Does anyone’s husband work for the irs

amother

Steelblue

Fri, May 03 2024, 5:21 pm

amother OP wrote:

Still considering the irs. Can anyone tell me about the health insurance? Are there a lot of copays? High deductible? Are the premiums high? I know they are pretax… I know this info is online but looking to hear from frum families.

My dh works for state government not the irs and the heath insurance is amazing. Copays are $30 for regular dr, $45 for urgent care. Childbirth is free. Access to best drs in NY NJ and PA. Premiums are so so cheap comparatively- I think we pay $500 a month for our entire family.

No deductible. We have out of network benefits as well. That does have a deductible but it’s manageable.

But I don’t know what insurance he’d get if he worked for the irs. Usually govt employees have excellent insurance.

amother

Sage

Fri, May 03 2024, 5:44 pm

amother Steelblue wrote:

We get similar in the private sector.
I second everyone else saying he needs to look for an accounting job for a private company. Yes he will likely have overtime hours but there can be very decent work life balance and much higher salaries than government. There can also be the option to work partially from home. I don’t think that’s an option with the IRS.

amother

Bergamot

Fri, May 03 2024, 5:57 pm

amother Sage wrote:

IRS is still partly remote. In the DC area they are having employees go on a few times a week. Some areas may still be be fully remote.

amother

Fri, May 03 2024, 6:33 pm

amother Junglegreen wrote:

Yes, its an excellent place to work. Pay is according to your grade. The benefits are amazing. I dont want to our myself but can dm you because you are anonymous.

Thanks so much. We are strongly considering. I appreciate those saying to look for a job in private sector, but for now for various reasons I don’t think it’s on the table.
I’d love to hear more about the amazing benefits! All I’m really seeing is health insurance-but seems there is premiums and copays and pension-which don’t get me wrong is great but not gonna help for right now lol. I was hoping for dental and vision but it seems that isn’t covered.

tulip3

Fri, May 03 2024, 6:43 pm

amother Beige wrote:

There is something between working for the Big Four and working in Civil Service.

Don't get me wrong as Civil Service can be great for a variety of reasons but consider that even the US President only gets $400,000 per year Smile

Most CPA's who have the resume to get a job with the Big 4 would be able to exceed that amount after a few years just like most lawyers who have the resume to get hired at a Wall Street firm can make more than that. Realistically if they are willing to put in the hours, they could make at least $1 million if not more with bonuses.

Ummm from personal experience with the big four and in the cpa departments this isn't true at all. Lawyers start out much much higher and make way way more. Accountants is a whole different world then lawyers in the big four and in general.

amother

Fri, May 03 2024, 6:47 pm

tulip3 wrote:

Yeah I have no idea where she is getting that number from lol I mean by all means please tell me how to make that kind of money !

amother

Beige

Sat, May 04 2024, 10:19 pm

amother Hydrangea wrote:

I think she means that once you are in the federal pay scale, there’s no going above it. There’s a limit to how much you can make. There are cases where you can make more but it’s very complicated.

Exactly

If you have the resume to have gotten hired at a Wall Street firm, your earning potential would be well over $400,000 per year. Partners at large firms make at least $1 million per year

Someone with the resume to get hired at a Big Four with a CPA move into Finance at a public corporation - especially if they also got an MBA or had business acumen so they weren't strictly a numbers cruncher.

Investment bankers make that kind of money easily.

Of course to earn that kind of salary means devoting long hours and being political in terms of moving up the corporate ladder.

amother

Sat, May 04 2024, 10:25 pm

amother Beige wrote:

Ok so we are talking about two different things. That’s not the usual accountant path. Ur making it sound like that’s the alternative. My husband is not going to be that guy.

amother

Beige

Sat, May 04 2024, 10:31 pm

amother OP wrote:

Ok so we are talking about two different things. That’s not the usual accountant path. Ur making it sound like that’s the alternative. My husband is not going to be that guy.

I think with any profession, it's a continuum with a tradeoff in terms of quality of life and salary.

At one end of the continuum would be Civil Service - fairly well paid especially when one considers the total compensation package - e.g all of the significant benefits including health as well as good pension plans and generally inexpensive disability insurance; generous paid time off as well as fixed work day.

At the other end would be people who have the credentials to be hired at a Wall Street firm and the ambition and drive to want to be partner.

The finance guys I've worked with at corporations are generally very well paid and these are top level positions - I.e. CFO or equivalent.

amother

Steelblue

Sat, May 04 2024, 10:35 pm

amother OP wrote:

Dental and vision are covered in our state plan but not sure about federal

The other benefits (for local govt not federal) are great PTO, and deferred comp and pension. Even if it’s not for now, it’s valuable.

amother

Whitesmoke

Sat, May 04 2024, 10:46 pm

I am a federal employee

All the benefits are the same across the board.

He will be earning anywhere between 75k and 150k depending on his GS level. Most likely he will earn between 100k and 120k as those are the salaries for GS 12 and 13. Most people dont get higher than that unless they go into management.

Every year or two the salary goes up by a few thousand when the step level increases within his GS level. There are also annual COLA increases. These increases are not so significant unless he goes up a GS level which requires getting a promotion. At some point the steps end and you dont get automatic raises.

Health insurance is excellent but not as good as state insurance. You will pay about 4 to 5 hundred a month for a good plan. And there are copays and sometimes deductibles depending on the plan you pick. Compared to private, your insurance is cheap but not free. Most people get the blue cross blue sheild federal employee program standard or basic option but there are dozens of plans to choose from.

There is a 401k with a 5% match. There is also a pension plan that keeps going on the chopping block by congress so I am not sure if new people are getting that anymore. Probably they still are but you have to pay in about 5% also. There is vision and dental plans available to purchase but cost is fully on the employee.

There is a really good leave package plus opportunity to earn all kinds of additional time off like credit and comp time.

Overall, its not a good salary for a frum guy with a house full of kids unless both parents are working full time but the benefits are good and you probably wont be overworked. The major benefit is job security and predictability and decent benefits.

The downside is the pay, beaurocracy, and being at the mercy of congress and the changing administration every few years which until you deal with it you never realize how much politics affects your daily life. (Ex: I recently had to stop my full time work at home because its election year and the administration wants to look productive. Now half my team is out sick constantly and we get much less work done in name of productivity)

amother

Cadetblue

Sat, May 04 2024, 11:35 pm

The post above is pretty comprehensive, so may be some repeats
In terms of benefits, all insurances are offered:
(Very) Basic life insurance, pension - you contribute a bit to it, 401k with 5% match.
Health insurance - Federal BCBS is the most popular, you can research it online but it's pretty comprehensive and a good insurance. There are premiums, deductibles, and copays, but comparable to private.
I think health insurance covers basic dental and vision, but the separate vision and dental plans are not expensive. I think the premiums I pay are about $20 for vision and $40 for dental.
Aside from work/life balance and no take-home work, the vacation days add up.
The pay is not the highest, but that's because it's strictly a 40-hour workweek. It comes with the territory.
Also, there a lot of opportunities now within the IRS with a lot of promotion potential, so I do think it will be easier to climb the ladder and get closer to the $150k range (in due time).

amother

Eggplant

Sun, May 05 2024, 3:12 am

spouse of a federal employee here. In regards to dental and vision, I think most plans will cover vision as a specialist copay but that won't include glasses. And some plans might include dental cleanings but not more than that afaik. We have separate vision and dental, it's not all that expensive. I want to say about 20 for vision and 40 for dental per pay so that's every 2 weeks. For that we get free eye exam and a free pair of glasses or lenses each yr pp. and for dental there is some braces coverage in addition to percentage of filling costs etc.
we chose the carefirst high deductible plan. it's cheaper premiums and the plan GIVES you 1800 towards medical expenses so it's like the deductible is half as much. it has free primary care dr visits. copays on specialists is $35. health care is a huge benefit for someone who otherwise doesn't get from their work. ex: someone who is self employed. If he currently has good health insurance from his work it might not be as attractive. I don't know where you live, how many kids you have and what standard of living, but if you were planning to be a sahm it will be tight. if you work too it could be a decent salary. also with it being a 9-5 he can take on extra work during tax season for a private accounting company (IF the IRS allows, I'm not sure if this would be allowed if it's a conflict of interest etc. I know federal employees do take on side jobs which they can manage how much work they take on to still have the life/work balance BUT I don't know how this works as an IRS employee doing taxes)