notice. Trump said his administration is capping executive compensation at defense contractors at $5 million dollars and prohibiting stock buybacks or dividends. In a post on Truth Social, the president said executive pay in the defense industry is exorbitant and unjustifiable given how slowly these companies are delivering vital equipment to the military. In a second post on Truth Social, Trump also took aim at Raytheon, threatening the defense giant that the government will stop doing business with it until it invests more money in plants and equipment manufacturing. Trump signed an executive order codifying these changes Wednesday evening.
  (President tells defense contractors to invest more, pay execs less - Federal News Network)
• The Federal Communications Commission is looking for a new organization to lead its cyber labeling program. In a public notice released Wednesday, the FCC said it’s accepting applications to be lead administrator of the Cyber Trust Mark program through January 28th. Last month, UL solutions withdrew as lead administrator of the cyber trust mark. The FCC launched the voluntary program last year to label consumer smart products that meet cybersecurity standards.
  (FCC announcement on Cyber Trust Mark program - Federal Communications Commission)
• A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to use a single credentialing and privileging system for medical providers. Currently, DoD and VA rely on separate credentialing and privileging systems to approve their clinicians. But those approvals don’t transfer between the two agencies, forcing providers who switch facilities to restart the approval process. The legislation would require the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs to jointly select a single credentialing and privileging system by January 2027 and notify Congress that the system is operational by 2028.
  (Bipartisan bill seeks to create joint DoD–VA credentialing system - Federal News Network)
• The Senate has confirmed Lt. Gen. Christopher LaNeve as the Army’s next vice chief of staff. President Donald Trump nominated LaNeve for the role in October. He will succeed Gen. James Mingus, who has served as vice chief since January 2024. LaNeve currently serves as senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hegseth called LaNeve a “generational leader” and said he will “help ensure the Army revives the warrior ethos, rebuilds for the modern battlefield and deters enemies around the world.”
  (Senate confirms new Army vice chief of staff - Congress.gov)
• The Department of Veterans Affairs said it’s chipping away at a backlog of veterans waiting for benefits. VA Secretary Doug Collins said the backlog is down 60% since the start of the Trump administration. VA’s Veterans Benefits Administration reinstated mandatory overtime for its employees last year. The VA has relied on mandatory overtime under several administrations to reduce claims backlogs. But VBA briefly ended mandatory overtime in July 2024.
  (VA benefits backlog - Social media platform X)

The post Federal wildland firefighters would keep higher pay rates under minibus first appeared on Federal News Network.

Updated guidance on federal telework and remote work from the Office of Personnel Management now emphasizes as much in-person presence as possible for the federal workforce.

OPM’s latest revisions aim to better align with the Trump administration’s return-to-office orders from January 2025. The new guidance, which OPM updated in December, now says federal employees should generally be “working full-time, in-person.” And while federal telework and remote work can be “effective” tools on a case-by-case basis, OPM said those flexibilities “should be used sparingly.”

Beyond that, agencies should also have procedures for verifying that employees are working on-site, full-time, unless given an exemption, OPM said. And in the limited cases where employees are teleworking, agencies should have a process to determine whether teleworking is successful, or if it should be revoked.

“While individual agencies are in the best position to define what it means to ‘ensure that telework does not diminish employee performance or agency operations,’ determinations should be based on metrics and clear performance standards, along with the overarching principal that work should generally be performed in-person at an agency worksite,” OPM wrote in the December guidance document.

OPM’s new document also details when telework and remote work are “acceptable,” and the role of agencies in managing federal telework and remote work policies. When developing their policies, for instance, agencies should consider IT security, performance management and work schedules, among other factors, OPM explained.

Overall, the guidance should help agencies create “telework and remote work policies that are consistent across the federal government,” OPM said.

Nearly a year after President Donald Trump first ordered a full return to office for the federal workforce, around 90% of federal employees are now working on-site full-time, according to OPM Director Scott Kupor.

“The reality is we’re in a re-baselining period,” Kupor wrote in a Jan. 2 blog post. “After years of operating at levels of remote work and telework well beyond pre-pandemic norms, the government needs to reset expectations, tackle issues like excess office space, modernize our tools, and rebuild confidence that we can deliver consistently no matter where we work.”

The new on-site numbers from OPM come after Trump, on his first day in office, ordered all agencies to terminate remote work agreements, and return all federal employees to full-time on-site work, with a few exceptions. The current 90% in-the-office rate, according to Kupor, leaves about 10% of federal employees who have been exempted from on-site requirements and kept their telework or remote work agreements.

Agencies have granted limited exceptions for certain employees with disabilities, qualifying medical conditions or another “compelling reason” to telework, according to OPM. The new guidance additionally exempts military spouses and Foreign Service spouses working overseas from on-site work requirements. But agencies can still revoke federal telework agreements if they appear to diminish performance, or if an employee has repeated unexcused absences, OPM said.

“The president’s memorandum correctly recognizes individual circumstances matter and made clear that agencies should review these to make reasonable accommodations where appropriate,” Kupor wrote in his blog post. “But — and I realize many people may disagree with this — commuting time alone is not grounds for an accommodation.”

For locality pay purposes, OPM reaffirmed that employees with telework agreements are considered to be located at their agency worksite, as long as they are reporting in-person at least twice per two-week pay period. Employees on remote work agreements, who are not expected to report regularly on-site, are considered to be located at their alternative worksite.

The new document also defines when “situational telework” is appropriate, stating that it should only be authorized for a “compelling agency need,” and as long as it does not “diminish agency operations.” Regardless of the reason, OPM said situational telework is temporary and approved on a case-by-case basis — not part of a regular telework schedule.

Appropriate uses of situational telework include when federal facilities close due to inclement weather, or when an employee has a short-term illness or injury, or a religious observation, OPM explained.

In opposition to the Trump administration’s return-to-office push, some federal workforce experts have argued there are significant benefits of hybrid work — or a mix of in-person work and telework. Many say the availability of telework improves recruitment and retention, as well as agency outcomes. Federal employees themselves have also reported enhanced performance and productivity while operating in a hybrid work environment.

In contrast, Kupor said he believes the workplace suffers when employees aren’t in the office — and that communication and collaboration are “sub-par.”

“Strong connections are a feature of strong teams; those connections are much harder to build virtually,” Kupor wrote. “Proximity is especially important for new employees who may need more training, supervision, and mentoring.”

The post New federal telework guidance reaffirms Trump’s in-office orders first appeared on Federal News Network.

Interview transcript:

 

Mike Meese When you think about it, [2025] had as many changes for the federal workforce and for military service members as we have had almost in the last 60 years that was not during wartime. You know, if you think about it we had massive changes after 9/11, an external crisis. We had massive changes after the 2008-2009 Great Recession; another economic crisis and obviously massive changes after COVID. But here we had the election of President Trump, and in a lot of ways that he came in was adjusting for the expansions of government that took place during the last three crises, where he peeled back a lot of that. People may agree with it, people may disagree with it, but it certainly had a huge impact on people in the military, people that were veterans that were serving in the civilian workforce and many other aspects of government.

Terry Gerton Give us a couple of examples of things you saw there at Armed Forces Mutual.

Mike Meese A lot of our members, a lot of our folks were former military, they end up now working for the federal government and were given the option of the early retirement. Consequently, many of them had to go through very rapidly and assess, what is my financial situation? How much longer can I work? If I take this fork in the road, so to speak, is my family going to be secure? Again, without knowing the unknown of what happens if you leave federal service, are there going to be jobs that are going to be out there within the economy? At the same time, you had other pretty radical changes. It wasn’t an economy that you knew that you were jumping out into. There was the liberation day, so to speak, on the first of April when the tariffs were put in place, and there was substantial economic uncertainty. So it was, there’s one government train that you were on that you might want to step off of, and if you recall back earlier in this year, many economists felt that we were going to go into a recession. Fortunately, we managed to avoid that. The market continues to do well. The economy actually seems to continue to be doing well in spite of some of the mastications of a lot of economists.

Terry Gerton Were there any changes you saw in the past year that you’d want to make sure continue?

Mike Meese Well, I think being able to be respectful of government workers and giving them the options wherever you did. The people in the Department of Veterans Affairs talked very rapidly about that they were going to try to take down 80,000 workers. Most of those have tended to be by voluntary separations or not hiring new people, and it’s had an impact on the workforce. But as much as possible, respecting the wishes of government workers and being able to do that has been a positive thing. Also, it will be very interesting because, as sort of a studier of this from a public policy perspective, the president has really stretched the bounds of executive power, and now courts and increasingly the Congress are peeling that back. One example was when the president adjusted the collective bargaining rights of many federal workers, Congress has recently started to peel that back. And so the question is, are many of these changes that were done unilaterally by the executive going to stand the test of time as a powerful president doing things? Whether you agree or disagree with them, unless they become institutionalized, we will tend to revert back to where we were before.

Terry Gerton That’s helpful insight. Certainly one of the things that marked the calendar year 2025, the beginning of fiscal year 2026, was the government shutdown, the longest lapse in appropriations ever. I think so many folks don’t understand the tenuousness of many service members and veterans’ financial status. And whether they missed a SNAP payment or they missed up a paycheck, many were really significantly impacted. Talk us through that and what you saw at Armed Forces Mutual.

Mike Meese Yeah, it’s unfortunate, but somewhere in between a quarter and a third of service members are just one or two paychecks away that if they had a $400 extraordinary expense, that would really set them back. And so consequently, although fortunately, the shutdown was resolved and no military paychecks did not take place, there was a heck of a lot of uncertainty in that. For Armed Forces Mutual, for example, we have a lot of people that pay us their insurance payments by allotment. Normally we get those allotments four days before payday, or we get the information from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service four days before payday. We actually did not get them until about 12 hours before payday. So it literally was the federal government putting things together right before the 31st of October to be able to get things done. And that anxiety for us, and I’m sure every other military-supporting organization, all the banks and everybody else, were working right at the last minute. Service members were postponing vacations. The biggest issues that we saw was people that were literally in the middle of a permanent change of station and the funds either would not come through for that, or maybe they were supposed to go into government quarters, but it was not an essential person that was going to inspect those government quarters. So they’re living on the economy having to pay for a hotel bill while they were moving into those quarters. And so although it did not affect everybody across the board, there were selected pockets where people ended up with some very extraordinary expenses that they might not have been prepared for.

Terry Gerton Mike, there was some proposed legislation that would perhaps mitigate this in the future. What’s your sense of its possibility?

Mike Meese The good news was, and I think we talked about this when we talked in October, everything in the law says that people that were going to be furloughed were in fact going to get back pay. And when this passed, part of the law was for individuals to get back pay. That ought to be permanently part of that law so that you remove the uncertainty and the potential threats that people are not going to get paid on that. In fact, what we really ought to do is find a way for Congress and the executive to work together to get all 13 bills passed by the end of the fiscal year. And that way, you don’t run into this challenge. In fact, this shutdown is probably a good example because I don’t think, whether you’re on one side or the other, anybody hugely politically benefited from this one way or the other. People will write op-eds about it, but nobody outside of Washington cares about that. They just know that government didn’t function for almost a month and a half.

Terry Gerton I’m speaking with Mike Meese. He’s the president of Armed Forces Mutual. Mike, what lessons do you want to make sure that service members, families and veterans take from 2025?

Mike Meese Well, the first is, just following up on the shutdown, some people, especially federal civilian workers, they got lump sum pays in November, at the end of November, where they deferred going out to dinner, deferred vacation or deferred other spending in October. When you get that lump sum pay, that’s actually a good opportunity because you can’t go back out to dinner like you were going to in October. Save that money, set it aside in an emergency fund. Prepare for future potential shutdowns and put the money toward your long-term goals. So that, I think, would be a very important thing. The second thing is, be prepared yourself, always. And that’s keeping your skills up, keeping your resume handy, keeping that LinkedIn profile there. I don’t know what will happen in the future in terms of other federal government shutdowns or opportunities for a deferred retirement system, but it’s always something that people should bear in mind that, especially since we have seen that government jobs that they thought were going to be permanent may not be permanent, you’ve got to be able to have other options.

Terry Gerton Well, speaking of that smart financial planning, any advice for folks who are navigating financial stress through the holidays or perhaps just after?

Mike Meese Well, that is always a challenge. What I tell people, we sometimes have gotten a little bit of a habit; back during COVID when you couldn’t travel, you tended to get more extravagant gifts for the family that you were not visiting. Now that you’re visiting and traveling to them, recognize that just being there is part of that gift, so you don’t need to be quite as lavish on the expenditures. The other thing that I talk with military families, there was one Christmas where I had five members of our family, it turned out that visiting two sets of relatives, we actually flew on Christmas day. And if you fly on Christmas, it’s actually a very cheap fare. It’s kind of strange being in the airport on Christmas but all the flight attendants and pilots are wearing hats and singing Christmas carols. They have to work that day and it turned out to save us a lot of money for a family of five. So there are ways that you can get deals even during the holidays.

Terry Gerton And as you turn your attention to 2026, what legislation or policy changes will you be watching for as the new year begins?

Mike Meese Well, it’ll be very interesting what happens with federal government workers as well as the military. Currently in the National Defense Authorization Act, the military pay increase is going to be 3.8%. And so that is actually ahead of inflation. For me as a military retiree, my pay increase as military retiree and Social Security age is only 2.8%, so the military is doing a little bit better. Federal workers, on the other hand, are going to get a 1% increase, except if they are in federal law enforcement positions, like the FBI, Customs and Border Protection, Secret Service and any other federal border law enforcement. The proposal is for them to get a 3.8% increase, the same as the military. So when you do get that pay increase, whether it’s 1% as a civilian worker, well you’ll be a little bit behind inflation, or 3. 8% in the military or law enforcement, be sure to use that judiciously and maybe put some of that away into savings because you don’t know what will end up happening in 2026.

The post From paychecks to policy shifts, 2025 tested military families. How will they fare in 2026? first appeared on Federal News Network.

The Military Family Advisory Network is conducting its biennial survey to better understand the needs of military and veteran families worldwide. The survey — the largest independent research effort focused on the military family population — has helped shape major policy and quality-of-life reforms, including the Military Housing Privatization Initiative Tenant Bill of Rights and the creation of a congressional quality-of-life panel for service members and their families.

Unlike many surveys focused on military families, MFAN manages the research process internally from start to finish, which allows the organization to analyze its findings beyond broad, high-level trends.

“We know that there is not one experience that applies for all military families. There are a lot of variations based on where you’re living, based on your family size, based on your rank, based on your branch. And so what we’re able to do is dig into our findings in a way that gives us really concrete and actionable data, so that we’re not trying to boil the ocean with the solutions that we put in place,” Shannon Razsadin, MFAN’s chief executive officer, told Federal News Network.

“It’s very important, and it is very much counted on by a variety of different stakeholders as they shape policy and programs that military families count on,” she added.

MFAN opened the survey in October but paused its outreach efforts during the government shutdown. “We felt that it was too much to ask people in such a time of immense stress to take the time to complete the survey,” Razsadin said.

It has since ramped up outreach and is monitoring response rates to determine when to close the survey. The organization received over 10,000 responses in the last survey cycle. 

Razsadin said MFAN’s research has helped drive several quality-of-life reforms — the Senate Armed Services Committee relied on its study on military housing, which became the “cornerstone” for privatized housing reforms. When the organization’s research first identified food insecurity issues in the military, it launched the One Million Meals Challenge, distributing over a million meals to military families living in places where MFAN’s data showed the highest need.

Further analysis, however, revealed a key driver for food insecurity among military families — a previous study showed that 51% of respondents who had moved in the last two years were food insecure. In response, the organization launched its PCS Restock Program, providing families with household essentials and pantry staples after a permanent change of station move. 

“That’s a tangible example of how MFAN has used our data to drive really important programmatic decisions while at the same time advocating from the policy perspective, because policy takes time, and oftentimes military families don’t have that luxury. These things are about moving on parallel tracks, with the ultimate goal of those intersecting from where programs and policies can meet,” Razsadin said.

“This research effort is for a whole-of-ecosystem approach, because there is no one organization out there, even the government, who can do all things for all people. And so it’s really making sure that we have the data, we are sharing it proactively. We are maintaining the highest levels of institutional review board standards so you can trust this data, that it has gone through the most rigorous review process possible. That has been very helpful for us in making sure this research effort stands up on the Hill, within the Pentagon, to make sure that it can really drive the change possible,” she added.

Issues covered in the survey

The survey examines a wide range of military family wellbeing issues, including finances, housing, childcare and PCS moves, but respondents are only asked questions relevant to their life. Respondents without children, for instance, won’t be asked about education and childcare.

While the survey includes perennial questions asked in every cycle, the organization introduces new topic areas based on feedback from the community. This year, MFAN added questions examining online gambling.

“We’ve heard a lot, and just even outside the military population, online gambling has hit a new level. It is very accessible, and it’s something that we want to understand what’s happening there. But also, what are the intersection points between things like online gambling and financial security? What are some of the intersection points between that and loneliness or social isolation? We’re really interested to see if this is something that is a broad issue or is something that is being consumed at very high levels within the military population, but what also are some of the implications related to that, and what could be some of those drivers that we’ll need to dig deeper into as an organization,” Razsadin said. 

For the first time, MFAN has incorporated methodology designed to produce findings representative of the broader military community. Razsadin said it will allow the organization to speak more confidently about trends across the military population rather than just the experiences of survey respondents.

“It was an intensive effort from a research design perspective, and we’re really looking forward to releasing those findings, and we think that it will give the data even more legs than it had before,” Razsadin said.

MFAN also uses validated measurement scales throughout the survey, which allows the organization to create “apples-to-apples comparisons” between the military population and the civilian population. 

“This allows us to really have data that we can then bring to the Hill and other stakeholders and say, ‘This is how the military population is stacking up as compared to the civilian population,’ which has been really helpful for us in the advocacy work that we do as an organization,” Razsadin said.

Recently, the organization has been focusing its advocacy efforts on increasing military pay and examining the basic allowance for housing, particularly how the system could be made more responsive — and possibly more predictive — to changing housing market conditions. The survey data will shape MFAN’s policy priorities for the next several years.

“It’s so important that we hear from people through this research effort, because it really does shape the future as far as what is discussed within the Pentagon, what is discussed on the Hill, and making sure that the well-being of military families always stays at the forefront as not just a nice-to-have, but as a must-have, and that’s more important now than ever,” Razsadin said.

MFAN plans to release its findings in May.

The post Military Family Advisory Network survey seeks to shape policy first appeared on Federal News Network.

The specifics of a larger federal pay raise for law enforcement officers are coming into view, following President Donald Trump’s directive to offer a 3.8% salary increase for certain positions.

In a memo Wednesday, the Office of Personnel Management established new “special salary rates” for federal law enforcement personnel, as a way to implement the bigger raise for 2026.

“These new special rates support ongoing agency hiring efforts for mission-critical law enforcement positions essential to implementing the administration’s priorities to secure the border, enforce federal laws, and protect public safety,” OPM wrote. “Without these special rates, agencies may face challenges in recruiting and retaining the personnel needed to carry out these missions effectively.”

The pay increase for law enforcement is nearly quadruple the 1% federal pay raise that most civilian employees on the General Schedule will receive, but in line with a 3.8% raise for military members. Trump signed an executive order finalizing the 2026 federal pay raise on Dec. 18.

The pay increase will take effect Jan. 11, coinciding with the first day of the General Schedule’s first full pay period of 2026.

OPM’s new memo comes after Trump directed OPM Director Scott Kupor to “assess whether to provide” up to a 3.8% raise for “certain federal civilian law enforcement personnel.”

After consulting with various agencies, OPM determined that the following law enforcement personnel will receive a 3.8% federal pay raise for 2026:

• Customs and Border Protection law enforcement officers, including Border Patrol agents, officers, criminal investigators, and Air and Marine interdiction agents
• ICE personnel, including special agents, detention and deportation officers, and technical enforcement officers
• Secret Service personnel, including security specialists, officers, investigators and technicians
• Federal Protective Service criminal investigators and officers
• Federal Bureau of Prisons correctional officers
• FBI special agents
• Drug Enforcement Administration special agents
• U.S. Marshals Service officers and special agents
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives special agents
• National Park Service park police officers
• Interior Department law enforcement officers
• Forest Service law enforcement officers and criminal investigators
• Agriculture Department law enforcement officers in the Office of Safety, Security and Protection
• State Department criminal investigators in the Diplomatic Security Service
• National Nuclear Security Administration couriers

The memo provides more specifics on the eligibility of certain law enforcement personnel for the 2026 raise. The pay tables for law enforcement are also now available on OPM’s website.

Like the rest of the General Schedule, law enforcement pay rates are still capped at the pay rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule, which for 2026 is $197,200.

“This statutory pay cap will prevent some covered law enforcement personnel from receiving the full 3.8% increase, but most employees should receive at least a 1% adjustment,” OPM wrote.

OPM also told agencies to request additional special salary rates for other law enforcement positions, as needed. Generally, special salary rates are reserved for federal positions deemed particularly difficult to recruit and retain.

The post Here are the law enforcement positions set for a 3.8% federal pay raise first appeared on Federal News Network.

Interview transcript

Terry Gerton As we’re looking forward to January, it’s a new year, new resolutions. One of those resolutions is often financial wellness as opposed to just health and wellness. So let’s talk about why this is such an important moment for federal employees to be thinking about resetting their financial picture.

Thiago Glieger Yeah, Terry, the new year always brings a fresh start and it’s a really good time to reset and look at the financial plan because there’s new limits for the tsp, there’s a new year that you get to plan for in terms of your expenses and budgets. So, there’s things we can look at like your investments and how you’re doing on savings and really make sure that you’re still on track for some of the other goals that you set yourself. So lots that we can talk about.

Terry Gerton Well, this last year certainly was turbulent and maybe caused some folks to reconsider their financial perspective. Let’s start with TSP. What are the new rules about TSP and what should employees be thinking about as they plan their TSP contributions?

Thiago Glieger So as we look to the first paycheck that feds are going to receive in 2026, it’s a good time to review that contribution because in this new year, the limit is going to get bumped a little bit. So we’re going to $24,500 for the employee contribution. And for anyone who’s over 50, you have the catch-up contribution, which now for next year is gonna be $8,000. Okay, so the big difference here, Terry, between this year and next year, is that now there’s a new rule in place that says if you earn over $150,000, that catch-up amount that you used to be able to put into traditional TSP and defer the taxes, now you’re going to have to put that into the Roth. Okay, so it does mean you’re gonna pay taxes on that money right now But you do get to enjoy that tax-free growth later for anyone who is a little bit older than 50, so between 60 and 63, it’s a weird range in there, you can actually do what we now call the super catch-up contribution. So it’s a very new rule as well, and that additional contribution, and it ranges depending on how old you are in that range, you can put as much as almost $36,000 into the TSP for next year. So that’s really good for anyone who, maybe the kids are out of the house at this point, you’re empty nesting and now you don’t have so much expenses, you can focus on saving for retirement more seriously. That’s a really good opportunity to revisit that.

Terry Gerton And does that super catch-up for us older folks also have to go into the Roth?

Thiago Glieger I believe the answer is yes, because it counts as a catch-up, and this new rule talks about the catch-up amount, having to go into this after-tax bucket, no longer being deducted as a pretax deduction.

Terry Gerton So thinking about how much you’re contributing is one facet of your TSP. Thinking about what you contribute to is the other. Certainly the stock markets had a pretty good run in 2025. How should people be thinking about their portfolio mix in the TSP coming into 2026?

Thiago Glieger That’s such a hard one, because we all want to be aggressive investors when the markets are doing well. We all want be conservative investors when the market’s are rocky. And I encourage federal employees to look at their investment decisions from within the context of a financial plan. Okay, so for example, when we think about volatility in the markets, that’s the growth that gives us long-term. But that same volatility, short-term, equals risk. And so for someone who is going to be looking at possibly retiring here in the next maybe few years, you really have to be careful with how much you have in the C, S and I funds because those can be very volatile. That’s the stock market. If the markets start declining, you might not have enough time to be able to recover from that market crash if you’re all of a sudden going to start using your TSP for retirement. So the F fund and G fund can be a good solution for this. I like the easy button In the TSP, Terry, the Lifecycle Funds. That really, you can pick the alignment with your retirement date, just know that it’s going to be a little more conservative for the long term, but it does help you not miss being too conservative.

Terry Gerton Does it make sense to have a mix across the funds so that you balance risk and reward?

Thiago Glieger Absolutely. I think that there’s always some part of the portfolio that has to be inflation fighting. We call that the silent retirement killer, right? Our money can never purchase as much as we really want it in the long term. So stocks give us that inflation fighting, but we need money in the short term like the G fund or the F fund that is safer and more diversified. And that’s where the life cycle can be very helpful. It does the preallocation for you. The closer you are to the date, the more conservative it’s going to be.

Terry Gerton I’m speaking with Thiago Glieger, certified financial planner with RMG Financial Advisors of Maryland. So Thiago, on top of TSP, it’s time to rethink budgets, always as you come into a new year, one of my least favorite financial tasks. This past year for federal employees certainly posed a lot of uncertainty and risk; shut down, multiply that. How should people be thinking about budgeting as they begin the new year?

Thiago Glieger Yeah, Terry, I, even as a financial planner, I don’t like budgeting either. I don’t think it’s something anyone really enjoys doing. And what has really been helpful for us is to use the word intentional spending instead that makes it feel like it’s a more positive component. And so when we think about how do we want to be intentional about our spending, we want look at, are we set up for a potential emergency? As you mentioned, this was a big year that really brought the, that detail to importance and brought it to light. How are we covering our short-term expenses if something happens? What do we call short-terms? An emergency savings anywhere between three to six months of all of your living expenses. Honestly, before anybody is going to be investing and putting more money in the TSP, you have to have that emergency savings set up. And so then you think about, okay, well, am I still spending reasonably throughout the year? What about a potential car maybe I have to buy or there’s a renovation I have do, or medical procedure I’ve been putting off. These are expenses you want to think about ahead of time so that you have the cash ready and waiting for you. Again, not invested in the markets because the more risk you take in the market, you can’t align their timing with your timing. So you want to use things like cash, CDs, or bonds.

Terry Gerton One of the big inflationary aspects of a typical family budget is healthcare premiums and federal employees saw growth there as well coming into 2026. What should they be thinking about with respect to healthcare?

Thiago Glieger Yeah, Terry, this is such a difficult conversation because it is so challenging to solve the health care issue that we have. And premiums just keep adjusting every year because of how fast the cost of health care inflation is. When we look at regular inflation, it’s between two and a half long term. Health care is almost twice that. So we have to be thinking about how are we going to take care of ourselves? And one of the greatest underutilized tools that federal employees have is the FSA account. You don’t need to be in a high-deductible medical plan to use an FSA. And an FSA Is essentially money you get to put into this account, you get deducted from your taxes that amount that you put in there. And then you get to use the money completely tax free on things that you would have spent money for medical expenses anyway, like band-aids or going to see your primary care physician or the dentist or anything like that. So I think the limit is about $3,000 for the year which is a pretty big chunk that now you get to save totally on taxes by using that tool.

Terry Gerton So Thiago, you kindly changed the word from budgeting to intentional spending. How should people be thinking about getting a really good handle on what they are spending? Is that looking at your credit card on a monthly basis or what practice do you recommend?

Thiago Glieger I have found, Terry, that looking at a month-to-month budgeting system can be kind of challenging. I find it hard to remember what I had expenses on last week. So for me, and for a lot of our clients, doing a weekly check-in with yourself tends to work really well because you can say, how did I do this week and how can I do better next week? We also like to break things down into what are our absolute needs versus our discretionary spending. So discretionary spending are things like hey, how many times are we gonna dine out this week or this month? And how many time do we want to go on vacation this year or take a trip here or there? So those things you have a lot more control over and that’s the part that if we can plan carefully ahead, we can make sure that we don’t overspend and then blow out our savings.

Terry Gerton We’ve covered a lot of ground in these few minutes. What is one thing you want listeners to keep at the top of their mind regarding financial planning as they come into 2026?

Thiago Glieger I would say that starting the year strong in financial planning is about being intentional. It really is never doing all of the things at once, rather just creating some key habits and putting those things in place day after day so that you can have that confident financial future and stability throughout the year.

The post The start of a new year is the perfect time to reset your financial game plan first appeared on Federal News Network.

Bitcoin Magazine

NYSE Owner in Talks to Invest in Crypto Firm MoonPay: Report

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE), the operator of the New York Stock Exchange, is in discussions to invest in crypto payments company MoonPay, people familiar with the matter said, per Bloomberg. 

The potential funding round could value MoonPay at roughly $5 billion, up from its previous $3.4 billion valuation, according to the sources, who requested anonymity due to the private nature of the talks.

MoonPay, based in New York, provides infrastructure for users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. The company recently secured a Limited Purpose Trust Charter from the New York Department of Financial Services, a move that complements its existing BitLicense and allows it to expand custody and other crypto services in the state. 

The combination of these regulatory approvals positions MoonPay alongside companies such as Coinbase and PayPal, which are permitted to operate under New York’s strict digital asset framework.

ICE’s potential investment reflects its ongoing efforts to broaden its presence in the digital asset sector. The firm also operates Bakkt, a crypto platform, and has recently committed $2 billion to Polymarket, a prediction market platform. Analysts view these moves as part of a wider strategy by ICE to engage with emerging financial technologies.

CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham is joining MoonPay

The announcement comes amid leadership changes at MoonPay. Caroline Pham, the acting chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has confirmed she will join the company as chief legal officer and chief administrative officer after leaving the agency. 

Pham has played a key role in the CFTC’s crypto initiatives over the past year, including the “Crypto Sprint,” which aimed to clarify regulatory rules for digital assets. She also recently helped the agency withdraw guidance on the “actual delivery” of digital assets, which she described as outdated.

Pham’s move underscores the company’s emphasis on compliance and regulatory expertise. CEO Ivan Soto-Wright praised her leadership at the CFTC, noting that her experience will help translate regulatory progress into practical outcomes for the company’s users and partners. 

Pham’s exact start date has not been confirmed, pending the confirmation of Mike Selig as CFTC chair.

Earlier this year, Rumble announced an exclusive partnership with MoonPay to launch Rumble Wallet, enabling creators to manage earnings outside traditional banking. The company said the wallet will allow users to buy, sell, and swap Bitcoin and other digital assets directly on the platform, leveraging MoonPay’s infrastructure.

This post NYSE Owner in Talks to Invest in Crypto Firm MoonPay: Report first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

The “robot lawyer” is the latest creation from DoNotPay, a New York startup known for its AI chatbot of the same name. Last year our colleagues at PCMag reported that DoNotPay had successfully negotiated down people’s Comcast bills and canceled their forgotten free trials. Since then, the chatbot has expanded to help users block spam texts, file corporate complaints, renew their Florida driver’s licenses, and otherwise take care of tasks that would be annoying or burdensome without DoNotPay’s help.

But it appears DoNotPay has taken things a bit too far. Shortly after the startup added legal capabilities to its chatbot’s feature set, a user “hired” the bot to fight their speeding ticket. On Feb. 22, the bot was scheduled to “appear” in court by way of smart glasses worn on the human defendant’s head. These glasses would record court proceedings while using text generators like ChatGPT and DaVinci to dictate responses into the defendant’s ear. According to NPR, the appearance was set to become the first-ever AI-powered legal defense.

DoNotPay’s UI, as illustrated on its website.

As human lawyers found out about DoNotPay, however, the chatbot and its defendant were required to revise their plan. DoNotPay CEO Joshua Browder told NPR that multiple state bar associations threatened the startup, even going so far as to mention a district attorney’s office referral, prosecution, and prison time. Such consequences would be made possible by rules prohibiting unauthorized law practice in the courtroom. Eventually, Browder said, the threat of criminal charges forced the startup to wave a white flag.

Unfortunately for Browder, this isn’t the end of DoNotPay’s legal scrutiny. Several state bar associations are now investigating the startup and its chatbot for the same reason as above. Browder reportedly believes in AI’s eventual place in the courtroom, saying it could someday provide affordable legal representation for people who wouldn’t be able to swing a human attorney’s fees. But if DoNotPay hopes to make robot lawyers a real thing, it’ll have to rethink its strategy: It’s illegal to record audio during a live legal proceeding in federal and some state courts, which collapses the whole smart glasses technique.

DoNotPay still lists multiple legal disputes on its website, indicating that the startup might have faith in its ability to escape from these probes unscathed.

Now Read:

• US Marines Defeat DARPA Robot by Hiding Under a Cardboard Box
• Boston Dynamics Atlas Robot Gets Hands to Grab and Throw
• MIT: Taxing Robots Might Stave Off Job Loss, Income Inequality

The post Todd Troutman, Qualpay: “Detectify is the magic combination of simple and powerful” appeared first on Detectify Blog.