Outdated beneficiary designations can override your intentions and leave your family with surprises you never meant. Chris Kowalik discusses how federal employees can make sure their benefits go to the right people and avoid costly mistakes. more…
Latest Articles
How to Calculate a Retiring Federal Employee’s Starting FERS Gross Annuity
Ed Zurndorfer explains who the Office of Personnel Management makes the calculation of a retiring FERS employee’s starting FERS gross annuity at retirement. more…
Former Federal Employees Navigating Job Market Are Finding It Looks Different
Many former federal employees are navigating the job market for the first time in years, only to find that the rules around hiring and networking have shifted….{from FederalNewsNetwork] more…
Understanding the Strict Roth TSP to Roth IRA Rollover Rules
Federal employees and retirees are forewarned that the tax rules associated with Roth TSP to Roth IRA rollovers are challenging and confusing. One challenging rule involves the five-year holding periods for both the Roth TSP and the Roth IRA.. Ed Zurndorfer explains the rules (with practical examples), and also discusses the pros and cons of these type of rollovers more…
House Democrats Demand Answers from OPM on Retirement Delays
The lawmakers warned the delays are due to workforce reduction policies and that the Office of Personnel Management has provided only a partial response — while federal retirees are still experiencing significant delays and communication failures regarding their retirement applications more…
The Barbell: A Strategy for Managing the Thrift Savings Plan in Retirement
A popular free annual publication has been released by well-known CPA and federal retiree, Chris Barfield which explains the TSP investment options and how one might allocate their funds when they are in retirement. It also illustrates the “Thrift Savings barbell strategy” by using a fictional character who retired from federal service — tracking his TSP account in real-time using actual TSP returns. more…
What HR Can’t Tell You About Your Retirement
Chris Kowalik explains the critical role that HR must play in your federal retirement, how little HR may know about you when answering your questions, the long-term effects of ill-informed decisions more…
USPS Suspends Retirement Contributions to FERS to Avoid Running Out of Cash
The United States Postal Service is temporarily suspending payments to the Federal Employees Retirement System on April 10 after warning Congress in March it will run of cash in less then 12 months. A FAQ on the action is available more…
Last Paycheck vs. First Retirement Check
Chris Kowalik explains how your income changes when you retire from federal service, which expenses go up and which go down in retirement, and how you can fill the income shortfall more…
10 Costly TSP & IRA Rollover Errors Federal Employees & Retirees Should Avoid
Many federal employees and retirees choose to rollover their TSP accounts and IRAs. But as Ed Zurndorfer explains, costly errors can be avoided by understanding the rules on which retirement accounts can and cannot be rolled over, important deadlines, and when a direct rollover should be performed rather than a rollover or a withdrawal
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