The Retirement Income Gap: How to Prepare as a Federal Employee
One of the most common (and most unpleasant) surprises in retirement isn’t the paperwork. It’s the moment you realize your paycheck and your retirement income aren’t the same thing. Imagine a long-tenured federal employee who retires with a high-3 salary of $100,000. Under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), the basic pension formula is generally 1% × […]
TSP Basics: Understanding the Five Funds (and Their Limitations)
The federal government has always had a fondness for alphabet soup. Entire agencies, programs, and policies get compressed into strings of letters that eventually become second nature. When it comes to the Thrift Savings Plan, though, the shorthand gets even leaner. Instead of acronyms, you’re handed five single letters: G, F, C, S, and I. […]
Retirement Planning for Government Employees: A Comprehensive Guide
Approaching retirement as a federal employee can feel overwhelming. Between deciphering acronyms like FERS, TSP, and FEGLI, and worrying whether you’ve saved enough, it’s no wonder many federal workers feel uneasy. Perhaps you’re confused about your benefit options or anxious about an income shortfall once that steady government paycheck stops. In fact, a recent survey […]
Your Year-End 2025 Financial Checklist
The end of the year always carries a special mix of reflection and anticipation. Families gather, homes fill with familiar sounds, and calendars start to feel heavier as the holiday season begins. It is a natural time to think about what went well, what surprised you, and what you want to improve next year. It […]
Traditional vs. Roth IRA: Which Makes More Sense for You?
Do you think income tax rates will go up or down by the time you retire? If you’re like many Americans, you suspect they’ll rise, and likely for good reason. Let’s just look at history. In 1944, the top U.S. federal income tax rate was an astounding 94% on the highest earners, and through the […]
How Much Should You Have Saved by Retirement?
We’re in a retirement crisis right now in America. Every day, Americans in their mid-60s wake up on the eve of their retirement, only to finally and fully realize that they simply don’t have enough. In fact, over half of American households (54%) report having no dedicated retirement savings at all. And even among those […]
What to Do When the Market Gets Volatile
You wake up, check your phone, and see a news alert that the S&P 500 is down big. Your heart skips a beat. Opening your investment app, you confirm the damage. Your portfolio’s value has significantly dropped. What do you do? Do you frantically log in and sell everything before it gets worse? Do you […]
How Does the Big Beautiful Bill Affect Your Retirement Plan?
Meet Jake, a soon-to-be retiree. He’s been carefully planning his finances, but one worry keeps him up at night: taxes. With prices rising and constant news about changing laws, Jake fears a big tax hike could shrink his hard-earned savings. If only Jake’s case was an isolated one, but unfortunately, 43% of Americans cite high […]
When Should You Claim Social Security?
You’ve surely heard conflicting advice about Social Security. One person insists, “Take the money as soon as you can at 62 – you never know what could happen.” Another swears, “Wait until 70, you’ll get a much bigger check.” If you’re nearing retirement, you might feel caught in the middle. Deciding when to start Social […]
When Does It Make Sense to Convert to Roth? (If Ever!)
In the late 1990s, the U.S. government introduced a new type of retirement account, thanks to a Delaware Senator named William Roth. He championed the idea of paying taxes up front on retirement savings so that ordinary Americans could reap tax-free rewards later. This was a significant shift from the traditional approach (literally, the Traditional […]
