President Donald Trump and Congress appear no closer to agreeing on an appropriation bill as the federal government shutdown enters its second day.
Roughly 750,000 federal workers will be furloughed each day of the shutdown, according to a letter from the United States Congressional Budget Office, which estimated the total daily cost of their compensation was around $400 million.
In reality, the number of federal workers impacted by the shutdown totals more than 2.1 million. Excepted workers, whose work involves the safety of human life and the protection of property, are required to work without pay.
A prolonged government shutdown would put extra financial burdens on the families of federal workers during an already precarious time due to shifting tariffs and rising inflation.
Fortunately, there are government shutdown relief options available to impacted families.
What does furloughed mean?
Outside of the COVID-19 pandemic, furloughs aren’t talked about much, so here’s a quick reminder. When a person is furloughed, they must take mandatory time off without pay. What separates a furlough from a layoff is that it is understood that the employee will return to work after a given amount of time.
In the federal government, there are two types of furloughs: Administrative furloughs and shutdown furloughs.
An administrative furlough is “a planned event by an agency which is designed to absorb reductions necessitated by downsizing, reduced funding, lack of work, or any budget situation other than a lapse in appropriations,” according to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
A shutdown furlough, which is what is happening in this case, is when there is a funding lapse. The Antideficiency Act legally prohibits federal agencies from paying for just about anything, including salaries, unless an exception has been made. These emergency furloughs persist until some sort of funding deal has been reached.
Navy Federal Credit Union offering zero-interest loans through paycheck assistance program
Navy Federal is pointing members to enroll in its paycheck assistance program, which will allow eligible members to borrow up to $6,000 without fee or interest charges.
Eligible members will need to meet these criteria:
No credit check is required for Navy Federal’s paycheck assistance program.
Loan amounts are determined by the amount of the most recent direct deposit made to the account before the government shutdown.
How and when to enroll
Navy Federal Credit Union members can enroll online or through the mobile app, but they will need to register by the day before their scheduled pay date to ensure funds are available on time.
Loans will only be available and disbursed if the government fails to pay eligible members in connection with the shutdown, according to Navy Federal’s website.
How repayment works
Once the government reopens, the amount credited to a borrower will be deducted automatically as repayment.
Loan amount eligibility
Loans will be dived up in $500 increments, rounded down, up to the $6,000 maximum. Here’s a look at how it works.
USAA offering no-interest loans through government shutdown
USAA is also offering no-interest loans during government shutdown for eligible members, with loans maxing out at $6,000.
Eligible members will need to meet the following criteria:
How repayment works
The loan will need to be repaid within three months of funding. Payments will be split into two equal installments, with the first due in about 60 days and the second due in about 90 days, according to USAA.
At the time of publish, USAA had not opened enrollment into its program. Check back for more details or visit USAA’s website directly.
Other USAA government shutdown relief services
USAA offers a number of other services to offer financial relief to its members.
The Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund offers emergency hardship loans and shutdown grants
In the past, the Federal Employee Education and Assistance (FEEA) has offered an emergency hardship loan program and government shutdown grants for qualifying full-time federal civilian employees.
The FEEA’s government shutdown grant is meant to cover small expenses like groceries, gas, diapers and other basic necessities. During past shutdowns, these micro-grants have been about $100.
Applications for the grants will open if the shutdown continues beyond the point that federal employees miss all or part of a paycheck.
The emergency hardship loan is part of the FEEA’s regular assistance offerings and does not include pay loss during a government shutdown. However, it can be used as an option if someone experiences any of the following during the shutdown:
Can furloughed federal workers claim unemployment in Florida?
If there is one thing people learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that collecting unemployment isn’t limited to total unemployment. Furloughed workers can claim unemployment, too.
Eligible federal workers who live in Florida are able to file unemployment claims through the state’s reemployment assistance program, which is sometimes referred to as unemployment insurance.
To be eligible to collect unemployment in Florida, federal workers will need to have been unemployed or furloughed through no fault of their own. Workers who remain on the job but are working on an as-needed or part-time basis and are receiving less than their weekly benefit amount can also qualify.
Excepted employees who are still working but not receiving pay are not eligible for unemployment benefits in Florida, according to the Florida Commerce website.
Eligible workers making an unemployment claim should select “layoff” as the separation reason when applying. Applicants should respond “yes” when asked if they are scheduled to return to work with their employer.
The official return date should be given if it was provided by the employer. Otherwise, the website says to enter a return date that is eight weeks from the start of the furlough.
Furloughed federal workers can request new Thrift Savings Plan loan
Federal workers furloughed during the shutdown can still request a new Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) loan, which allows TSP members to borrow against their retirement savings with a 4.25% interest rate, according to the OPM.
Before applying for the loan, borrowers should know that they are removing the requested funds from their account, which means they receive less compound earnings until the amount is repaid.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Furloughed in Florida during the government shutdown? Here are some relief options
Reporting by Brandon Girod, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
