VA question

[DOswag]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Anyone who has worked or is currently working at a VA care to discuss salary, taxes, take home pay etc? I'm currently active duty, have a little over a year left, and am strongly considering working for the VA after active duty time and buying back my 8 years toward VA pension. I found some information online but wondering a little more specifics. I see the pay tiers and everything but it gives such a wide range sometimes.

 

[DOswag]

This is one of the resources I found that goes a little more into benefits. Just wondering how much the VA contributing for social security/medicare/everything else will impact what my actual take home pay is.

 

[wolfvgang22]

Anyone who has worked or is currently working at a VA care to discuss salary, taxes, take home pay etc? I'm currently active duty, have a little over a year left, and am strongly considering working for the VA after active duty time and buying back my 8 years toward VA pension. I found some information online but wondering a little more specifics. I see the pay tiers and everything but it gives such a wide range sometimes.

I work full time with a VA hospital clinic for nearly a decade now, but I'm not a veteran. I'm happy to discuss specific questions and answer what I can.

For many federal retirement questions I've found r/Federalemployees subreddit on Reddit to be very helpful in addition to my local VA HR office.

I'll be honest...I don't think about taxes much. I live in a tax free state and I get at least one raise every year since I started at the VA plus the yearly max performance bonus of 15K. I earn about $284k annually gross at this point not including bonus which I feel is fair for the amount of work I do now (and already did.) I was initially somewhat underpaid but I greatly reduced my responsibilities quite a bit after year 5 after getting burned out. So I don't do ER call, consults, etc anymore. I do a lot of telehealth now, too. People think you can't negotiate with the VA, but that really depends on the local VA leadership, local needs, and your negotiation skill. I dump all my raises into my TSP that is somewhat aggressively invested.

 

[wolfvgang22]

This is one of the resources I found that goes a little more into benefits. Just wondering how much the VA contributing for social security/medicare/everything else will impact what my actual take home pay is.

That is actually a very good and quite accurate brochure, by the way. My biggest complaint is that the CME funds of $1,000 per year are a joke compared to most non-VA positions my friends have that seem to offer on average $4,000.

 

[DOswag]

Great thank you for the responses. More specific regarding the brochure. The salary listed is 250K. Then it goes into the benefits and if Im reading this correctly, the VA pays the employer and employee social security and medicare? so that is not taken out of your paycheck? Also it appears the health insurance premium paid by VA is significant as well. Just trying to get an idea of what a typical bi-weekly pay check will look like with these numbers.

 

[littlefred]

Great thank you for the responses. More specific regarding the brochure. The salary listed is 250K. Then it goes into the benefits and if Im reading this correctly, the VA pays the employer and employee social security and medicare? so that is not taken out of your paycheck? Also it appears the health insurance premium paid by VA is significant as well. Just trying to get an idea of what a typical bi-weekly pay check will look like with these numbers.

Around 5.5-6.4 k biweekly depending on many factors.

 

[m2k]

The current tax rate for social security is 6.2% for the employer and 6.2% for the employee, or 12.4% total. The current rate for Medicare is 1.45% for the employer and 1.45% for the employee, or 2.9% total. UPT0 $147K of salary. You can calculate based on your salary.

As mentioned earlier here, the salary has two components: 1) Base salary & grade VM 15 which is same for every physician around $108K + 2) Market pay. Market pay is different by location and specialty.

 

[TexasPhysician]

I know a few VA people and even they can’t explain how to qualify for the pension.

 

[wolfvgang22]

I know a few VA people and even they can’t explain how to qualify for the pension.

That's odd. The brochure OP posted shows the basics. All you have to do to get vested in benefits is work at the VA for 5 years. You get 1% of your highest salary over a 3 year period if you retire at age 60 with 20 years service. If you retire at age 62 you get 1.1%.
That's in addition to social security and TSP (basically the government's version of a 401k.) The VA matches up to 5%. Another nice benefit is getting to keep federal health insurance in retirement and the VA keeps paying their part of the premium after you retire. What makes things sweeter for OP is they already have years of service and so can retire earlier if they want.

 

[wolfvgang22]

Great thank you for the responses. More specific regarding the brochure. The salary listed is 250K. Then it goes into the benefits and if Im reading this correctly, the VA pays the employer and employee social security and medicare? so that is not taken out of your paycheck? Also it appears the health insurance premium paid by VA is significant as well. Just trying to get an idea of what a typical bi-weekly pay check will look like with these numbers.

Others answered your questions pretty well. Obviously, the salary mentioned on the brochure is just an example. You can get more or less offered to you depending on location and local leaderships interest in negotiating. I take less compensation in order to work 4 days per week, for example.

 

[m2k]

That's odd. The brochure OP posted shows the basics. All you have to do to get vested in benefits is work at the VA for 5 years. You get 1% of your highest salary over a 3 year period if you retire at age 60 with 20 years service. If you retire at age 62 you get 1.1%.
That's in addition to social security and TSP (basically the government's version of a 401k.) The VA matches up to 5%. Another nice benefit is getting to keep federal health insurance in retirement and the VA keeps paying their part of the premium after you retire. What makes things sweeter for OP is they already have years of service and so can retire earlier if they want.

I know a few VA people and even they can’t explain how to qualify for the pension.

As wlfv said this is odd. I second that, it is very very odd. All they have to look for. It is not complicated at all.

Pre-Retirement

 

[DOswag]

That is how I understood the pension as well. And yes I’ll have 8 years of active duty time to buy back. Work for 12 more years would hit 20 and I’d be at age 50 by that time.

I inquired about social security and Medicare because the brochure I attached says the VA pays this on behalf of the employee. I was making sure understood this to mean, does tye VA pay the total 12.4% and 2.9% so it is not taken out of your paycheck?

 

[DOswag]

I would looooooooove to work 4 days per week!

 

[DOswag]

Sounds like the VA has excellent benefits that really make the overall package a pretty good deal. I’ve heard people discuss the problems about working government and admin burden. I’ve spoken to others who were active duty before VA as well and I’m convinced the VA can’t top military on admin BS…

 

[TexasPhysician]

That's odd. The brochure OP posted shows the basics. All you have to do to get vested in benefits is work at the VA for 5 years. You get 1% of your highest salary over a 3 year period if you retire at age 60 with 20 years service. If you retire at age 62 you get 1.1%.
That's in addition to social security and TSP (basically the government's version of a 401k.) The VA matches up to 5%. Another nice benefit is getting to keep federal health insurance in retirement and the VA keeps paying their part of the premium after you retire. What makes things sweeter for OP is they already have years of service and so can retire earlier if they want.

If you start at the VA at 55 and retire at 60, you get 1%? Where does it state minimum years and how many hours per week to qualify as a full year?

 

[wolfvgang22]

That is how I understood the pension as well. And yes I’ll have 8 years of active duty time to buy back. Work for 12 more years would hit 20 and I’d be at age 50 by that time.

I inquired about social security and Medicare because the brochure I attached says the VA pays this on behalf of the employee. I was making sure understood this to mean, does tye VA pay the total 12.4% and 2.9% so it is not taken out of your paycheck?

I wish. No, you still pay your share just like anywhere else.

 

[wolfvgang22]

If you start at the VA at 55 and retire at 60, you get 1%? Where does it state minimum years and how many hours per week to qualify as a full year?

Yes, but you would have to retire at 62 to get vested in FERS, not 60 if you only work 5 years. So you'd want to start at age 57, lol. Rather than duplicate the government's efforts that our taxes have already funded, I'll just provide a link to the info right here: FERS Information
Click on "eligibility"

The FERS 1% is nice supplement to get in retirement, but its not going to be a lot if you only worked at the VA 5 years. It would probably be around 15k per year. You would also have some TSP invested money. Probably about $250-300k in a bull market like we had before COVID if you only paid in up to the 5% match for 5 years. The exact amount depends on how much you are paid, and how you choose to invest your TSP, of course.

Another nice benefit these docs doing that final 5 years of their carrer at the VA get is the health care benefit - FEHB, the government's employer sponsored health insurance program. Once vested after 5 years you can retire and just continue the affordable insurance as if you are still working. They offer at least 7 different insurance companies, each with 3 or 4 health insurance options, and dental, vision. Frequently Asked Questions : Insurance : Continuing FEHB Coverage into Retirement - OPM.gov

 

[m2k]

I work full time with a VA hospital clinic for nearly a decade now, but I'm not a veteran. I'm happy to discuss specific questions and answer what I can.

For many federal retirement questions I've found r/Federalemployees subreddit on Reddit to be very helpful in addition to my local VA HR office.

I'll be honest...I don't think about taxes much. I live in a tax free state and I get at least one raise every year since I started at the VA plus the yearly max performance bonus of 15K. I earn about $284k annually gross at this point not including bonus which I feel is fair for the amount of work I do now (and already did.) I was initially somewhat underpaid but I greatly reduced my responsibilities quite a bit after year 5 after getting burned out. So I don't do ER call, consults, etc anymore. I do a lot of telehealth now, too. People think you can't negotiate with the VA, but that really depends on the local VA leadership, local needs, and your negotiation skill. I dump all my raises into my TSP that is somewhat aggressively invested.

I saw this brochure first time. It does say VA pays employee portion of social and medicare taxes. But I have noticed that it is deducted from paycheck. If fact, they front load in the year social security taxes and don't deduct rest of the year when you reached the max.

Can you please check yours? I definitely need to talk to someone.

I wish. No, you still pay your share just like anywhere else.

In the brochure when it says VA pays on behalf of employee, are they referring to Employer portion of Social Security & Medicare NOT Employee portion? I suspect they mean Employer portion only which they're required by law. Employee still has to pay his/her portion. The way it is worded in the brochure "On behalf of Employee" sounds misleading the least.

 

[splik]

In the brochure when it says VA pays on behalf of employee, are they referring to Employer portion of Social Security & Medicare NOT Employee portion? I suspect they mean Employer portion only which they're required by law. Employee still has to pay his/her portion. The way it is worded in the brochure "On behalf of Employee" sounds misleading the least.

The way that it is worded is misleading, since it is not a benefit at all, but a legal requirement. However if you ignore that and accept that they are just listing the total costs of an employee it can only be referring to the employer contribution for social security and medicare since these are costs (which they call "benefits") they pay in addition to salary. That wouldn't be the case for the employee contribution since it would be the absence of a deduction not an additional cost. Think of it as helping you to weigh up whether it is better to be a W2 v 1099 in terms of compensation.

It's similarly misleading how they list the "value" of your PTO when in reality that is reflected in your salary.

 

[wolfvgang22]

I saw this brochure first time. It does say VA pays employee portion of social and medicare taxes. But I have noticed that it is deducted from paycheck. If fact, they front load in the year social security taxes and don't deduct rest of the year when you reached the max.

Can you please check yours? I definitely need to talk to someone.

In the brochure when it says VA pays on behalf of employee, are they referring to Employer portion of Social Security & Medicare NOT Employee portion? I suspect they mean Employer portion only which they're required by law. Employee still has to pay his/her portion. The way it is worded in the brochure "On behalf of Employee" sounds misleading the least.

They take Social security out of your check each paycheck until you hit the gross limit for the year, which for 2022 is $147,00. Benefits Planner | Social Security Tax Limits on Your Earnings | SSA
So, SS isn't deducted from your check anymore after that. It's not something the VA can change, any W2 Employer should do the same. It's better than spreading it out all year, anyway. You can increase your TSP contribution or other investment the rest of the year if you want and make a little money.

The VA doesn't pay the employee portion of SS or Medicare.

 

[the5thelement]

That's odd. The brochure OP posted shows the basics. All you have to do to get vested in benefits is work at the VA for 5 years. You get 1% of your highest salary over a 3 year period if you retire at age 60 with 20 years service. If you retire at age 62 you get 1.1%.
That's in addition to social security and TSP (basically the government's version of a 401k.) The VA matches up to 5%. Another nice benefit is getting to keep federal health insurance in retirement and the VA keeps paying their part of the premium after you retire. What makes things sweeter for OP is they already have years of service and so can retire earlier if they want.

1% of 250,000 is $2500 a year . Sounds pretty low for a pension.

 

[comp1]

Aren't the taxes going to be the same as your DoD paycheck now? These are federal mandates on all employers, federal, state, private, etc. State taxes might change depending on if your residency is wonky working for the military. If you're looking for some sort of weird tax break working for the VA...that's not accurate. It's a job. The benefits are great, but the taxes are the same as everywhere else.

 

[comp1]

1% of 250,000 is $2500 a year . Sounds pretty low for a pension.

Yes...you shouldn't take the job if you're just planning to work for the feds for a year. It would be a minimum of $12.5k anyways since the pension doesn't kick in until 5 years of working. One of the primary benefits to an employer for a pension is that it motivates an employee to stay with a given institution. In this case, that institution is the federal government, so it's a pretty big benefit for both sides.

 

[wolfvgang22]

1% of 250,000 is $2500 a year . Sounds pretty low for a pension.

It's 1% multiplied by years of service. Computation

It is 1.1% if you wait until age 62 to retire. So, it is 30 × (0.011 × 250,000) = $82,500. Also, most of us end up closer to $300,000. I put 30 years but you can substitute 20 if you like. I'll probably work 30 cause I have kids that need education, lol.

I'll hit $300k next year with scheduled step and other raises per the HR compensation projection placed in my personnel folder, and I'm only halfway to retirement. I know psychiatrists at the VA that make both more and less salary than I do. Location matters a lot.

Also, retirement will include TSP and social security not included in the pension. TSP is actually the bulk of a VA employees retirement. It's better retirement than academia 401k in my area, but possibly worse than I could do private practice if I wanted to work harder day to day. Looking at my records it looks like I will be getting about 2/3 of my current income in retirement if I stick with the VA for at least 20 years right now. I'm gradually investing more now that I've gotten the VA to pay off my med school loans.

 

[Merovinge]

It's 1% multiplied by years of service. Computation

It is 1.1% if you wait until age 62 to retire. So, it is 30 × (0.011 × 250,000) = $82,500. Also, most of us end up closer to $300,000. I put 30 years but you can substitute 20 if you like. I'll probably work 30 cause I have kids that need education, lol.

I'll hit $300k next year with scheduled step and other raises per the HR compensation projection placed in my personnel folder, and I'm only halfway to retirement. I know psychiatrists at the VA that make both more and less salary than I do. Location matters a lot.

Also, retirement will include TSP and social security not included in the pension. TSP is actually the bulk of a VA employees retirement. It's better retirement than academia 401k in my area, but possibly worse than I could do private practice if I wanted to work harder day to day. Looking at my records it looks like I will be getting about 2/3 of my current income in retirement if I stick with the VA for at least 20 years right now. I'm gradually investing more now that I've gotten the VA to pay off my med school loans.

Having an extra annuity (aka pension) for retirement fixed costs (extra to SS) is even better than just the straight dollar amount because it allows you to be more aggressive with the rest of your profile (i.e. have more stocks and less bonds than the average old person). It's a great setup to have fixed income plus a 401k/TSP that one can invest in a broad based index fund. If there is reason to believe that modern monetary policy is here to stay, bond yields will likely lag the historic averages making ability to take risk with a portfolio even more important when attendings on this forum intend to retire.

 

[deleted1100659]

Having an extra annuity (aka pension) for retirement fixed costs (extra to SS) is even better than just the straight dollar amount because it allows you to be more aggressive with the rest of your profile (i.e. have more stocks and less bonds than the average old person). It's a great setup to have fixed income plus a 401k/TSP that one can invest in a broad based index fund. If there is reason to believe that modern monetary policy is here to stay, bond yields will likely lag the historic averages making ability to take risk with a portfolio even more important when attendings on this forum intend to retire.

typically you're right, but I bonds are hot right now and I highly recommend them. 7.21% interest rate, guaranteed at least 6 mo, no risk at all. In five years youll turn 10k nearly into 15k, in 10 years, youll double your money. If I bonds stay this way for a while, and you max out 10k of them a year, you can make a significant amount of easy money for no risk at all.

Index funds are usually a cool annual 10% yield though, ones correlated with S&P 500. And now is a good time to buy. However, it may be a little bit before the big gains start again, whereas the I bonds are a nice/safe bet that will start earning interest right away. I think a portfolio with I bonds/index funds you cant go wrong.

Ive been tracking this hardcore lately. That being said, I put in 1,000 a month into my brokerage account that goes with S&P 500 index funds, for the most part. But at the current rate, I think buying 10k in I bonds is a great portfolio booster.

 

[deleted1100659]

It's 1% multiplied by years of service. Computation

It is 1.1% if you wait until age 62 to retire. So, it is 30 × (0.011 × 250,000) = $82,500. Also, most of us end up closer to $300,000. I put 30 years but you can substitute 20 if you like. I'll probably work 30 cause I have kids that need education, lol.

I'll hit $300k next year with scheduled step and other raises per the HR compensation projection placed in my personnel folder, and I'm only halfway to retirement. I know psychiatrists at the VA that make both more and less salary than I do. Location matters a lot.

Also, retirement will include TSP and social security not included in the pension. TSP is actually the bulk of a VA employees retirement. It's better retirement than academia 401k in my area, but possibly worse than I could do private practice if I wanted to work harder day to day. Looking at my records it looks like I will be getting about 2/3 of my current income in retirement if I stick with the VA for at least 20 years right now. I'm gradually investing more now that I've gotten the VA to pay off my med school loans.

Do you strictly do outpatient? Patient load? Supervisor requirements? That number sounds sweet for the VA, since they have a lot of benefits. may I ask which state youre in?

 

[Merovinge]

typically you're right, but I bonds are hot right now and I highly recommend them. 7.21% interest rate, guaranteed at least 6 mo, no risk at all. In five years youll turn 10k nearly into 15k, in 10 years, youll double your money. If I bonds stay this way for a while, and you max out 10k of them a year, you can make a significant amount of easy money for no risk at all.

Index funds are usually a cool annual 10% yield though, ones correlated with S&P 500. And now is a good time to buy. However, it may be a little bit before the big gains start again, whereas the I bonds are a nice/safe bet that will start earning interest right away. I think a portfolio with I bonds/index funds you cant go wrong.

Ive been tracking this hardcore lately. That being said, I put in 1,000 a month into my brokerage account that goes with S&P 500 index funds, for the most part. But at the current rate, I think buying 10k in I bonds is a great portfolio booster.

I maxed out my ibonds last year and this year, but make no mistake, if they return this rate ongoing for several years or a decade, the US economy is going to have major problems and any gains in the ibonds will be dwarfed by an economy running that long of a heavy inflationary spiral.

 

[ladysmanfelpz]

Not trying to hijack the thread here, but I also heard of this recently. This was nice to read as it expanded on everything I've recently heard from attendings at the VA.

I also heard from a fellow resident that there is a program where you can commit to X number of years at the VA and receive up to a $40k stipend as a resident for each year you commit, up to 3 years. It sounded separate than loan forgiveness. Is anyone here familiar with this?

 

[wolfvgang22]

Not trying to hijack the thread here, but I also heard of this recently. This was nice to read as it expanded on everything I've recently heard from attendings at the VA.

I also heard from a fellow resident that there is a program where you can commit to X number of years at the VA and receive up to a $40k stipend as a resident for each year you commit, up to 3 years. It sounded separate than loan forgiveness. Is anyone here familiar with this?

I haven't heard of that. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist, though. The easiest way to find out would be to call a VA hospital and ask to speak to Human Resources and ask, if a Google search doesn't turn up anything. I would imagine very few psychiatrists in training would want to commit to the VA before graduating.

Honestly, I wouldn't want to limit myself in that way. I did do the student loan repayment, but only after I found this was a bearable place to work. The best leverage you have as an employee is being able to walk away whenever employers start making outrageous demands. The VA is an "at will" employer. You have all the security of a federal job, and can even belong to the union unless you are a department chief or assistant chief. But at the same time I could quit tomorrow with no non-compete, no contract to satisfy, and no worries about transferring my hundreds of patients to anyone.

 

[comp1]

The $40k mentioned above is a recruitment sign on bonus. We are currently offering it at my VA and I believe most others are as well for psychiatrists. One pretty cool thing about it, for us at least, is that it is prorated. If you were to quit early at Kaiser, you'd have to give the whole recruitment incentive back. If you quit early at the VA, you return a portion of it based on how much of the time you completed. And yes, you will get the full protection of a union as an attending and there certainly is never a non-compete or any restrictions on what you do professionally in your off time.

 

[m2k]

The $40k mentioned above is a recruitment sign on bonus. We are currently offering it at my VA and I believe most others are as well for psychiatrists. One pretty cool thing about it, for us at least, is that it is prorated. If you were to quit early at Kaiser, you'd have to give the whole recruitment incentive back. If you quit early at the VA, you return a portion of it based on how much of the time you completed. And yes, you will get the full protection of a union as an attending and there certainly is never a non-compete or any restrictions on what you do professionally in your off time.

Which VA is offering this? Thanks!

 

[comp1]

It's pretty much all of them offering something similar. Email the national recruiter at [email protected] and get connected with your local recruiter.

 

[tealeafexplorer]

Others answered your questions pretty well. Obviously, the salary mentioned on the brochure is just an example. You can get more or less offered to you depending on location and local leaderships interest in negotiating. I take less compensation in order to work 4 days per week, for example.

I signed a contract to work for the VA after residency.

How common is it to negotiate 4, 10 hour days?

Would love to work 4, 10 hour shifts

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I signed a contract to work for the VA after residency.

How common is it to negotiate 4, 10 hour days?

Would love to work 4, 10 hour shifts

Not sure about with psychiatrists, but from my perspective in psychology, it almost entirely depends on the specific VA and its leadership. I've worked/trained at VAs where multiple folks had alternative work schedules and at others where it was almost universally declined.

I suspect they may be a bit more flexible with it now because of the trouble recruiting and retaining mental health providers, particularly psychiatrists.

 

[comp1]

They will negotiate this. Salaries cannot be negotiated (by Congressional statute). However, schedule definitely can be negotiated. Amount of telehealth can be negotiated. Number of intakes vs follow-ups can be negotiated. I've yet to see a VA that won't allow 4-10's and if somehow you got a new hiring manager that wasn't yet familiar with how hard it is to recruit physicians or NPs to any job anywhere, just apply for the next VA job on the list. They will quickly learn and likely reach back to you when they do. The manager may want you to work later in the evening though as business is often quite light early in the morning, but peaks around 3-6 PM.

 

[littlefred]

They will negotiate this. Salaries cannot be negotiated (by Congressional statute). However, schedule definitely can be negotiated. Amount of telehealth can be negotiated. Number of intakes vs follow-ups can be negotiated. I've yet to see a VA that won't allow 4-10's and if somehow you got a new hiring manager that wasn't yet familiar with how hard it is to recruit physicians or NPs to any job anywhere, just apply for the next VA job on the list. They will quickly learn and likely reach back to you when they do. The manager may want you to work later in the evening though as business is often quite light early in the morning, but peaks around 3-6 PM.

Having worked at a VA with psychiatry shortages, we were never able to negotiate a 4/10 work week. They did allow other liberties like WFH.

 

[vanfanal]

4/10s are the standard for opt psych at my VA.

 

[comp1]

Of note, negotiating a change in working conditions after being hired can be quite different from negotiating the job requirements before being hired. Not always, but often. Generally the latter is quite a bit easier. There is a very complicated balance between retention and recruitment.

 

[wolfvgang22]

They will negotiate this. Salaries cannot be negotiated (by Congressional statute). However, schedule definitely can be negotiated. Amount of telehealth can be negotiated. Number of intakes vs follow-ups can be negotiated. I've yet to see a VA that won't allow 4-10's and if somehow you got a new hiring manager that wasn't yet familiar with how hard it is to recruit physicians or NPs to any job anywhere, just apply for the next VA job on the list. They will quickly learn and likely reach back to you when they do. The manager may want you to work later in the evening though as business is often quite light early in the morning, but peaks around 3-6 PM.

I negotiated my salary before I started at the VA, and renegotiate periodically. While there is a cap on base compensation for psychiatrists , there is some wiggle room. Local market pay also varies by region.
I am paid more than the supposed cap and work 4 days per week at the VA and do a lot of telework as well. I did negotiate a 4 day week after working 5 days per week and doing a lot of call for several years. I am not the highest paid psychiatrist at my current VA.

Some VAs will act like nothing is negotiable. I've found very much is if administration is interested. VAs that tend to give take it or leave it ultimatums and blame policy are usually in desirable areas were job seekers have less leverage, or in places where administrators are less flexible. An influential department chief that can help demonstrate your value helps a lot. Just my experience at a few different VAs.

 

[vanfanal]

I negotiated my salary before I started at the VA, and renegotiate periodically. While there is a cap on base compensation for psychiatrists , there is some wiggle room. Local market pay also varies by region.
I am paid more than the supposed cap and work 4 days per week at the VA and do a lot of telework as well. I did negotiate a 4 day week after working 5 days per week and doing a lot of call for several years. I am not the highest paid psychiatrist at my current VA.

Some VAs will act like nothing is negotiable. I've found very much is if administration is interested. VAs that tend to give take it or leave it ultimatums and blame policy are usually in desirable areas were job seekers have less leverage, or in places where administrators are less flexible. An influential department chief that can help demonstrate your value helps a lot. Just my experience at a few different VAs.

This is really insightful.

I'm negotiating with a VA right now. Can you comment on how much the federal pay bump for 2023 (largest since 2002) is expected to increase pay? I initially accepted an offer with the understanding of a 2022 start and figuring I'd get that pay bump. Now it' been pushed back to 2023 and this is mainly because of the VA in question. I don't understand how these GS tables work; so I'm wondering will my pay go up automatically or should I ask for it to be adjusted accordingly?

Also, initially when I accepted there offer there was no sign-on bonus, now I can see they're offering a sign on to recruit docs. Fair to ask for it?

 

[wolfvgang22]

This is really insightful.

I'm negotiating with a VA right now. Can you comment on how much the federal pay bump for 2023 (largest since 2002) is expected to increase pay? I initially accepted an offer with the understanding of a 2022 start and figuring I'd get that pay bump. Now it' been pushed back to 2023 and this is mainly because of the VA in question. I don't understand how these GS tables work; so I'm wondering will my pay go up automatically or should I ask for it to be adjusted accordingly?

Also, initially when I accepted there offer there was no sign-on bonus, now I can see they're offering a sign on to recruit docs. Fair to ask for it?

Supposedly we are all getting a 4.6% increase in January, but we won't know for sure until the President signs it. Technically doctors are title 38 employees, not GS. Nevertheless, like GS get an automatic "step increase" in pay if your performance is good. Steps 1-3 are every year, then steps 4-6 are every other year, and 7-10 every three years. Within-Grade Increases

I doubt the VA will authorize a sign on bonus after you've already been hired. What I do is just ask for a 10% raise in addition to step increases as I'm again entertaining other job offers every few years, then accept the 6 or 7% counter offer. Over time this is worth a lot more than a bonus. I only take a bonus above salary increase if I don't plan to stay very long. Which is why VA usually wants a 2 or 3 year commitment when they offer signing bonuses.

You should know HR at the VA can be dysfunctional. After first couple of years I did not get my step increase because the pay committee simply did not meet! I learned this after I was asked to be on the pay committee. Things changed rapidly after that. I'm no longer on the pay committee as advocacy for other doctors who were owed pay did not make me friends. Moral of the story: read and understand the OPM website if you work for the government.

 

[Psychdoc29]

Also keep in mind that the 4.6% raise (if that happens) is on the base pay and not total compensation. For example, if your base pay is 100K and market pay is 150K making your total salary 250K, the 4.6% increase is 4600 per year and not 11,500.

 

[vanfanal]

Also keep in mind that the 4.6% raise (if that happens) is on the base pay and not total compensation. For example, if your base pay is 100K and market pay is 150K making your total salary 250K, the 4.6% increase is 4600 per year and not 11,500.

Oh, that's a good detail that I didn't know! Makes quite a difference. So if I'm understanding right, that is automatically adjusted across the board in 2023 when Biden signs it? - When does that typically happen?

Supposedly we are all getting a 4.6% increase in January, but we won't know for sure until the President signs it. Technically doctors are title 38 employees, not GS. Nevertheless, like GS get an automatic "step increase" in pay if your performance is good. Steps 1-3 are every year, then steps 4-6 are every other year, and 7-10 every three years. Within-Grade Increases

I doubt the VA will authorize a sign on bonus after you've already been hired. What I do is just ask for a 10% raise in addition to step increases as I'm again entertaining other job offers every few years, then accept the 6 or 7% counter offer. Over time this is worth a lot more than a bonus. I only take a bonus above salary increase if I don't plan to stay very long. Which is why VA usually wants a 2 or 3 year commitment when they offer signing bonuses.

You should know HR at the VA can be dysfunctional. After first couple of years I did not get my step increase because the pay committee simply did not meet! I learned this after I was asked to be on the pay committee. Things changed rapidly after that. I'm no longer on the pay committee as advocacy for other doctors who were owed pay did not make me friends. Moral of the story: read and understand the OPM website if you work for the government.

I'm still in the credentialing process. Haven't started onboarding, don't have start date, and still waiting for a visa; so I don't think I count as "hired" yet. I guess it's worth brining up. I mean if it's on the table then it's on the table....

 

[wolfvgang22]

Oh, that's a good detail that I didn't know! Makes quite a difference. So if I'm understanding right, that is automatically adjusted across the board in 2023 when Biden signs it? - When does that typically happen?



I'm still in the credentialing process. Haven't started onboarding, don't have start date, and still waiting for a visa; so I don't think I count as "hired" yet. I guess it's worth brining up. I mean if it's on the table then it's on the

Oh, that's a good detail that I didn't know! Makes quite a difference. So if I'm understanding right, that is automatically adjusted across the board in 2023 when Biden signs it? - When does that typically happen?



I'm still in the credentialing process. Haven't started onboarding, don't have start date, and still waiting for a visa; so I don't think I count as "hired" yet. I guess it's worth brining up. I mean if it's on the table then it's on the table....

Every federal employee would get the 4.6% automatically.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Oh, that's a good detail that I didn't know! Makes quite a difference. So if I'm understanding right, that is automatically adjusted across the board in 2023 when Biden signs it? - When does that typically happen?



I'm still in the credentialing process. Haven't started onboarding, don't have start date, and still waiting for a visa; so I don't think I count as "hired" yet. I guess it's worth brining up. I mean if it's on the table then it's on the table....

It's applied automatically and is usually backdated to the first of the year, IIRC. It can sometimes take a few weeks for HR at your VA to implement it, but you'll get backpay. In my experiences from years past, the President usually signs the COL increase sometime in January or maybe February if it hadn't already been signed.

 

[tealeafexplorer]

Is it also possible to work part time at the VA after many years, or are they looking strictly for full time physicians?

Would love to work full time and eventually taper down

 

[comp1]

Everywhere is hard up. Most VAs are going to let you transition to part time. But you do have to take a look at it from the manager and systems perspective. The VA hires based on full time employee equivalents. So if you convert to part time, they then theoretically have to find another part time person to fill an FTE equivalent. This isn't usually a huge deal because there often multiple vacancies, but depending on how well your particular VA is able to move positions around, it could be. All that said, the VA is generally loathe to have people leave and will often take a partial departure over a full one.