Federal Retirement Mailbag: Two readers recently asked about the same notice. Their Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) plan told them pharmacy coverage was moving to the plan’s Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. Should a federal retiree let the automatic enrollment happen or opt out, and can prescriptions be switched back to FEHB after enrolling? Opting out is generally possible, but the right choice depends on the medications, and postal retirees face a different outcome. Learn how the opt-out works, when it may make sense, and what to check before making a change.
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Retirement Spending Gap Calculator for FERS and TSP
A free calculator for federal employees and retirees. Enter annual spending, the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) annuity, the FERS Supplement, Social Security and stable assets to see the yearly gap the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) must supply and how many years of that gap the stable assets could cover, before and after the Supplement ends at 62. Includes the TSP’s Lifecycle Fund glide paths and a worked example.
Questions to Ask About Your TSP When Markets Send Mixed Signals
Federal employees a few years from retirement cannot wait out a bad decade, but cannot sit entirely in cash either. This educational guide lays out the questions to ask about the Thrift Savings Plan when markets send mixed signals: when the money will be needed, how many years of spending sit in stable assets, whether the allocation matches real risk tolerance, and what the FERS annuity and Social Security already cover. It uses the TSP’s own fund information to explain sequence-of-returns risk, the roles of the G, F, C, S and I Funds, and how the Lifecycle Funds’ glide paths work
Boosting Benefits and COLAs for Seniors Act: The Impact on Federal Retirees
Proposed legislation would change how the Social Security raise is calculated, but not how your federal annuity raise is calculated. Here is who it would help, what it could add each month, and what the bill leaves unfixed for FERS and CSRS retirees.
Can Federal Employees Drop Medicare Part B and Re-Enroll Without a Late Penalty?
From our Federal Retirement Mailbag: A reader who is still working with a Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) plan and Medicare wants to know if one of those can be dropped now to save money, then picked back up after retirement. The answer hinges on a short enrollment window, and a common assumption about retiree coverage could make it a costly one to miss.
10 Most Common Mistakes to Avoid When Purchasing Life Insurance
Ed Zurndorfer outlines errors individuals often make when purchasing and owning a life insurance policy
2025 Health Insurance Plan Options & Comparison Tools
Get the latest the official information online for the 2024 plan year of the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program. Dental and vision (FEDVIP) details are also available...
Your Federal Health Benefits & Medicare: Helpful Resources from OPM
The Office of Personnel Management offers several resources for federal employees and retirees regarding Medicare and how it works with the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program...
Guide to Federal Retiree COLAs: What Are They and How Are They Calculated?
Understand what the cost-of-living adjustment is, how it is computed, and how it affects CSRS and FERS annuities, survivor annuities, and other federal employee death benefits...
10 Biggest Mistakes Federal Employees Make When Planning for Retirement (and How to Avoid Them)
Learn the 10 biggest federal retirement planning mistakes that many employees make before leaving civil service including CSRS, FERS, Thrift Savings Plan...
Federal Retirement Planning Checklists
Checklists for 5-10 years from retirement, one year away from retirement, and for your first year after retirement...