Writing for federal employees
Plain-English pieces about the TSP decision and the retirement arithmetic behind it. No products, no pitches, and no email required to read any of it.
Required Minimum Distributions and Your TSP
At some point the rules require money to come out of your traditional TSP balance whether you need it or not. When that starts, how the TSP handles it, what's different about Roth, and why it's worth planning for.
Read the article →Retiring at Your MRA: Immediate, Postponed, or Deferred
Leaving federal service at your Minimum Retirement Age can be done three ways, and they differ in ways that matter: a permanent reduction, the supplement, and whether your health coverage comes with you. Here's the outline.
Read the article →Unused Sick Leave and Your FERS Pension
Under FERS, the sick leave you never used can make your pension a little larger. It can't help you qualify to retire sooner. Here's how the credit works, what it doesn't do, and where to find your balance.
Read the article →FERS Survivor Benefits: The Election You Make Once
At retirement you decide whether part of your pension continues to your spouse after you die. The choice is largely permanent, it changes your monthly income, and it can decide whether your spouse keeps FEHB. Here's how it works.
Read the article →The FEHB Five-Year Rule: The Retirement-Date Check Most People Skip
Keeping your FEHB health coverage in retirement usually depends on five years of continuous enrolment right before you leave. Here's how the rule works, what counts, and why it belongs on your checklist before you pick a date.
Read the article →The Five Options for Your TSP at Retirement (Explained Without Jargon)
Every federal employee gets the same five choices for their TSP. Most can name two. Here's what each one does, what it's good at, and what it quietly costs you in flexibility or taxes.
Read the article →The FERS Pension Gap: What Your Pension Actually Covers
Your pension and Social Security cover part of retirement. Whatever's left is the job your TSP has to do. Here's how to size that gap — and why its size should drive which options matter to you.
Read the article →See where you stand in 15 seconds
A few quick questions about your federal service and your timeline. Then, if it's useful, a free 15-minute TSP Readiness Review with a state-licensed professional.
Start the 15-second checkFree · No obligation · Educational only · Not a government agency