THE BULLETIN BOARD
June 2008
[June 1st]PMAPWU Day at Costco Today!
Sunday, June 1, 2008 10:00 AM thru 5:00 PM, at The Waterfront, West Homestead (next to the Sandcastle Waterpark.)
In cooperation with the Pittsburgh Metro Area Postal Workers Union and the Costco Warehouse Club at the Waterfront, we are pleased to announce an open house to be held for our members and their families. Members will be eligible for a free one day shopping pass with no additional surcharge to shop the Costco experience.
If you decide to
purchase a membership, you will receive a $10.00 Costco cash
gift card and a coupon book with over $30.00 of free items to enjoy.
One additional membership card is also provided for a member of your
household at no additional charge.
NOTE: ONLY CASH, DEBIT CARDS AND
AMERICAN EXPRESS CARDS ACCEPTED AT THE CLUB.
Costco has been recognized as being Union Labor friendly in the construction of their warehouses, in providing decent wages, in having some stores that are staffed with Union members, and they have also provided bottled water for the marchers in the 2007 Labor Day Parade.
[June 1st]Lawmakers Propose 'Roth' Options for TSP
excerpted from a FederalTimes.com article by Stephen Losey
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has drafted legislation to add new features to the primary retirement plan for federal civilian and military personnel, the Thrift Savings Plan. One proposed feature is the addition of a Roth 401(k) option for TSP participants, which would offer a hedge against future tax increases.
If the proposed Roth investment option becomes reality, experts say participants should think long and hard before using it.
The difference in the Roth option lies in when participants pay taxes. Under the TSP system today, participants invest pretax earnings in the plan and pay taxes when they withdraw their savings in retirement.
Under a Roth option, participants would invest their after-tax earnings in TSP, and be able to withdraw them tax-free in retirement.
If the tax rates a person pays remain the same between the time he invests in his plan and his retirement, there would be no difference between the Roth and the traditional TSP plan. A TSP participant would have to predict how his tax rates are going to change over time when trying to determine whether a Roth would pay off. And experts differ on whether a Roth is worthwhile.
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board decided against pursuing a Roth option last year, saying it was unclear whether it would be used enough to justify the $13 million expense of adding it. That's how much it would cost to overhaul TSP's computer systems and educate participants.
Under the draft bill, it would not be possible to convert money already saved in the regular TSP to a new Roth plan, she said.
Past Issues of the Bulletin Board
[May 2008]
[April 2008] [March 2008]
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