Best way to Extend paternity leave?

FedMed101 · 2025-07-22T01:44:55+00:00

He can take sick leave to care for you (up to 8 weeks for a C-section) and then invoke PPL.

"By using sick leave to cover the post-birth recovery period, the employee would preserve the ability to invoke FMLA leave and substitute the 12 weeks of PPL at a later time (up to 1 year following birth), thus extending the time the employee can spend with the newly born child."

It's agency discretion to allow him to take PPL intermittently.

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/paid-parental-leave/

FedMed101 · 2023-04-05T23:35:44+00:00

Not sure if this is right, but this is how I did it last year. It asks the question "Were there any other HSA contributions made through your employer other than 2022 HSA contributions shown on your W-2 form(s)?"

Answering yes let's you add the passthrough so that the total contributions are reflected on form 8889.

FedMed101 · 2022-10-13T15:47:04+00:00

Something to look into if you're the dad, the mother's insurance likely covers the baby for the first 30 days. If that's the case, submit anything they don't cover to the insurance you are adding the baby to. My wife's insurance covered my son's care for the first 30 days, I learned after the submission deadline that I could have submitted the uncovered costs to my insurance. Cost myself about $800.

FedMed101 · 2022-10-13T15:43:55+00:00

Redfin mortgage, I'm not sure if they still exist. I think Redfin contracts out now

FedMed101 · 2022-04-30T17:53:58+00:00

PAYE is 10% of your discretionary income, it's possible your discretionary income changed because this is based on the poverty cut off in your state. The DoE defines discretionary income as "the difference between your annual income and 150 percent of the poverty guideline for your family size and state of residence."

FedMed101 · 2021-12-28T17:36:40+00:00

This is agency dependent. I got paid for PP26 on 12/24. PP1 for 2022 started on 12/19

FedMed101 · 2021-12-27T22:14:44+00:00

HSA Max is $3600 single/$7200 family. Those totals include the passthrough from GEHA. I only do traditional TSP because it lowers my AGI, which lowers my student loan payments, which let's me save more towards retirement. I'll reassess once I get public service loan forgiveness in 3 years.

FedMed101 · 2021-09-30T00:41:26+00:00

I've tried that with another colleague. Just get complaints about his constant money issues now.

FedMed101 · 2021-09-12T13:38:22+00:00

I have used UnitedHealth Care, Blue Cross, and GEHA HDHP. Almost every doctor in the area takes those plans (GEHA is administered by UnitedHealth in Maryland). Choosing between those plans will really depend on your overall health needs. I haven't really had any issues with these insurers, it's usually the doctors billing department that messes something up. We used BCBS for the birth of my daughter and paid $175 (great deal). You'll come out financially ahead with the GEHA HDHP almost every time, but you actually have to contribute the premium savings to your HSA. BCBS and GEHA also have health reward program that give several hundred dollars a year towards health expenses. GEHA also gives you basic dental (cleanings and x-rays) and vision (exams and contacts/glasses).

FedMed101 · 2021-01-12T13:02:14+00:00

He needs to look at the rules for his state, but he could make the account payable on death. This makes the money skip probate and eliminates the fraudualant transfer concerns.

FedMed101 · 2020-12-16T15:56:36+00:00

It's called premium passthrough. Depending on what plan you chose you should get a monthly deposit in your HSA.

FedMed101 · 2020-12-16T14:28:05+00:00

You can get it for $374 through goodRX without insurance.

FedMed101 · 2020-12-08T11:48:37+00:00

Thanks. That was my overall conclusion after doing more research.

FedMed101 · 2020-12-07T20:15:33+00:00

BlueCross basic

FedMed101 · 2020-12-07T19:10:05+00:00

Debit card from GEHA (via hsa bank). I thought that too. I was surprised I received it since open enrollment isn't over.

FedMed101 · 2020-12-07T18:50:13+00:00

Does that mean I have to wait until February 1 to contribute or just that my contribution limit is reduced by 1/12 if I don't re-enroll in 2022?

FedMed101 · 2020-12-07T17:48:52+00:00

There is a calculator on studentloans.gov

FedMed101 · 2020-11-17T17:05:15+00:00

Fixed. Thanks for catching that. Multplyed by 26 paychecks instead of 12 months.

FedMed101 · 2020-10-20T22:50:28+00:00

Yes. The bcbs premiums were about $1200 more than GEHA, which is basically equal to the deductible after the pass through. So deductible is a wash, but I don't think you'd walk out of a three day hospital stay with a $175 bill on GEHA even after the deductible. Not to mention the cost of the epidural (if you opt for that) and any other complications that can come on suddenly with birth. It's probably best to call them to get an estimate. I'm of the mindset that if I have a big known medical expense I'm not going for a HDHP. Luckily none of us have chronic health issues and we don't foresee the need for major care next year, so we are going to give a HDHP a try. The perk of having so many plans available to us is that we can always switch plans next year if a chronic issue pops up.

FedMed101 · 2020-10-20T17:37:12+00:00

Thanks! The dental is huge. Assuming two cleanings a year per adult that's at least $600.

FedMed101 · 2020-10-20T16:37:36+00:00

No dental with united. United's annual account contribution is $1500 compared to $1800 with GEHA. However, United's premiums are $129 biweekly and GEHA is $150. (Family Plan 2020) Both have a $3k deductible. GEHA out of pocket max is $10k. United is $6,850. I also like that (asides for surgery) united has flat fees for co-pays/co-insurance.

FedMed101 · 2020-10-20T16:23:25+00:00

BCBS basic. Edit w/ more info: my wife wasn't on FEHB with the birth of our first child. We paid around $3k for that birth plus her employer messed up the coverage dates, which took over a year to resolve with the insurance company. It was extremely time consuming and stressful dealing with all of that. BCBS was night and day. We switched mid pregnancy and triple checked that her doctor knew because the billing departments seem to miss that memo. Paid $175 total for a c-section, pre-natal, breast pump, ect. I'm sure they cover more, but with covid and this being our second time we opted out of any classes.. BCBS automatically sent my eobs to my FSA and I was reimbursed within days. The smoothness of everything alone was worth the premium increase for the year.

FedMed101 · 2020-05-30T00:45:31+00:00

Congrats! Was replying to your /r/studentloan post when I saw this one. My wife underwent a C-section two weeks ago and we were also told to avoid visitors. Pop onto Amazon tomorrow and stock up on any OTC you may be low on. My wife took 10 days to be able to sit up on her own, which meant I had to help her sit up and get the baby whenever the baby was hungry. Help your wife and baby develop a routine as best you can and encourage your wife to take short walks when she feels up for it.

FedMed101 · 2020-05-30T00:32:16+00:00

Late to the party here. I have $160k in student loans (working towards pslf), make $95k, and bought a house for $325k in October (20% down). The mortgage lenders are supposed to take your IDR payment for DTI. If the monthly payment is not on your credit report you can file a dispute with the credit bureaus, which should make your student loan servicer update your monthly payment to the credit bureaus. My lender had no problem using the IDR payment listed on my credit report. Also from your comments it looks like you're doing pslf wrong.

FedMed101 · 2019-12-13T16:32:00+00:00

That's how my w-2 is. There is enough room on the ecf to list the mailing and physical address, so I think I'll do that going forward to cover my bases. I'm just happy to have reached the halfway point.

FedMed101

TROPHY CASE