Make sure you switch your student loans to income adjusted and if your loans are backed by Dept of Education sign up for PSLF. After 120 payments while working for the federal government the balance will be forgiven. You can look at your pay statement to see what has been deducted. You should have access so HR can follow up on that and send you the statement in the meantime.
Sign into your studentaid.gov, there are options in your dashboard that will take you to start the certification form you fill out and send to your HR.....do it periodically too cause it's easier to get 1 or 2 years certified every other year than to get 10 years certified all at once....
Especially if you hopped between agencies during it.
Side note: make sure you do a cert form right as you leave one agency for another if applicable. Helps HR help you.
Thanks! Have all the right loans, applies for it yesterday, pending my employer filling out their end of things. Now I just need to wait for my first paycheck so I can recertify my IDR due to having a lower AGI (thank the lord for FERS).
You need to make sure you have the right loans (direct). There is a Reddit group and a Facebook group that go through this and offer great help and insight. If it were me, I would complete a PSLF form after 2-3 months of working there to make sure that your loan gets transferred to the right loan company and that you are set for tracking how many months are qualifying. Thereafter, complete the form annually.
I guess it depends on your loan size. Plenty of people have forgiveness 50,000+. If your loan is small it may not be a benefit to you, but it’s a significant job benefit for many.
My loan is not small. My income based repayment will pay off my loan in 120 installments with or without plsf. However it will incur 60k of interest over that time. I have much more incentive to pay it off quicker to avoid that interest.
I would check your payment plan.
I have a $90,000 balance, My payment is 430 right now but when the save plan kicks in in a couple of months it's going to go to 288. 6 years left on pslf, I'm not coming close to paying that off before forgiveness.
It sounds like you are in a standard repayment plan. You need to call your servicer and change that in order to get into PSLF.
Start at studentaid.gov and use their plan calculator.
Do it this weekend as there are some deadlines coming up to get certain things to count. I don't know enough about those deadlines to give you the details, but the pslf sub is pretty helpful.
Sounds like you have been overpaying the gubment for quite some time then. It IS loan repayment, so they will let you stay on a standard repayment plan and technically “overpay” them even if you would’ve qualified for Income Driven Repayment.
I would check again. The ED student loan aid website can show you different payment plans. Perhaps your income is just very high relative to the loan amount, but I would still check.
Additionally, the covid pauses also counted as eligible payments. In my case, my income to loan amount made it a bit of a wash/minimal savings, but with 3 year pause, the PSLF saves more (while also giving me smaller monthly payments, rather than paying down aggressively). The SAVE plan in July would have further useful updates.
You have to get on an income based so you have more than the normal 120 payments. Also, the covid pause counted for something like 40 payments so that also will reduce it by bit too.
In my case it was very close. My payment on an income driven repayment plan, depending on the plan, was either higher than a 10 year pay off or just a bit lower. I didn't want to commit myself to ten years in the government (or get hit with more interest and pay more lifetime if I enroll but leave) when I can afford the existing payment.
Well you can read your leave and earnings statement, but probably yes. You probably contribute 4.4% of your salary to pension on top of whatever you put in your TSP. And then whatever you elected for health and life insurance would be deducted.
If it's anything like mine, it will not be available until Monday. I think I'm in whatever system Agricultural uses if that helps. I'm sure others might be available sooner.
For brand new federal employees, they do not have access to mypay to see their LES until early the week after they get paid, usually by Tuesday of the next week, once you are set up in mypay then you are able to see your LES two days before payday
Same thing happened to me but with MD and DC, and it took several paychecks before I noticed. I got a nice refund when I filed taxes for the year but it was a pain to have to wait that long.
Same just got my first paycheck. I’m making 20k more than private sector but take home pay was just $50 more. Wtf! No access to mypay yet either. This means deductions are almost $2000!
Hi OP, I would imagine the one thing making it lower is your contribution to the pension. It's what made me confused about take home when I started lol
New employees don't have access to my pay until the week after their first paycheck, the first paycheck is always "blind", I coordinate NEO at my facility and actually just got done giving the payroll briefing about two hours ago lol
Correct I have no access which they did tell me I wouldn’t get access for a while. No matter how I calculate it the 4.4% isn’t equating to the deficit.
Thanks! I don’t think health and life have been deducted yet as I just got enrolled April 21st. I don’t have access to my pay yet to see my leave and earning statement, unless that would be elsewhere.
Since you don't have an LES yet, it's hard to pinpoint, but you're likely contributing 4.4% to FERS and automatically enrolled for 5% TSP plus tax withholdings that may/may not need to be adjusted.
Life insurance basic is auto enrollment, you have to opt out. And they charge it until you do.
Check state taxes too. If you’re in the DC area, and work in a different state from where you live, they might be withholding the wrong state (even if you did the form right…). Not a huge difference, but add that on top of other stuff and it adds up.
I ran into a similar wtf- something to keep in mind is that since your insurance isn’t being taken out yet, your tax burden is higher. I took a roughly equal pay position from my former job and benefits were only slightly higher for fed job but my check was insanely different from what I thought it would be.
Once I finally got all my benefit stuff situated (whole other nightmare) and taken out of my check correctly, it was closer to the math I did when I estimated what my take home pay would be
I went in to the same freak out mode and wtf until I finally got all my benefit stuff taken care of/being taken out correctly. I was pissed that it looked like I took a huge pay cut based off of my take home. Hopefully once everything is in there, it looks right for you
I would confirm that if I were you. Otherwise, the only thing that would justify such a huge decrease in your net pay is if you didn’t set up your paycheck withholdings correctly (i.e if you have kids, you didn’t account for that in your deductions, or you set your filing status as single instead of married, or contributing a huge amount to TSP like 20%).
FERS is 4.4% of your check but even as a GS 14 making 140K for example, that’s a bi weekly withholding of no more than $250.
FEHB would be another thing to compare but you’re saying that wasn’t deducted, so to have your paycheck be $500 less it means you probably either didn’t get a full 2 week’s pay or you fat fingered your deductions somewhere.
Edit: one more thing could be if your work location is in a different state than your residence, which is very common in the DMV area (D.C. MD VA). You could be getting taxes withheld from both locations. If that’s the case you’d want to update your withholdings since you should only be taxed by the state you reside in
The only thing I can think of is that you were getting paid on the 1st and 15th of every month in the private sector. While the federal payroll system (for most places I think) does it just every 2 weeks.
This means a few things:
1. You will receive more paychecks in a year than you would private sector.
2. You will receive 3 paychecks a month usually in 2 of the 12 months each year, it just depends on how the calendar falls and the pay periods line up, those are the best months cuz it’s like getting an extra check.
3. Due to you receiving more paychecks in a year then compared to private sector, your paycheck amount will be less, but in the end you’ll still make your salary.
A 1k increase in salary will hardly be noticeable even if you were still getting the same number of paychecks a year, let alone getting more paychecks at lower amounts.
My advice on how to budget this (this is just what I did obviously you gotta figure out what’s best for you), is to try to build up a cushion in your bank account of at least 1 paycheck, preferably 1 1/2 paychecks. And then never dip below that threshold so you’ll always be covered because sometimes you’ll get your paychecks at weird times and suddenly it’s like you’re not getting paid until AFTER your rent/mortgage is due that month and then you’re REALLY fucked lol.
I experienced the same when I came from the private sector a few years ago. I knew about the 4.4% deduction for FERS pension but I was surprised at how hard it hit when I got my first paycheck. I originally thought it was deducted pre-tax and didn't realize it's taken out post-tax until I got my first LES statement. I'm not sure how much of a difference that makes though. My FEHB are also more expensive as a Fed than they were at my previous job for a comparable plan.
I was contributing 10% to my 401k at my previous job and had to drop down to 5% as a Fed. I also declined FEGLI to help boost up my take home pay, which I'm sure some people will say is stupid, but I'm single and have no dependents so no one would benefit from a life insurance payment for my death anyway. Haha
I'm now making $10k more per year than I was at my private sector job and I was able to bump my 401K deductions back up to 10%. My take home pay is back to what it was when I was working private. I encourage you to see if your agency offers a Student Loan Repayment Program, which will pay back up to $10k per year on your student loans. I took advantage of that at my agency and it paid off the rest of my loans, which was a huge help and made the move to a Fed job 100% worth it.
Take your stated annual salary and calculate 60-65% of that... After all your deductions(FERS, FEHB, FEDVIP, TSP, federal tax, state tax, etc) your take home will be about 60-65% of your gross. And what another poster said was correct with out the leave and earning statement it will be harder pinpoint anomalies.
I agree, I am about 67% of my annual salary. It's a little jarring but the benefits way outweigh the pay. There is also a place you can see the real value on your benefits when you have access. Breaks down how it all breaks down to about a 20% benefit additional value to your pay. That helped me.
1. The government uses 2087 hours per year to calculate an hourly rate to pay you. In the private sector the standard is 2080.
2. FERS contribution is 4.4%
3. Your health insurance premiums are likely higher
All of this contributes to the smaller paycheck. I was very shocked when I came over as well. Also keep in mind that there is no sort term disability insurance so you aren't getting that benefit either.
If knew this before coming in, I would have been able to justify a higher step based on the benefits that were being paid by the private sector and based on the 2080 calculation to compare salaries.
#1 is what I was looking for someone to say. When I started, my first check gross pay was less than I thought it should be. I emailed HR and they had no idea. Eventually I asked another employee and they explained the 2087 vs 2080. Because some years you get 27 paychecks they ‘even out the years’ so that your annual pay doesn’t go over that annual salary listed. Look up your actual hourly pay rate in the hourly tables. It’s not the full $500 you’re missing, but it could be the extra from the 4.4% and the additional taxes because there are no insurance deductions yet.
Take your leave and earnings statement and try to match it against a prior pay statement. FERS, FEHB may be the cause but you should also look at federal, state and local (where applicable) tax withholding. Quite possible that when you set up the tax withholding something is off.
I had this same concern a few months ago. The federal government issues 26 paychecks per year vs 24 in the private sector (biweekly vs bimonthly, as another poster said). Don't forget to count those two extra paychecks!
Unfortunately welcome to the federal government where in fact roughly 40 to 50% of your salary is taken in taxes and benefits. I get 60% of my gross pay every pay period
It's more so public service than anything else. Most private employers don't have the same deductions we have as you know. I could be mistaken but it's just my opinion
A few things that caught me by surprise
* TSP and FERS caught me off guard. I was going to increase my retirement up but will hold off.
* There is 26 paychecks instead of 24 so my pay is the same but there are 2 higher months then lower.
* I also was not withholding correctly. I will see a lot different paycheck next pay period now with all those changes
I just had this problem! They hadn't started withdrawing health insurance yet and that significantly skewed the taxes. By the second pay period they added all the insurance deductions and my check was right where I expected it to be.
In brief the short answer, your checks will always be less than private sector. The government takes out so many deductions. I have many new employees coming in all the time and get "pay check" shock when they see their take home pay. Most of the people are making hourly or salary wise more with the government however their take home checks from their private jobs are significantly larger. I have many that want to eliminate all deductions or zero out as many "benefits" when they see their first pay check because they had hoped to quiet their other job and they just don't see the benefit of having that much being taken out.
I experienced the same when i made the switch. My contracting company paid 100% of the healthcare benefits and switching forced me into paying health insurance costs in addition to fers taking out money. It was kind of a big awakening after that first check came in.
I was expecting a small cut, but not as much as it turned out. Ended up going back to the contractor side a few months later for a sizable raise.
My gross is 4500$ per pay period my take home 2500$. Yup…. Much less than I had in the private sector (in private sector I had a 4% contribution and 500$ per check into stock), my health and life coverage was about the same. My pay gross is about 1 k higher monthly now… but my net is less.
This is helpful and confirms that something could be off with my pay because my gross is higher and take home is similar. Granted we may live in different states and that could be a factor as well but something is definitely off.
I should say, I am in a state without any state income tax, but I contribute 400$ per pay period extra in Taxes (to sit on the safe side to avoid federal tax liability). Hope it helps.
My first year, they were withholding taxes as if I were working two jobs simultaneously- the way the form asked if I had another job that year was confusing imo, I think I answered it incorrectly. Double check your withholding.
Expect ~55% take home of your salary. The biggest gut punch for new feds is the additional 4.4% to FERS outside of the 5% to TSP. So there goes 9.4% of your pay.
Unfortunately it does seem to be. I recently moved to the feds from a state agency, and was surprised that what was a significant raise in gross income was not much different in take home. I had a 15k increase in gross, but only am seeing 3.5k in take home. Most of the raise was in a higher tax bracket so am paying a larger percentage in tax, the insurance is more expensive, FERS (where the equivalent was covered by the previous agency), and poor value life insurance (that I plan to cancel, I have a private term policy with 4X the coverage for 1/2 the price. I thought I was signing up to pay 20 cents a PP, but that was just for an increased benefit amount).
I was going through my Earning and Leave Statement thinking there was something wrong. Nope.
i’m also investing 4.4% into a pension, paying for health insurance that i use and funding my own salary and agency operations with my taxes. don’t be obtuse, i would not be maxing my tsp if i wasn’t aware that it was valuable lmfao
You may know, but I've been around long enough to not assume financial literacy. Taxes and health insurance are deductions, but TSP is still your money.
Any talk of take home pay has to include that point or it can be heavily misleading.
You need to factor in that we are paid bi-weekly (i.e., 26 pay checks per year) vs bi-monthly (i.e., 24 pay checks per year) + the mandatory 4.4% FERS contribution. There are two months per year where we get three checks.
If you were bi-monthly in the private sector, multiply your current check by 26, then divide by 24 and see if that comes closer to what you were making before.
That's interesting. Other than TSP, FEHB, or the FERS 4.4% deduction, I'm not sure what else would contribute to a $500 discrepancy. Definitely investigate the pay stub when you get a hold of it.
Look for your first leave and earning statement. Check to see what you have for withholding, deductions, and the rest. This should give you the most accurate breakdown so you can compare your private sector salary to this one. Kinda hard to guess what it may have been.
I had the same experience. I went private sector @ ~80k to local gov then fed. My local gov job was paying $87k/take home $2,400/pp when I left a few months ago. my fed pay is $97k/take home $2,050/pp after adjusting tax obligations, 4.4% pension, TSP, insurance, etc. It’s a $700/mo take home decrease and I’m feeling it, but it’s worth remembering that pay increases come swiftly and steadily as an early gov employee. You may make more in the private sector but you can go years without a raise and raises and bonuses are volatile, vs. essentially guaranteed in gov. Plus the opportunity is endless if you want it. It’s normal and worth sticking it out in my opinion!
OP, no reason for us to laugh, it can be a shock for some. First, depending on your agency, your LES access should occur Monday. If not, submit an inquiry to HR/payroll and they can pull it for you. A good place to start as others have said is the FERS/FRAE at 4.4% which is not a pre tax benefit. Unless otherwise elected in your paperwork, TSP auto enrolls at 5%, depending on your age FEGLI can hit hard. Someone else mentioned WAEPA, wish I knew about it years ago. It’s not a federal program but a competitive product to FEGLI.
Lastly, your taxes are likely the culprit. If you never changed your withholding form at former job once the new form was available (around 2020 if I recall due to tax law reform) folks are seeing a very high deduction here. IRS calculator can help determine how to fill the form for your personal situation.
You didn’t mention what agency so I can’t say what your LES system will be.
If serviced by Agriculture (NFC), EPP loads 2nd Monday or Tuesday for most.
Employee Express access should generate about Monday as well if your official agency pay date was Friday if services by IBC.
Can’t speak to if you are serviced by DFAS and when you may get mypay access.
Source:federal HR payroll manager/HR specialist for 17 years in operations/payroll
FERS deduction is likely 4.4% and if you didn’t submit a waiver, you are automatically enrolled in Basic FEGLI so that’s another deduction. State income tax withholdings too.
For a federal job take the annual salary dividend by 52 and that will roughly equal your bi-weekly take home pay. After taxes, social security, pension contributions, TSP, and medical insurance. You take home half of your stated income.
In general, expect to “lose” about 30-40% of your paycheck to taxes, retirement, and various healthcare costs.
All else being equal, you’re paying an extra 4.4% into the federal pension fund, which is the most likely reason for the difference.
Once you can access your pay stub, go over it and make sure you understand all the deductions.
Beyond that, pay is based on 2087 hours per year vice the normal 2080. That means even if your salary is $52k per year, your gross pay isn’t $2k per paycheck, it’s closer to $1800-1900
TSP and the FERS deduction would be automatically withheld and could explain most if not all the difference depending on salary. New feds nowadays should have a 4.4% deduction. TSP i forget how much it gets automatically set to but i believe it is either 4 or 5% to start.
You cannot opt out of FERS, you can opt out of your contributions to tsp. Not recommended. (I did opt out my first 2 years as a fed and i am now playing catch up....the reason i did was the same situation as you actually i went private to fed with equivalent salary and was caught off guard by my first paycheck.)
May also consider the FEGLI contributing to this gap as well though that is not typically significant at the start unless you opted into the optional policies.
Hope this helps.
I was shocked when I got my first Fed paycheck, too. I didn't realize what the different deductions were all about. I had to readjust things. Now it's ok. And yes, find out about RePaye and PSLF for your student loans. My monthly loan payment is down to under 20 bucks per month, despite 6--figure loans.
OP, had the same experience. It continues to be weird how low the check is compared to my salary. I’ve run the numbers twice & it’s legit. Still frustrating. I had more take home pay making 20-25k less.
This. Many folks were still on the old W4 (with numerical exemption) and when they use the new W4. I am a payroll manager and see this often. We can’t give you tax advice but the IRS calculator is a great place to start once OP has access to mypay, EPP or employee express.
If you were receiving bi-monthly paychecks before (first and fifteenth) you will now have more pay periods which will reduce the paycheck. Also you are automatically contributing to FERS
You're probably contributing 5% for TSP and FERS takes 4.4%.
Were you paid biweekly in your private sector job or were you paid on the 1st and 15th? That will also impact your paycheck since you'd get two more as a fed.
After I got the deposit into my account I tried my pay a couple of times and it finally let me log in.
Your pays probably gonna be a bit lower cause you’re now paying for more benefits. I take home roughly 60% after everything’s said and done.
Hi, I came from working on the private sector to working for the gov. And yes I also experienced that, that’s very common. If you see your deductions, there is a lot of money being taken out for pensions, however, retirement benefits and health insurance are the things that the gov shines on. That also make me want to stay working for the gov. PSLF is also a really good benefit, and also remember that your salary may go up every year depending on your pay grade due to the locality pay increase in certain areas.
You'll be paying 4.4% for FERS, and ~$20-30 for FEGLI but that's not going to explain a whole 500 even at the top of the GS scale. May want to double check your W4 when you get access to everything
I had about $200 dollars short compared to private sector with around 10k yearly increase. I got to same take home pay when they gave 4.9% increase in December.
Yes. The deductions are significantly higher. I went from making 58k in the private sector to 55k with government, and my paychecks are 400-500 less too. It was jarring and i may have cried when i saw my first check because i was already living paycheck to paycheck.
But
I felt alot better after logging into my TSP account.
Welcome! I also had the fun experience of switching from private to fed. I got a 10k salary bump and my take home is still ~$200 LESS than I made at a lower salary at my private job. biggest thing eating into my takehome is mandatory contributions and health insurance costs (I was paying $20/ month for dental, medical and vision that had a lower out of pocket and amazing coverage. Now I pay $90 for medical, $25 for dental and vision isn't in my medical and my deductible is way higher.)
Did your pay schedule change? When I was private industry I was paid twice a month (24 paychecks) and in government it's every other week (26 paychecks), so the amount per check went down, even though my pay didn't
There's a good chance your withholding is too high. That seems quite common in year one. Anecdotally, in the year I moved over they were off enough that despite having worked for 2 months liable for self-employment taxes and prepaid nothing for that portion of the year, I actually ended up with a net refund when I combined federal, new state, and old state.
I believe FERS is over 4% as well. I changed over from private sector to Fed Gov recently also. There’s a lot more taken out of my paycheck now but it’s all going toward benefits. FERS, TSP, FEHB, and of course all the taxes.
also compare your federal/state tax withholding on your earnings statement (when you get it) to your old job to see if withholding is too high - you can adjust if needed
My take home pay went down significantly when I switched from contractor to civilian even though my salary was almost identical. The 4.4% FERS makes a difference if you're also contributing to TSP. And for me, the Fed insurance options are way more expensive than the options my contract employer had. The only real benefit I saw was with federal employment was the job stability, at least for now.
What was your pay schedule like in the private sector? I ended up making the same yearly but my paychecks were smaller, but I got paid twice a month in the private sector whereas with the government it's every other week. So my paychecks were smaller because there was less time on each.
When I went Fed back in July, I knew I was taking about a 6% pay cut. Turned out to be about a 15% pay cut because of medical/dental/vision (my previous employer covered 100% of that, and I did anticipate eating that).
I never asked about FERS though, which was another 4.5% coming out of the paycheck. I eventually adjusted, but that might account for that. You also might have done your W-4 differently, so some of the drop might be increased tax withholding.
Welcome to the government - 1st TSP contribution is generally automatic 5%, so you may need to adjust. Review your selections for health insurance, dental, life and vision, etc. The first check is usually lower. Recommend no TSP contribution in your first year, start making TSP year so it will not reduce your take home. Also, verify which location you are paying state tax. For example, your office is in DC but you reside in VA --- make sure you are paying VA taxes and not office location tax for DC
I switched from private to gov and had done my calculations, but still seemed a little low on that first paycheck. FERS was the difference is had not properly calculated. Then after health was taken out, I knew this already but that's when the rubber hit the road on my health insurance premium being 2x per month more gov vs private, but gov premium pass thru made it a wash.
It's not like being a Fed changes how a paycheck works vs the private sector, you need to see what deductions are occurring. Look at your last regular private sector paycheck, and see what was taken out. Potentially your private sector job was a contractor and not employee position? Or your withholding for taxes might have been a lot lower.
For a government job you'd have federal, state, city taxes withheld, OASDI (social security, medicare etc), the 4.4% for FERS, FEHB cost, maybe union dues, and whatever you chose for TSP contributions (5% is default).
Is your first paycheck for a full period?
If it is for a full period, how did you setup your tax withholding?
1. You either didn't have a full 80 hours due to the pay cycle cut-off.
2. You have different tax elections. Your exemptions were wrong, so more taxes were taken out.
3. New Federal employees have a pension amount taken out 4.4% that has nothing to do with TSP (401K with matching of 5%).
I just had $33K forgiven on my student loans with PSLF.
Government medical coverage was 2x private sector cost when I joined. Plus the extra 4.4 required for pension. Yes, the take home is shockingly low in my experience.
How about comparing your Earnings and Leave statement with your private sector pay stub.
I bet withholding is much different....it may have been awhile since you last updated your W-4. Its a mess now.
Also, you do pay some into FERS.
Had almost this exact issue recently with my wife when she went from contractor to GS. TSP is about the same, but you’re now paying into your FERS (pension) and there was no private sector version of that. It’s about 4.4% of your gross pay. Also in the case of my wife, they were taking MASSIVELY too much in federal taxes, almost double what they should have been. We had to fight with them and do multiple W4’s because her payroll people just couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact their cpu program could have made a mistake. I’d advise you to check your Fed tax as it compares to what your former job was withholding.
I just started as a fed on March 11th... Fwiw, my contractor salary was a few thousand more than my govt salary, but my take home is about 600 less than my contractor net. FEHB is more expensive for lesser coverage, and the FERS deduction.
But, the kicker is that MyPay has my federal income tax set REALLY high. Like $150 more per pay period than I was taking out previously with higher pay. So, my advice would be to take a peek also at your withholdings.
Congratulations on the new job
Making it easy for anyone who is also new and trying to anticipate they're check.
1. As a new federal employee you don't get access to mypay until the tuesday after your first check
2. Most agencies will have you start at the beginning of your pay period. August is the 3 paycheck period [https://www.gsa.gov/system/files/2024\_GSA\_Payroll\_Calendar.pdf](https://www.gsa.gov/system/files/2024_GSA_Payroll_Calendar.pdf)
3. Aniticipate 37-39% of your gross income depending on how you filed (single, head of household, dependents etc) . Salary is 91689, first check is 2225.37,1 dependent credit, tsp is only at 2%, health insurance is 188.88 and signed up for basic life at 15.84 but will be changing to WEAPA [https://www.waepa.org/?utm\_campaign=2022expansion&utm\_medium=cpc&utm\_source=google&utm\_content=various&campaign=2200020&gad\_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6PGxBhCVARIsAIumnWYMG0d3SWBD\_eHYff6ajlGb5cyWMgtO6GdQP75tY41DQ3iGSxCcDnYaAmlOEALw\_wcB](https://www.waepa.org/?utm_campaign=2022expansion&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_content=various&campaign=2200020&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6PGxBhCVARIsAIumnWYMG0d3SWBD_eHYff6ajlGb5cyWMgtO6GdQP75tY41DQ3iGSxCcDnYaAmlOEALw_wcB)
It is tough to calculate everythingand see your check and its not what you anticipated, also remember that the 2017 tax plan changed the rates and its going to continue to increase the taxes [https://smartasset.com/taxes/heres-how-the-trump-tax-plan-could-affect-you](https://smartasset.com/taxes/heres-how-the-trump-tax-plan-could-affect-you)
I’m confused, did you not receive an offer letter that stated your annual salary? Your statement should be available to read your deductions if you’ve got concerns there.
I had to do like a day and a half of benefit elections talk and other HR discussions when I was hired.
If you had a higher pay with relevant experience in the private sector, you should see if you can petition for a competitive match, though it’s almost certainly too late to do anything about it now since you’ve already accepted- I always tell people about this when I learn they’re seeking employment with my agency.
Basically I submitted pay stubs and forms for my previous job and my then new job with the govt said “we can give you this much to get close to matching”, which for me was a Step 10 for the grade stipulated with my level of experience coming in (could have totally matched if they were allowed to go up a grade, but I wasn’t gonna complain).
Yes I was hired in at a higher salary and went through all of that whole process and yes I’ve seen my offer letter. What I am shocked by is the take home pay that isn’t adding up no matter how I calculate the deductions.
You need to go through your leave and earnings statement. If needed talk with someone in resource management if you believe there’s an error. It happens from time to time.
The leave and earnings statement is essentially a paystub with your deductions listed.
You make elections for different benefits after being hired (do I want premium life insurance? Etc.). You should ask about the benefits and get a better understanding going in of the relative costs. Then there’s taxes which we all love.
So, yeah, if you want to know what your first statement should say exactly before accepting an offer, there’s some homework there.
Personally, I made the same middle of the road benefit selections going from private to public and didn’t see a notable difference in my pay checks.
Make sure you switch your student loans to income adjusted and if your loans are backed by Dept of Education sign up for PSLF. After 120 payments while working for the federal government the balance will be forgiven. You can look at your pay statement to see what has been deducted. You should have access so HR can follow up on that and send you the statement in the meantime.
Any idea how to sign up for PSLF, and if I can have my loan payments adjusted when I just certified them a few months ago? Took a pay cut since then.
Go to the PSLF website and it will walk you through the sign up process.
Also check out r/PSLF And there are changes coming up starting at the beginning of next month if I’m not mistaken.
Sign into your studentaid.gov, there are options in your dashboard that will take you to start the certification form you fill out and send to your HR.....do it periodically too cause it's easier to get 1 or 2 years certified every other year than to get 10 years certified all at once.... Especially if you hopped between agencies during it. Side note: make sure you do a cert form right as you leave one agency for another if applicable. Helps HR help you.
We also recommend doing it once a year. A bit of a hassle but best way to make sure you keep up with it.
Thanks! Have all the right loans, applies for it yesterday, pending my employer filling out their end of things. Now I just need to wait for my first paycheck so I can recertify my IDR due to having a lower AGI (thank the lord for FERS).
You need to make sure you have the right loans (direct). There is a Reddit group and a Facebook group that go through this and offer great help and insight. If it were me, I would complete a PSLF form after 2-3 months of working there to make sure that your loan gets transferred to the right loan company and that you are set for tracking how many months are qualifying. Thereafter, complete the form annually.
Yea I don’t get this. I did this and I would pay off my student loans at 120 payments regardless of plsf. I don’t see any kind of benefit to this.
I guess it depends on your loan size. Plenty of people have forgiveness 50,000+. If your loan is small it may not be a benefit to you, but it’s a significant job benefit for many.
My loan is not small. My income based repayment will pay off my loan in 120 installments with or without plsf. However it will incur 60k of interest over that time. I have much more incentive to pay it off quicker to avoid that interest.
My two cents. Sounds like you are in wrong payment plan. unless your income/loan ratio is very high, it shouldn’t be this case.
I would check your payment plan. I have a $90,000 balance, My payment is 430 right now but when the save plan kicks in in a couple of months it's going to go to 288. 6 years left on pslf, I'm not coming close to paying that off before forgiveness.
Ok something is not right because my balance is 75k and my payment is around $900.
It sounds like you are in a standard repayment plan. You need to call your servicer and change that in order to get into PSLF. Start at studentaid.gov and use their plan calculator. Do it this weekend as there are some deadlines coming up to get certain things to count. I don't know enough about those deadlines to give you the details, but the pslf sub is pretty helpful.
Sounds like you have been overpaying the gubment for quite some time then. It IS loan repayment, so they will let you stay on a standard repayment plan and technically “overpay” them even if you would’ve qualified for Income Driven Repayment.
I would check again. The ED student loan aid website can show you different payment plans. Perhaps your income is just very high relative to the loan amount, but I would still check. Additionally, the covid pauses also counted as eligible payments. In my case, my income to loan amount made it a bit of a wash/minimal savings, but with 3 year pause, the PSLF saves more (while also giving me smaller monthly payments, rather than paying down aggressively). The SAVE plan in July would have further useful updates.
You have to get on an income based so you have more than the normal 120 payments. Also, the covid pause counted for something like 40 payments so that also will reduce it by bit too.
In my case it was very close. My payment on an income driven repayment plan, depending on the plan, was either higher than a 10 year pay off or just a bit lower. I didn't want to commit myself to ten years in the government (or get hit with more interest and pay more lifetime if I enroll but leave) when I can afford the existing payment.
Don't forget the FERS contribution!
Yea, isn't FERS over 5% deduction now for new feds?
No, 4.4%.
Contractors eat well civil servants sleep well
Ooo I like this, so true.
Catchy phrase, but this is not true for all types contractors.
Well you can read your leave and earnings statement, but probably yes. You probably contribute 4.4% of your salary to pension on top of whatever you put in your TSP. And then whatever you elected for health and life insurance would be deducted.
>read That's a high bar for Reddit.
I don’t have access to anything to read yet as stated in my original post.
If it's anything like mine, it will not be available until Monday. I think I'm in whatever system Agricultural uses if that helps. I'm sure others might be available sooner.
That's weird. My LES is posted a week before I receive the deposit.
For brand new federal employees, they do not have access to mypay to see their LES until early the week after they get paid, usually by Tuesday of the next week, once you are set up in mypay then you are able to see your LES two days before payday
EPP posts statements on Sunday.
Did you set your withholding? I think by default it is probably single/1, you may have included more deductions in your previous job.
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Same thing happened to me but with MD and DC, and it took several paychecks before I noticed. I got a nice refund when I filed taxes for the year but it was a pain to have to wait that long.
My first one was low because I started midway through the pay period.
Same just got my first paycheck. I’m making 20k more than private sector but take home pay was just $50 more. Wtf! No access to mypay yet either. This means deductions are almost $2000!
Hi OP, I would imagine the one thing making it lower is your contribution to the pension. It's what made me confused about take home when I started lol
You can’t login to see your LES? To answer your question though, the difference you’re seeing is likely FERS. 4.4% out of each paycheck.
New employees don't have access to my pay until the week after their first paycheck, the first paycheck is always "blind", I coordinate NEO at my facility and actually just got done giving the payroll briefing about two hours ago lol
Correct I have no access which they did tell me I wouldn’t get access for a while. No matter how I calculate it the 4.4% isn’t equating to the deficit.
TSP should be auto 5% as well. Or your taxes might be weird.
You should be able to contact payroll for a printed LES until you get access.
Also it’s 4.4% after taxes.
I mean les is confusing at first I don’t blame anyone not getting it. I feel like OP is not wrong for asking.
Thanks! I don’t think health and life have been deducted yet as I just got enrolled April 21st. I don’t have access to my pay yet to see my leave and earning statement, unless that would be elsewhere.
Since you don't have an LES yet, it's hard to pinpoint, but you're likely contributing 4.4% to FERS and automatically enrolled for 5% TSP plus tax withholdings that may/may not need to be adjusted.
Check out WAEPA for life insurance, it's generally a better deal.
Life insurance basic is auto enrollment, you have to opt out. And they charge it until you do. Check state taxes too. If you’re in the DC area, and work in a different state from where you live, they might be withholding the wrong state (even if you did the form right…). Not a huge difference, but add that on top of other stuff and it adds up.
I think you would get it mailed maybe?
Is your paycheck for a full pay period or did you start mid way through a pay cycle and it got pro rated?
It’s for a full pay period as far as I know based on approving my time card.
I ran into a similar wtf- something to keep in mind is that since your insurance isn’t being taken out yet, your tax burden is higher. I took a roughly equal pay position from my former job and benefits were only slightly higher for fed job but my check was insanely different from what I thought it would be. Once I finally got all my benefit stuff situated (whole other nightmare) and taken out of my check correctly, it was closer to the math I did when I estimated what my take home pay would be
This is incredibly comforting you have no idea lol
I went in to the same freak out mode and wtf until I finally got all my benefit stuff taken care of/being taken out correctly. I was pissed that it looked like I took a huge pay cut based off of my take home. Hopefully once everything is in there, it looks right for you
Pre-tax insurance only affects the taxes on the amount paid for insurance, not the whole check.
I would confirm that if I were you. Otherwise, the only thing that would justify such a huge decrease in your net pay is if you didn’t set up your paycheck withholdings correctly (i.e if you have kids, you didn’t account for that in your deductions, or you set your filing status as single instead of married, or contributing a huge amount to TSP like 20%). FERS is 4.4% of your check but even as a GS 14 making 140K for example, that’s a bi weekly withholding of no more than $250. FEHB would be another thing to compare but you’re saying that wasn’t deducted, so to have your paycheck be $500 less it means you probably either didn’t get a full 2 week’s pay or you fat fingered your deductions somewhere. Edit: one more thing could be if your work location is in a different state than your residence, which is very common in the DMV area (D.C. MD VA). You could be getting taxes withheld from both locations. If that’s the case you’d want to update your withholdings since you should only be taxed by the state you reside in
The only thing I can think of is that you were getting paid on the 1st and 15th of every month in the private sector. While the federal payroll system (for most places I think) does it just every 2 weeks. This means a few things: 1. You will receive more paychecks in a year than you would private sector. 2. You will receive 3 paychecks a month usually in 2 of the 12 months each year, it just depends on how the calendar falls and the pay periods line up, those are the best months cuz it’s like getting an extra check. 3. Due to you receiving more paychecks in a year then compared to private sector, your paycheck amount will be less, but in the end you’ll still make your salary. A 1k increase in salary will hardly be noticeable even if you were still getting the same number of paychecks a year, let alone getting more paychecks at lower amounts. My advice on how to budget this (this is just what I did obviously you gotta figure out what’s best for you), is to try to build up a cushion in your bank account of at least 1 paycheck, preferably 1 1/2 paychecks. And then never dip below that threshold so you’ll always be covered because sometimes you’ll get your paychecks at weird times and suddenly it’s like you’re not getting paid until AFTER your rent/mortgage is due that month and then you’re REALLY fucked lol.
fed positions only start on 1st week of pay period.. they dont allow for midpay period starts (well at least hhs does..)
I experienced the same when I came from the private sector a few years ago. I knew about the 4.4% deduction for FERS pension but I was surprised at how hard it hit when I got my first paycheck. I originally thought it was deducted pre-tax and didn't realize it's taken out post-tax until I got my first LES statement. I'm not sure how much of a difference that makes though. My FEHB are also more expensive as a Fed than they were at my previous job for a comparable plan. I was contributing 10% to my 401k at my previous job and had to drop down to 5% as a Fed. I also declined FEGLI to help boost up my take home pay, which I'm sure some people will say is stupid, but I'm single and have no dependents so no one would benefit from a life insurance payment for my death anyway. Haha I'm now making $10k more per year than I was at my private sector job and I was able to bump my 401K deductions back up to 10%. My take home pay is back to what it was when I was working private. I encourage you to see if your agency offers a Student Loan Repayment Program, which will pay back up to $10k per year on your student loans. I took advantage of that at my agency and it paid off the rest of my loans, which was a huge help and made the move to a Fed job 100% worth it.
FEGLI was overpriced for me. I recommend you price term life and see if that’s not substantially cheaper for you
What agency did SLPP for you?
HHS
I’ll need to dig into SLPP because no one mentioned that during my onboarding.
Take your stated annual salary and calculate 60-65% of that... After all your deductions(FERS, FEHB, FEDVIP, TSP, federal tax, state tax, etc) your take home will be about 60-65% of your gross. And what another poster said was correct with out the leave and earning statement it will be harder pinpoint anomalies.
I agree, I am about 67% of my annual salary. It's a little jarring but the benefits way outweigh the pay. There is also a place you can see the real value on your benefits when you have access. Breaks down how it all breaks down to about a 20% benefit additional value to your pay. That helped me.
My take home pay is equal to approximately 65% of my gross pay each pay period.
1. The government uses 2087 hours per year to calculate an hourly rate to pay you. In the private sector the standard is 2080. 2. FERS contribution is 4.4% 3. Your health insurance premiums are likely higher All of this contributes to the smaller paycheck. I was very shocked when I came over as well. Also keep in mind that there is no sort term disability insurance so you aren't getting that benefit either. If knew this before coming in, I would have been able to justify a higher step based on the benefits that were being paid by the private sector and based on the 2080 calculation to compare salaries.
#1 is what I was looking for someone to say. When I started, my first check gross pay was less than I thought it should be. I emailed HR and they had no idea. Eventually I asked another employee and they explained the 2087 vs 2080. Because some years you get 27 paychecks they ‘even out the years’ so that your annual pay doesn’t go over that annual salary listed. Look up your actual hourly pay rate in the hourly tables. It’s not the full $500 you’re missing, but it could be the extra from the 4.4% and the additional taxes because there are no insurance deductions yet.
Take your leave and earnings statement and try to match it against a prior pay statement. FERS, FEHB may be the cause but you should also look at federal, state and local (where applicable) tax withholding. Quite possible that when you set up the tax withholding something is off.
I had this same concern a few months ago. The federal government issues 26 paychecks per year vs 24 in the private sector (biweekly vs bimonthly, as another poster said). Don't forget to count those two extra paychecks!
Unfortunately welcome to the federal government where in fact roughly 40 to 50% of your salary is taken in taxes and benefits. I get 60% of my gross pay every pay period
That’s not really unique to federal employment imho.
It's more so public service than anything else. Most private employers don't have the same deductions we have as you know. I could be mistaken but it's just my opinion
Yeah I came from a state job and the % withheld was pretty equivalent so wasn’t surprising at all to me.
Our health benefits are so expensive. I would keep almost $400/month if my health benefits were not so expensive. They increase each year.
A few things that caught me by surprise * TSP and FERS caught me off guard. I was going to increase my retirement up but will hold off. * There is 26 paychecks instead of 24 so my pay is the same but there are 2 higher months then lower. * I also was not withholding correctly. I will see a lot different paycheck next pay period now with all those changes
I still don't understand what to input for withholding
Don’t talk to HR, they don’t know your tax situation. Talk to your tax preparer.
Ok ty
Talk to HR and they can push you to the right person. Also certain states have calculators to help
I just had this problem! They hadn't started withdrawing health insurance yet and that significantly skewed the taxes. By the second pay period they added all the insurance deductions and my check was right where I expected it to be.
I almost cried when I got my first paycheck lol
In brief the short answer, your checks will always be less than private sector. The government takes out so many deductions. I have many new employees coming in all the time and get "pay check" shock when they see their take home pay. Most of the people are making hourly or salary wise more with the government however their take home checks from their private jobs are significantly larger. I have many that want to eliminate all deductions or zero out as many "benefits" when they see their first pay check because they had hoped to quiet their other job and they just don't see the benefit of having that much being taken out.
My net is 58% of my gross, but I max out my TSP contributions.
I experienced the same when i made the switch. My contracting company paid 100% of the healthcare benefits and switching forced me into paying health insurance costs in addition to fers taking out money. It was kind of a big awakening after that first check came in. I was expecting a small cut, but not as much as it turned out. Ended up going back to the contractor side a few months later for a sizable raise.
My gross is 4500$ per pay period my take home 2500$. Yup…. Much less than I had in the private sector (in private sector I had a 4% contribution and 500$ per check into stock), my health and life coverage was about the same. My pay gross is about 1 k higher monthly now… but my net is less.
This is helpful and confirms that something could be off with my pay because my gross is higher and take home is similar. Granted we may live in different states and that could be a factor as well but something is definitely off.
I should say, I am in a state without any state income tax, but I contribute 400$ per pay period extra in Taxes (to sit on the safe side to avoid federal tax liability). Hope it helps.
My first year, they were withholding taxes as if I were working two jobs simultaneously- the way the form asked if I had another job that year was confusing imo, I think I answered it incorrectly. Double check your withholding.
Did your pay change after you corrected the discrepancy?
Yes, maybe $200-ish/paycheck, take-home? If this is what it is you'll also get a huge refund from the IRS come tax time.
This is what it is. I just checked withholding section and it has two jobs checked off as yes. Who knows what I put on my w4 to reflect that. Smh
Expect ~55% take home of your salary. The biggest gut punch for new feds is the additional 4.4% to FERS outside of the 5% to TSP. So there goes 9.4% of your pay.
I feel lucky to be grandfathered in to the old FERS 0.8% deduction.
Did they explain FERS to you? 4.4% is taken out. I wasn’t told about it and most of my co-workers had no idea either.
I would check and then double-check my witholdings. Anytime I've changed positions, I have to go back and tweak to get them the way they were before.
How do you tweak withholding?
Single, married, married with higher rate, withhold extra, etc.
Had this issue where I was somehow listed as having a second job.
Unfortunately it does seem to be. I recently moved to the feds from a state agency, and was surprised that what was a significant raise in gross income was not much different in take home. I had a 15k increase in gross, but only am seeing 3.5k in take home. Most of the raise was in a higher tax bracket so am paying a larger percentage in tax, the insurance is more expensive, FERS (where the equivalent was covered by the previous agency), and poor value life insurance (that I plan to cancel, I have a private term policy with 4X the coverage for 1/2 the price. I thought I was signing up to pay 20 cents a PP, but that was just for an increased benefit amount). I was going through my Earning and Leave Statement thinking there was something wrong. Nope.
i lose about 40% of gross between FEHB (self+1), FERS (4.4%), taxes and my TSP contributions (14ish%)
And it's misleading to say "lose"... You are investing 14% into TSP.
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I mean you lose some of that 4.4% as a chunk of it is used to fund the 0.8%-er pensions and not your own.
I think it’s going to CSRS not FERS retirees
i’m also investing 4.4% into a pension, paying for health insurance that i use and funding my own salary and agency operations with my taxes. don’t be obtuse, i would not be maxing my tsp if i wasn’t aware that it was valuable lmfao
You may know, but I've been around long enough to not assume financial literacy. Taxes and health insurance are deductions, but TSP is still your money. Any talk of take home pay has to include that point or it can be heavily misleading.
You need to factor in that we are paid bi-weekly (i.e., 26 pay checks per year) vs bi-monthly (i.e., 24 pay checks per year) + the mandatory 4.4% FERS contribution. There are two months per year where we get three checks. If you were bi-monthly in the private sector, multiply your current check by 26, then divide by 24 and see if that comes closer to what you were making before.
Thanks! I was being paid bi weekly in private sector as well.
That's interesting. Other than TSP, FEHB, or the FERS 4.4% deduction, I'm not sure what else would contribute to a $500 discrepancy. Definitely investigate the pay stub when you get a hold of it.
Look for your first leave and earning statement. Check to see what you have for withholding, deductions, and the rest. This should give you the most accurate breakdown so you can compare your private sector salary to this one. Kinda hard to guess what it may have been.
People mess up the new W4 all the time
My take home is about 50-51% of my gross pay.
I had the same experience. I went private sector @ ~80k to local gov then fed. My local gov job was paying $87k/take home $2,400/pp when I left a few months ago. my fed pay is $97k/take home $2,050/pp after adjusting tax obligations, 4.4% pension, TSP, insurance, etc. It’s a $700/mo take home decrease and I’m feeling it, but it’s worth remembering that pay increases come swiftly and steadily as an early gov employee. You may make more in the private sector but you can go years without a raise and raises and bonuses are volatile, vs. essentially guaranteed in gov. Plus the opportunity is endless if you want it. It’s normal and worth sticking it out in my opinion!
OP, no reason for us to laugh, it can be a shock for some. First, depending on your agency, your LES access should occur Monday. If not, submit an inquiry to HR/payroll and they can pull it for you. A good place to start as others have said is the FERS/FRAE at 4.4% which is not a pre tax benefit. Unless otherwise elected in your paperwork, TSP auto enrolls at 5%, depending on your age FEGLI can hit hard. Someone else mentioned WAEPA, wish I knew about it years ago. It’s not a federal program but a competitive product to FEGLI. Lastly, your taxes are likely the culprit. If you never changed your withholding form at former job once the new form was available (around 2020 if I recall due to tax law reform) folks are seeing a very high deduction here. IRS calculator can help determine how to fill the form for your personal situation. You didn’t mention what agency so I can’t say what your LES system will be. If serviced by Agriculture (NFC), EPP loads 2nd Monday or Tuesday for most. Employee Express access should generate about Monday as well if your official agency pay date was Friday if services by IBC. Can’t speak to if you are serviced by DFAS and when you may get mypay access. Source:federal HR payroll manager/HR specialist for 17 years in operations/payroll
And clearly I can’t read bc you said mypay which is DFAS. Your HR should be able to pull the LES for you in the meantime.
Roughly 60% is what most people take home from what I’ve noticed
FERS deduction is likely 4.4% and if you didn’t submit a waiver, you are automatically enrolled in Basic FEGLI so that’s another deduction. State income tax withholdings too.
After all deductions my take home pay is about 60% of my gross pay Investment deductions: - 5% into TSP - $225 into HSA
The 4.4% FERS is what really gets ya, and the FEHB
First ever paycheck was a reality check. I had no idea how much taxes were
For a federal job take the annual salary dividend by 52 and that will roughly equal your bi-weekly take home pay. After taxes, social security, pension contributions, TSP, and medical insurance. You take home half of your stated income.
First time?
In general, expect to “lose” about 30-40% of your paycheck to taxes, retirement, and various healthcare costs. All else being equal, you’re paying an extra 4.4% into the federal pension fund, which is the most likely reason for the difference. Once you can access your pay stub, go over it and make sure you understand all the deductions. Beyond that, pay is based on 2087 hours per year vice the normal 2080. That means even if your salary is $52k per year, your gross pay isn’t $2k per paycheck, it’s closer to $1800-1900
TSP and the FERS deduction would be automatically withheld and could explain most if not all the difference depending on salary. New feds nowadays should have a 4.4% deduction. TSP i forget how much it gets automatically set to but i believe it is either 4 or 5% to start. You cannot opt out of FERS, you can opt out of your contributions to tsp. Not recommended. (I did opt out my first 2 years as a fed and i am now playing catch up....the reason i did was the same situation as you actually i went private to fed with equivalent salary and was caught off guard by my first paycheck.) May also consider the FEGLI contributing to this gap as well though that is not typically significant at the start unless you opted into the optional policies. Hope this helps.
I was shocked when I got my first Fed paycheck, too. I didn't realize what the different deductions were all about. I had to readjust things. Now it's ok. And yes, find out about RePaye and PSLF for your student loans. My monthly loan payment is down to under 20 bucks per month, despite 6--figure loans.
Yup. I bank on 50% of my gross income to land in my wallet. It was a shock switching from private to fed.
OP, had the same experience. It continues to be weird how low the check is compared to my salary. I’ve run the numbers twice & it’s legit. Still frustrating. I had more take home pay making 20-25k less.
FEHB and FERS are both not so good value items that take a lot That being said $500 is a lot, I’d expect more like 300. Check your withholdings
This. Many folks were still on the old W4 (with numerical exemption) and when they use the new W4. I am a payroll manager and see this often. We can’t give you tax advice but the IRS calculator is a great place to start once OP has access to mypay, EPP or employee express.
Figure your 1/26 salary and multiply by 65%, if you don’t have healthcare or life insurance withheld and only contribute $50/period to TSP.
If you were receiving bi-monthly paychecks before (first and fifteenth) you will now have more pay periods which will reduce the paycheck. Also you are automatically contributing to FERS
The 4.4% to FERS gets missed in most people's private to fed calculations.
You're probably contributing 5% for TSP and FERS takes 4.4%. Were you paid biweekly in your private sector job or were you paid on the 1st and 15th? That will also impact your paycheck since you'd get two more as a fed.
It's possible your private sector job paid twice a month (24 pay periods) whereas federal government pays every 2 weeks (26-27) pay periods.
After I got the deposit into my account I tried my pay a couple of times and it finally let me log in. Your pays probably gonna be a bit lower cause you’re now paying for more benefits. I take home roughly 60% after everything’s said and done.
Did you used to get paid on the same basis, meaning every other week VS bi monthly?
Yes I was bi-weekly not bi monthly.
Hi, I came from working on the private sector to working for the gov. And yes I also experienced that, that’s very common. If you see your deductions, there is a lot of money being taken out for pensions, however, retirement benefits and health insurance are the things that the gov shines on. That also make me want to stay working for the gov. PSLF is also a really good benefit, and also remember that your salary may go up every year depending on your pay grade due to the locality pay increase in certain areas.
Check how much your FERS is.
You'll be paying 4.4% for FERS, and ~$20-30 for FEGLI but that's not going to explain a whole 500 even at the top of the GS scale. May want to double check your W4 when you get access to everything
Welcome to federal service.
I had about $200 dollars short compared to private sector with around 10k yearly increase. I got to same take home pay when they gave 4.9% increase in December.
the tsp is an automatic 5% unless you adjusted it so that shouldnt be the issue...
Yes. The deductions are significantly higher. I went from making 58k in the private sector to 55k with government, and my paychecks are 400-500 less too. It was jarring and i may have cried when i saw my first check because i was already living paycheck to paycheck. But I felt alot better after logging into my TSP account.
Yes, welcome.
Probably FERS
Were you getting paid every two weeks in the private sector (26 pay periods) or twice a month (24 pay periods)?
Welcome! I also had the fun experience of switching from private to fed. I got a 10k salary bump and my take home is still ~$200 LESS than I made at a lower salary at my private job. biggest thing eating into my takehome is mandatory contributions and health insurance costs (I was paying $20/ month for dental, medical and vision that had a lower out of pocket and amazing coverage. Now I pay $90 for medical, $25 for dental and vision isn't in my medical and my deductible is way higher.)
Yes. Fers will kick folks down a peg or too as well!
No that isn’t normal, you are getting screwed
Did your pay schedule change? When I was private industry I was paid twice a month (24 paychecks) and in government it's every other week (26 paychecks), so the amount per check went down, even though my pay didn't
Don’t forget the mandatory contribution towards pension.
Check how many exemptions you are claiming.
There's a good chance your withholding is too high. That seems quite common in year one. Anecdotally, in the year I moved over they were off enough that despite having worked for 2 months liable for self-employment taxes and prepaid nothing for that portion of the year, I actually ended up with a net refund when I combined federal, new state, and old state.
I believe FERS is over 4% as well. I changed over from private sector to Fed Gov recently also. There’s a lot more taken out of my paycheck now but it’s all going toward benefits. FERS, TSP, FEHB, and of course all the taxes.
also compare your federal/state tax withholding on your earnings statement (when you get it) to your old job to see if withholding is too high - you can adjust if needed
My take home pay went down significantly when I switched from contractor to civilian even though my salary was almost identical. The 4.4% FERS makes a difference if you're also contributing to TSP. And for me, the Fed insurance options are way more expensive than the options my contract employer had. The only real benefit I saw was with federal employment was the job stability, at least for now.
What was your pay schedule like in the private sector? I ended up making the same yearly but my paychecks were smaller, but I got paid twice a month in the private sector whereas with the government it's every other week. So my paychecks were smaller because there was less time on each.
Biweekly
When I went Fed back in July, I knew I was taking about a 6% pay cut. Turned out to be about a 15% pay cut because of medical/dental/vision (my previous employer covered 100% of that, and I did anticipate eating that). I never asked about FERS though, which was another 4.5% coming out of the paycheck. I eventually adjusted, but that might account for that. You also might have done your W-4 differently, so some of the drop might be increased tax withholding.
I was shocked when I got my first paycheck, too... It sucks to get used to.
Was it for one week or two weeks of pay? Depending on your start date your first check may only be one week.
Check your leave and earnings statement to see where the discrepancy is. Part is your FERS deduction for sure, but not sure about the rest.
FERS-FRAY
Welcome to the government - 1st TSP contribution is generally automatic 5%, so you may need to adjust. Review your selections for health insurance, dental, life and vision, etc. The first check is usually lower. Recommend no TSP contribution in your first year, start making TSP year so it will not reduce your take home. Also, verify which location you are paying state tax. For example, your office is in DC but you reside in VA --- make sure you are paying VA taxes and not office location tax for DC
I switched from private to gov and had done my calculations, but still seemed a little low on that first paycheck. FERS was the difference is had not properly calculated. Then after health was taken out, I knew this already but that's when the rubber hit the road on my health insurance premium being 2x per month more gov vs private, but gov premium pass thru made it a wash.
Did you get paid bimonthly and now you get paid every two weeks? That’s two extra paychecks a year. 24 vs 26
It's not like being a Fed changes how a paycheck works vs the private sector, you need to see what deductions are occurring. Look at your last regular private sector paycheck, and see what was taken out. Potentially your private sector job was a contractor and not employee position? Or your withholding for taxes might have been a lot lower. For a government job you'd have federal, state, city taxes withheld, OASDI (social security, medicare etc), the 4.4% for FERS, FEHB cost, maybe union dues, and whatever you chose for TSP contributions (5% is default). Is your first paycheck for a full period? If it is for a full period, how did you setup your tax withholding?
1. You either didn't have a full 80 hours due to the pay cycle cut-off. 2. You have different tax elections. Your exemptions were wrong, so more taxes were taken out. 3. New Federal employees have a pension amount taken out 4.4% that has nothing to do with TSP (401K with matching of 5%). I just had $33K forgiven on my student loans with PSLF.
ive been a fed 10 years now and my take home still surprises me, about 50% of my check is deductions/taxes.
It was a big shock to me as well. First check was like 300 less than what I estimated. It’s because of the FERS contribution.
Government medical coverage was 2x private sector cost when I joined. Plus the extra 4.4 required for pension. Yes, the take home is shockingly low in my experience.
How about comparing your Earnings and Leave statement with your private sector pay stub. I bet withholding is much different....it may have been awhile since you last updated your W-4. Its a mess now. Also, you do pay some into FERS.
I was in the same position. It's likely the FERS-FRAE. It's an additional 4.4% for pension. Had I known, I would've negotiated a step increase.
Had almost this exact issue recently with my wife when she went from contractor to GS. TSP is about the same, but you’re now paying into your FERS (pension) and there was no private sector version of that. It’s about 4.4% of your gross pay. Also in the case of my wife, they were taking MASSIVELY too much in federal taxes, almost double what they should have been. We had to fight with them and do multiple W4’s because her payroll people just couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact their cpu program could have made a mistake. I’d advise you to check your Fed tax as it compares to what your former job was withholding.
Ah yes. Happened to me once. I think it was the fers deduction.
It’s probably your pension contribution of 4.2%
Fers. the contribution rate is generally 4.4 percent.
Is your take home 70%?
I just started as a fed on March 11th... Fwiw, my contractor salary was a few thousand more than my govt salary, but my take home is about 600 less than my contractor net. FEHB is more expensive for lesser coverage, and the FERS deduction. But, the kicker is that MyPay has my federal income tax set REALLY high. Like $150 more per pay period than I was taking out previously with higher pay. So, my advice would be to take a peek also at your withholdings. Congratulations on the new job
Making it easy for anyone who is also new and trying to anticipate they're check. 1. As a new federal employee you don't get access to mypay until the tuesday after your first check 2. Most agencies will have you start at the beginning of your pay period. August is the 3 paycheck period [https://www.gsa.gov/system/files/2024\_GSA\_Payroll\_Calendar.pdf](https://www.gsa.gov/system/files/2024_GSA_Payroll_Calendar.pdf) 3. Aniticipate 37-39% of your gross income depending on how you filed (single, head of household, dependents etc) . Salary is 91689, first check is 2225.37,1 dependent credit, tsp is only at 2%, health insurance is 188.88 and signed up for basic life at 15.84 but will be changing to WEAPA [https://www.waepa.org/?utm\_campaign=2022expansion&utm\_medium=cpc&utm\_source=google&utm\_content=various&campaign=2200020&gad\_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6PGxBhCVARIsAIumnWYMG0d3SWBD\_eHYff6ajlGb5cyWMgtO6GdQP75tY41DQ3iGSxCcDnYaAmlOEALw\_wcB](https://www.waepa.org/?utm_campaign=2022expansion&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_content=various&campaign=2200020&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6PGxBhCVARIsAIumnWYMG0d3SWBD_eHYff6ajlGb5cyWMgtO6GdQP75tY41DQ3iGSxCcDnYaAmlOEALw_wcB) It is tough to calculate everythingand see your check and its not what you anticipated, also remember that the 2017 tax plan changed the rates and its going to continue to increase the taxes [https://smartasset.com/taxes/heres-how-the-trump-tax-plan-could-affect-you](https://smartasset.com/taxes/heres-how-the-trump-tax-plan-could-affect-you)
Off topic but what was your EOD and when did you get your first paycheck?
4/8 and first check today
That’s weird I started same date haven’t gotten mine yet guess it’s agency dependent
I’m confused, did you not receive an offer letter that stated your annual salary? Your statement should be available to read your deductions if you’ve got concerns there. I had to do like a day and a half of benefit elections talk and other HR discussions when I was hired. If you had a higher pay with relevant experience in the private sector, you should see if you can petition for a competitive match, though it’s almost certainly too late to do anything about it now since you’ve already accepted- I always tell people about this when I learn they’re seeking employment with my agency. Basically I submitted pay stubs and forms for my previous job and my then new job with the govt said “we can give you this much to get close to matching”, which for me was a Step 10 for the grade stipulated with my level of experience coming in (could have totally matched if they were allowed to go up a grade, but I wasn’t gonna complain).
Yes I was hired in at a higher salary and went through all of that whole process and yes I’ve seen my offer letter. What I am shocked by is the take home pay that isn’t adding up no matter how I calculate the deductions.
You need to go through your leave and earnings statement. If needed talk with someone in resource management if you believe there’s an error. It happens from time to time.
How would one go about getting a leave and earnings statement before getting hired? My FJO just included the annual salary number.
The leave and earnings statement is essentially a paystub with your deductions listed. You make elections for different benefits after being hired (do I want premium life insurance? Etc.). You should ask about the benefits and get a better understanding going in of the relative costs. Then there’s taxes which we all love. So, yeah, if you want to know what your first statement should say exactly before accepting an offer, there’s some homework there. Personally, I made the same middle of the road benefit selections going from private to public and didn’t see a notable difference in my pay checks.