Fee-only advisors who specialize in FERS, CSRS, TSP, and federal retirement benefits.
Federal benefits are unique and complex: the FERS 3-legged stool (basic annuity + TSP + Social Security), the FERS supplement, survivor annuity elections, FEHB in retirement (Medicare coordination), sick-leave conversion, and CSRS Offset for the few remaining. Generalist advisors often miss the FERS supplement, FEHB implications, or survivor-electi
What our matched specialists handle
- FERS basic annuity — am I maximizing my high-3?
- Should I take the FERS supplement or delay Social Security?
- Survivor annuity election — 50% or 25%, and what about life insurance as alternative?
- FEHB in retirement + Medicare — do I need Part B?
- TSP withdrawal strategy in retirement
- Sick leave conversion — when and how much does it add?
Tools & guides
FERS Retirement Calculator
Model FERS basic annuity, FERS supplement, TSP withdrawal, and Social Security as an integrated retirement income plan.
Survivor Annuity vs Life Insurance Calculator
Compare the true cost of your FERS survivor annuity election against private term life insurance. Annual cost, survivor benefit, equivalent coverage, and break-even analysis.
TSP RMD Calculator
See your required minimum distribution schedule year-by-year. Enter your traditional TSP balance and birth year to project RMD amounts, remaining balance through retirement, and potential IRMAA exposure.
FERS Supplement Calculator (2026)
How much will your FERS Special Retirement Supplement be? Enter your estimated Social Security benefit at 62 and service years. Shows monthly amount, earnings test reduction from post-retirement work, and total value from retirement to age 62.
FERS Sick Leave Retirement Credit Calculator
Unused sick leave converts to additional service credit — but only in full months (174 hours each). See how many months your projected balance earns, how many hours will be dropped, and the exact dollar value to your annual pension. Includes an optimization callout so you know precisely how close you are to the next full month of credit.
FERS High-3 Salary Calculator
Your FERS annuity is permanently locked to your high-3 average — and OPM weights each salary rate by the exact days you earned it. Enter your current salary, months until retirement, and any upcoming step increase or promotion. The calculator shows your projected high-3 and compares four retirement timing scenarios so you can see whether waiting to capture a raise pays off.
Annual Leave Payout Calculator (2026)
Every hour of unused annual leave pays out as a lump sum at retirement — at your full hourly rate of basic pay. This calculator projects your balance at retirement, computes your gross payout, and estimates federal income tax (22% supplemental rate), Social Security withholding (2026 wage base: $184,500), and Medicare withholding — so you can plan your retirement date and leave strategy around a real net number.
Federal Retirement Income Tax Estimator (2026)
How much will you actually owe in federal income tax on your FERS annuity, TSP withdrawals, and Social Security? This estimator applies the IRS Simplified Method for your FERS exclusion ratio, the combined-income test for Social Security taxation (up to 85%), the 2026 standard deduction with age-65 additions, and the new OBBBA enhanced senior deduction. Shows a full income breakdown, deductions, effective rate, and flags IRMAA exposure.
FERS Retirement Planning Guide
Detailed framework — rules, tradeoffs, and common mistakes.
TSP Strategy for Federal Employees
Fund allocation, contribution limits, withdrawal sequencing, Roth vs. traditional, and the rollover vs. stay-in-TSP decision.
TSP Fund Allocation Guide (G, F, C, S, I Funds)
How to allocate your TSP at every career stage — the G Fund trap explained, model portfolios by age, the 2024 I Fund benchmark change, and when an L Fund makes sense vs. when it hurts you.
FEHB + Medicare in Retirement
Should you take Medicare Part B? How FEHB and Medicare coordinate, IRMAA surcharges on your pension and TSP, and which FEHB plans work best with Part B.
FERS Supplement Guide
How the Special Retirement Supplement is calculated, who qualifies, the 2026 earnings test ($24,480), and how to time Social Security alongside it.
Sick Leave & Annual Leave at Retirement
How unused sick leave converts to FERS service credit (174 hours = 1 month), why the annual leave lump sum is calculated, and timing your retirement date to maximize both.
VERA/VSIP: Federal Early Retirement Guide
How to evaluate a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority or VSIP offer. Eligibility (50+20 or any+25), annuity math, FERS supplement deferral, and break-even framework.
When to Retire from the Federal Government
Retirement date timing checklist: maximize annual leave payout, get the earliest annuity start date, time your high-3, hit the TSP Rule of 55, and protect FEHB coverage.
Social Security for Federal Employees (2026)
WEP and GPO are repealed — what it means for CSRS retirees. FERS supplement earnings test ($24,480), the age-62 cliff, SS timing break-even, and the gap between supplement end and delayed SS filing.
Federal Employee RIF Guide 2026
Reduction in Force: immediate vs. deferred retirement, severance pay formula, FEHB continuation (TCC), TSP options, and what to do if you're not yet retirement-eligible.
OPM Retirement Application Guide
Step-by-step walkthrough of SF-3107, documents required, best retirement dates in 2026, how interim pay works (60–80% of estimated annuity), and how to avoid the common mistakes that delay OPM processing.
Federal Retirement Checklist
Timeline from 5 years out to day one — FEHB 5-year rule, high-3 optimization, survivor annuity decision, OPM application prep, Medicare enrollment, and links to all key guides in one place.
FERS Roth Conversion Strategy
Federal employees who retire at 57–62 have a rare Roth conversion window — lower income before Social Security, a FERS supplement that disappears at 62, and 8+ years before RMDs. How to use it.
FERS Phased Retirement Guide
Work half-time and receive half your annuity — OPM's phased retirement program explained: eligibility (MRA+30 or 60+20), the mentoring requirement, FEHB/FEGLI continuation, and composite annuity formula.
HSA Strategy for Federal Employees
Can federal employees use an HSA? Yes — if you're in an FEHB HDHP plan. Here's how the triple tax benefit works, 2026 contribution limits ($4,400 self/$8,750 family), and the Medicare enrollment trap to avoid.
TSP Withdrawal Options in Retirement
The four ways to take money out of TSP: installment payments (fixed dollar or life expectancy), lump sum, life annuity, and combination approaches. Includes the Rule of 55 penalty exception, Roth TSP rules, and IRMAA income planning.
TSP Loan Rules 2026
How TSP general purpose and residential loans work: maximum loan amounts, the 4.5% G Fund interest rate, the hidden opportunity cost and double-taxation of interest, and what happens to an outstanding loan when you retire or separate from service.
FERS Special Category Retirement: LEO, Firefighters & ATC
Law enforcement officers, firefighters, and air traffic controllers retire under completely different rules: enhanced 1.7% annuity multiplier for the first 20 years, immediate eligibility at age 50+20, mandatory separation at 57, FERS supplement starting at retirement date, and TSP Rule of 55 extended to age 50.
FERS Deferred Retirement: Left Federal Service Early? You Still Have a Pension
If you left federal service with 5+ years and didn't take a contribution refund, a FERS annuity is waiting at age 62. What you keep (the pension, TSP access at 59½), what you permanently lose (FEHB, FEGLI, FERS supplement), the frozen high-3 math, and how to file Form RI 92-19.
FERS Pension COLA: What Federal Retirees Actually Get
FERS retirees receive zero COLA before age 62, then a capped "diet COLA" after — not full CPI like CSRS. 2026 rates: CSRS 2.8%, FERS 2.0%. The formula, the age-62 rule, and how to plan for the inflation gap.
How to Choose a Financial Advisor for Federal Employees
Not every CFP knows what the FERS supplement is. Here's how to evaluate advisors: fee-only vs commission, specialist credentials (ChFEBC, CFP), 10 diagnostic questions that reveal true federal benefits depth, red flags, and why flat-fee often beats AUM for federal employees.
FLTCIP 2026: Federal Long-Term Care Insurance
New FLTCIP enrollment is suspended until at least December 2026. Existing enrollees absorbed up to 86% premium increases in 2024–2026. What currently enrolled federal employees should do now — and what uninsured employees can do instead (private LTC, hybrid policies, deliberate self-insurance).
FERS Civilian Service Deposit & Redeposit (2026 Guide)
Two OPM programs many federal employees overlook: the 1.3% deposit for pre-1989 non-deduction service, and the redeposit for withdrawn FERS contributions. Both can boost your annuity for less than two years of retirement income — but the 4.25% interest clock runs until your retirement date.
FERS Retirement with Part-Time Service
OPM applies a proration factor to any career that includes part-time service — but your high-3 salary is based on your full-time rate of pay, not your actual earnings. How the proration factor is calculated, what it costs per year, and what happens to your FERS supplement if you've ever worked a reduced schedule.
How to Choose Your FEHB Plan 2026
FFS vs. HMO vs. HDHP — how government contributions work, the 5-year FEHB retirement rule, premium conversion tax savings, and a decision framework by situation (healthy single, family, near retirement, chronic condition). Includes GEHA, BCBS, Aetna, and HMO comparison guidance.
Federal Employee Divorce Guide
Divorce is different when one spouse is a fed. FERS annuity division via COAP (5 CFR 838), court-ordered survivor annuity, the TSP RBCO vs. QDRO distinction (a critical trap), FEHB TCC for the ex-spouse, and what WEP/GPO repeal means for CSRS ex-spouses.
Federal Employee Estate Planning
Four benefit streams — TSP, FEGLI, survivor annuity, and FEHB — that pass outside your will and require separate beneficiary designations. Form TSP-3 rules, the 90-day spousal window, SF-2823 FEGLI designations, the FERS BEDB lump sum, and what your will actually controls.
FERS High-3 Salary Optimization
Your high-3 is the single largest lever in your FERS pension — but most employees don't actively manage it. Five optimization strategies: step increase timing, the part-time penalty, promotion timing, locality pay impact, and the 1.1% multiplier threshold at age 62 with 20 years. GS-14 DC worked example showing a $7K/year pension difference.
Federal Retirement Tax Guide
How your FERS annuity, TSP distributions, and Social Security are taxed — including the annuity exclusion ratio (Simplified Method), the SS 85% combined-income rule, IRMAA cliffs, state pension exemptions, and the OBBBA $6,000 senior deduction through 2028. GS-14 worked example.
FERS Disability Retirement Guide
FERS disability retirement if you can no longer perform your job: eligibility (18-month service minimum, accommodation requirement), the 60%/40% annuity formula with SSDI offset, the age-62 recalculation cliff, 80% earned income rule, FEHB/FEGLI continuation, and how OWCP compares to FERS disability.
FEGLI Life Insurance in Retirement
Basic FEGLI coverage formula, the 5-year continuation rule, and the critical decision most retirees get wrong: Option B's age-band premium trap (costs jump 160% at 65). Full vs. no-reduction comparison, FEGLI vs. private insurance framework, and the survivor annuity intersection.
MRA+10 Early Retirement: Retire Before 30 Years
If you have 10+ years of service but aren't eligible for a full immediate retirement, MRA+10 is your option — but it comes with a 5% per year annuity penalty. Immediate vs. postponed annuity (unreduced at 60/20 or 62+), FEHB suspension under postponement, and what TSP Rule of 55 means for your bridge strategy.
CSRS Retirement Guide
The tiered CSRS formula (1.5%/1.75%/2%), survivor annuity cost, CSRS Offset mechanics at 62, the Voluntary Contributions Program (10% of career earnings), and how WEP/GPO repeal restores full Social Security for CSRS retirees and their spouses. Worked example: 35 years, $145K high-3 = $96,063/year.
FERS Military Buyback Guide
Buy back your active-duty military service for a FERS pension credit — 3% of military basic pay, 4.25% annual interest in 2026. For most veterans without a military pension, payback is under 12 months. Break-even analysis, the military retired pay trap, and the SF-3108 process.
Your First Year of Federal Retirement: Month-by-Month Cash Flow
What actually happens to your income after you leave government service: OPM interim pay (60–80% of estimated annuity for 2–3 months), the annual leave lump sum and its FICA tax treatment, the FEHB premium conversion loss, when the FERS supplement actually starts, TSP withdrawal setup, and W-4P withholding for your OPM annuity. GS-14 worked example.
Reemployed Annuitant: Returning to Federal Service After Retirement
Retired from federal service but considering going back? Here's how the salary offset works (position rate minus your annuity), when agencies grant dual compensation waivers (full salary + full annuity), how new service builds a supplemental or redetermined annuity, and the FERS supplement earnings trap that surprises most returning retirees.
TSP In-Service Withdrawal at Age 59½
Once you reach age 59½, you can withdraw from your TSP while still working — up to 4 times per year, no 10% penalty. Take cash, roll to a traditional IRA, or convert directly to a Roth IRA. Here's how the mechanics work and how federal employees use the in-service withdrawal as a Roth conversion tool before retirement.
TSP Rollover to IRA: Should You Keep Your TSP?
The TSP has something no IRA can match: the G Fund — a government-backed asset paying ~4.4% with zero principal risk. Before rolling over, understand the Rule of 55 trap (rolling before 59½ eliminates penalty-free access), expense ratio math, Roth TSP 5-year clock mechanics, and the partial rollover strategy that keeps the G Fund while gaining IRA flexibility.
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