Your Thrift Savings Plan required minimum distributions can do more than raise your tax bill — it can push up Medicare premiums and make more of your Social Security taxable. Here’s what the rules actually say, and how to plan ahead. more…
Recent Articles
OPM Cut Retirement Services Staffing by 16% — Here’s What That Means for Your Retirement Application Backlog Wait
A new GAO report reveals OPM’s Retirement Services office shrank by 165 positions even as the agency raced to clear a record claims backlog. The backlog is falling — but processing times aren’t. Here’s what it means if you’re retiring soon. more…
Two Social Security Bills Are Back in Congress — Here’s What They Do (and Don’t Do) for Federal Retirees
Two Social Security bills are making headlines again — one a familiar benefits-and-taxes overhaul, the other a stalled $200/month relief payment. Here’s what’s actually in each bill, and what to watch for in the coming months more…
Service Computation Dates: Why Your SCD Matters for Federal Retirement
Not all Service Computation Dates are the same — and the one on your SF-50 may not be the one that determines when you can retire. Here’s how to tell which SCD actually applies to you. more…
Should Federal Employees Self-Fund for Long-Term Care Costs?
Long-term care insurance isn’t the only way to prepare for future LTC costs. Ed Zurndofer looks at self-funding as an alternative — the advantages, the key questions to ask about who will provide care, and which accounts (HSAs, brokerage funds, Roth TSP/IRA) make the most sense to tap when the time comes. more…
Lump-Sum Payment Upon the Death of a Former CSRS Employee or CSRS Offset Employee
If a former CSRS or CSRS Offset employee dies after leaving federal service but before applying for deferred retirement, no survivor annuity is payable — instead, a lump-sum death benefit goes to the named beneficiary or, if none was designated, follows OPM’s order of precedence. Ed Zurndorfer explains how the process works and what family members need to file. more…
TSP Week in Review: August 3-7, 2026
Every TSP core fund closed the week in positive territory, but the gains were far from even — one fund increased by nearly 5%. A weaker-than-expected jobs report on Friday shifted the market’s outlook on interest rates and sent stocks higher into the close. more…
Free OPM Data Breach ID Theft Protection Is Expiring — A New Bill Would Make It Permanent
A decade after the OPM data breaches exposed the personal records of millions of federal employees, the free identity theft protection tied to that coverage is expiring — not on one fixed date, but individually, as each person reaches 10 years from their enrollment. A new bill in Congress, the RECOVER PII Act, would replace that temporary coverage with lifetime protection and a higher insurance floor. Here’s what’s ending, what the bill would change, and what to do in the meantime. more…
Need Your SF-50? OPM’s New Online Tool Lets Former Employees Download Their Personnel Records
If you’re retired or separated from federal service, getting a copy of your personnel file used to mean paper forms, a call to your old agency, or a request to the National Personnel Records Center — often with a long wait attached. OPM’s new Document Request Service changes that. Eligible former employees can now request their complete eOPF file, including their SF-50s, entirely online, with records delivered securely by email in most cases. This guide breaks down who qualifies, how the process works, and why it’s worth doing even if you think you already have copies of your key documents. more…
IRS and Social Security Suspend Advanced Leave — What It Means If You’re Counting Down to Retirement
Both agencies have stopped approving advanced annual and sick leave — a benefit that’s functioned as informal short-term disability coverage for employees facing a medical emergency before they’ve banked enough leave to cover it. The bigger question for anyone eyeing a retirement date: if you’ve ever used advanced leave, you could owe it back out of your final paycheck. This guide breaks down what OPM’s rules actually require, what alternatives remain, and what it means to check your own leave balance now — before you’re the one who needs it. more…