A Benefit for Feds in Need
With Open Season upon us, your thoughts might be turning to the slate of benefits offered to federal employees. As the only charity by and for feds and their families, FEEA’s programs offer benefits to civilian federal and postal employees, no enrollment or membership needed.
Maybe you know of a federal employee co-worker who is struggling to pay everyday bills due to an unexpected emergency. Our no-fee, no-interest loans can help take the worry out of a qualifying emergency, such as: illness-related LWOP (of the employee or an immediate family member); a death in the family that brings unplanned expenses; identity theft that leads to financial loss; loss/damage to a primary residence due to a disaster; a victim of domestic violence with the immediate need for safe housing; or a victim of violent crime. A FEEA loan can help by covering necessities like rent or mortgage, utilities, or funeral expenses.
After an unexpected illness hits, it’s difficult to focus on anything other than being able to keep a roof over your family’s head if you weren’t able to work and lost pay. It can also be hard to take time to grieve the loss of an immediate family member while you’re wondering how you’ll pay the funeral bill. A FEEA loan can help alleviate some of the stresses associated with an unplanned hardship, so a fed can take care of personal business and return to work with a clear head.
Recently, FEEA loans have helped:
A man who was a victim of identity theft, ending up with bills for accounts he never created and struggling to pay his real bills. FEEA was able to help with a utility payment so he could focus on restoring his identity.
A woman who had three emergency surgeries in four months, causing her to be off work for an extended amount of time and wonder how she was going to pay her rent. A FEEA loan covered her rent for a month and helped alleviate her concerns so she could concentrate on recovery and getting back to work.
A man whose father had colon cancer and subsequently passed away. The employee had funeral expenses and LWOP due to caring for his father and attending the funeral. Helping him with a FEEA loan allowed him to grieve and take care of the expenses without fear of losing his apartment.
One of the most common reasons for needing help is the severe illness/injury of a federal employee – someone who has been struggling with an illness for several months, using all their sick leave, and ending up with unpaid leave. They try to keep up with the bills, juggling work and home life, but the expenses just accumulate. If they qualify for a FEEA loan, there is tremendous relief realizing some of those expenses will be paid. Recently, we got an update from one of our loan recipients, who said, “…I am so grateful for FEEA’s help. My kids and I were at risk of losing our home, but because of your kindness and help we were able to catch up.”
So often, we see feds who are just trying to navigate an immediate income shortage, without consideration for the long-term management of their financial situation. For feds who do not qualify for a loan, or for anyone else who might be interested in dealing with debt or other ongoing budget issues, FEEA offers credit counseling help via a program that will reimburse an employee up to $75 for any out-of-pocket credit counseling fees paid to a National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) nonprofit member-agency.
Learn more about the emergency hardship loan program, including the credit counseling component, at feea.org/our-programs/emergency-loans/.
FEEA thanks the thousands of individual donors who support our work, and BlueCross BlueShield, and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield for their support in expanding our loan program to more families in need.
The column from FEEA is part of the FEDforum, an initiative to unite voices across the federal community. The FEDforum is a space for federal employee groups to share their organizations’ initiatives and activities with the FEDmanager audience.
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