Haws Federal Advisors Podcast

Check out the full article here: https://planyourfederalbenefits.com/blog/ Check out my courses here: https://planyourfederalbenefits.com/courses-main-page/ Check out my articles on FedSmith here: https://www.fedsmith.com/author/dallen-haws/ Dallen Haws at Haws Financial Planning Sierra Vista, AZ Want to work with me? Click here: https://hawsfinancialplanning.com/contact-us-make-an-appointment/ (https://hawsfinancialplanning.com/contact-us-make-an-appointment/) One of the biggest fears and questions for retirees is “Will I run out of money in retirement?”. Understandably, this is a fear of just about everyone (unless maybe you are Warren Buffet). Even though FERS benefits put federal employees miles ahead of most private sector employees when it comes to being prepared for retirement, feds are not out of the woods yet.  For many feds, the period that puts pressure on the rest of their retirement is the time between retirement and starting social security. According to a report by OPM in 2017, the average retirement age for feds is 61. This means that the average retiree will have at least 1 year before they are even eligible to start social security. And for many feds, it makes sense to delay starting social security until closer to age 67 or even 70 to get the dramatically increased monthly benefit.  This means that the average fed is going to have 6-9 years between the day they stop working and the day they get their first check from social security. During this period, most feds are going to be relying on their other two main sources of income: their pension and TSP.  The problem starts when many feds overestimate how much of their pension they will actually see. For example, let’s say John, our retiring federal employee, has a high-3 of $100,000, 30 years of creditable service, and a multiplier of 1.1. This would make his pension calculation look like this: $100,000  x   30  x 1.1%   = $33,000 $33,000 feels like a great number but we have to remember that is his gross pension, not his net pension. To get his net pension, or the actual dollar amount that he’ll be able to spend, we need to take out things like the survivor benefit for his wife, FEHB premiums, and taxes. It might look something like this: $33,000  -$3,600 : FEHB ($300 month) -$3,300 : Survivor Benefit (10%) -$4,950 : Taxes (Estimated at 15%) Net Pension:  $21,150 This means that he’ll actually see about $1,762.50/month from his pension. The rest of his living will have to be made up from his TSP. Let’s assume that he and his wife have living expenses of about $5,000 per month. This means that to sustain their lifestyle, they’ll need $3,237.50/month or $38,850/year from their TSP. Assuming Joe retired at age 61 and wasn’t going to start social security until 67, he’d need to take a total of $233,100 from his TSP to cover the gap. And depending on how hefty John’s TSP was to begin with, this could be a devastating blow. Not only is that $233,100 not around to fund the rest of retirement but won’t have the opportunity to  grow if it had been invested.  To solve this problem, some people decide to just start social security early but this has its own ramifications and in efforts to not make this article a mile long, I won’t go into the pros and cons of starting social security early in this article. There are a million articles on that. Suffice it to say, that for many people (but not everyone) it makes the most sense to wait to start social security until at least their full retirement age (between age 65-67 depending on when you were born) if not later and the question then becomes how to survive the gap. Some continue to work, cut down their lifestyle, or do a reverse mortgage. But what makes sense for you really depends on your situation and goals. For some, their TSP balance is large enough to weather the storm and for others that might...

Check out my courses here: https://planyourfederalbenefits.com/courses-main-page/ Check out my articles on FedSmith here: https://www.fedsmith.com/author/dallen-haws/ It is very easy to be greedy when the market has record highs. When everything is going up, it is so easy to listen to the water cooler talk and double down on the C, S, and I funds.  When the market is going down however, it is a very different picture. It turns the once greedy investors into nervous ones.  And this seems completely understandable. Federal employees generally have most of their life savings in the TSP and running out of money in retirement is a scary thing.  But we have to remember the advice of one of the greatest investors of all time, Warren Buffet. He said that we should “be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful.”  This quote teaches us a valuable lesson. The market going down is actually a great thing for those that have a while until they retire. This allows them to buy when prices are low and see more growth over the next few years. So if you have some time before your retirement you should take advantage of the opportunity. For some people this means investing more aggressively because they were being too convservative. For others, this means holding fast to their long-term investment plan and not moving everything to the G fund.  When people get into trouble is when they are investing too aggressively as they approach retirement. One of the worst things you can do when the market goes down is to sell. This locks in your loss. Most people rely on at least some portion of their TSP to support them in retirement. If they don’t have any other savings to get them through the down years then they will be forced to sell when the market is relatively low.  Most people should get more conservative as they approach retirement so that they don't experience as large of peaks and valleys in their portfolio. It won’t earn as much as an aggressive portfolio but will provide some much needed security. All that being said, these are just general principles and may not apply to everyone. You have to look at your personal situation to decide what makes sense. For example, I have some clients who have enough fixed retirement income (pension, social security, ect) to cover all their living expenses in retirement. That means that they really don’t need much if any of the TSP every year. This allows them to be able to invest more aggressively than others their age because they aren’t relying on it for income.  You have to take a hard look at your personal finances and situation to make sure you are using a strategy that makes sense for you.  Market downturns can give us all a much needed reality check to make sure we are investing with our long-term goals in mind. For some, it is just a matter of riding it out. For others, it can be a great reminder to “be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful.” 

Check out the full article here: https://planyourfederalbenefits.com/blog/ Check out my courses here: https://planyourfederalbenefits.com/courses-main-page/ Check out my articles on FedSmith here: https://www.fedsmith.com/author/dallen-haws/ Dallen Haws at Haws Financial Planning Sierra Vista, AZ Want to work with me? Click here: https://hawsfinancialplanning.com/contact-us-make-an-appointment/ (https://hawsfinancialplanning.com/contact-us-make-an-appointment/) I am not at all qualified to give advice on recovering from the actual disease but as we all know, Covid-19 has had many financial symptoms as well as physical. And feds are only partly immune. Federal employees are blessed to have incredible job security. Most people around the country simply don’t enjoy that privilege. But as many feds are well aware, the TSP was not protected from the downturn.  The TSP is an amazing retirement saving tool that most private plans simply can’t compete with. The match is awesome and the fees are ridiculously low. In most cases, I discourage feds from moving their money to outside the TSP.  But all this being said, just like any other investment, the TSP can and will go down. That is simply the nature of investing and the stock market. While many consequences of the coronavirus are unprecedented, how the stock market reacted is not.  Depending on the source, there have been about 25 bear markets in the last 90 years (A bear market is when the market drops by at least 20%). That averages out to one about every 3.6 years.  Based on that, the only thing that is unprecedented about this market drop is why it took so long after 11 years of growth.  Now, I am not trying to discourage people from investing. Investing is essential to building wealth and fighting inflation throughout your career and retirement. All I am trying to do is educate people on what is normal so that they know how to react the next time this happens. Just remember, most feds have already lived through 4-6 bear markets/recessions and will probably live through at least that many more. The trick is knowing what your investment strategy is and sticking to it. Some try to time the market and go to the G-fund right before the market goes down. The problem is that no one knows when exactly the market will go down or come back up. Someone might guess right a few times but they only have to be wrong a couple of times to destroy years of growth. Even professional investors can’t consistently time the market. One of the reasons that this is so difficult is because a huge portion of stock market growth happens just a few days a year. And if it so happens that you are in the G-fund during those days then your returns will be much worse than those that just stayed invested. This graph shows just how powerful this principle is. It comes from a study done by Fidelity on what would happen to a hypothetical $10,000 investment into an S&P 500 index fund (comparable to the C fund) from 1980 to 2018. (Graphic from thesimpledollar.com) As the graph shows, those that stayed invested the whole time would have turned their $10,000 into $708,143 but by missing only the 5 best trading days they’d only have $458,476. And the results only get worse as you miss more of the best days.  During the 38 year period that this study covered, there were about 10,000 trading days. That means that if we try to time the market, we are trying to pick 5 days out of 10,000. The odds aren’t in our favor. To make it even harder, most of the best trading days during this period happened in the middle of significant downturns. It is like playing russian roulette with your retirement savings where 99,995 out of 10,000 times you lose.  The best strategy just happens to be the most stress-free one as well. Decide what your long-term investment strategy is and stick to it. Don’t worry about what the market is...

Only a few months ago in January, federal employees saw a pay raise of 3.1%. At the same time, federal retirees only saw an increase of 1.6% to their pensions. The difference comes from how those increases come about.  The increase the retirees see every year is called COLA, or Cost of Living Adjustment. The increase comes from a price index that is supposed to mirror inflation. Some would argue that it doesn’t do a great job (health insurance rates are rising at nearly 5.5% per year) but that is out of my scope. The increase that CSRS employees and Social Security recipients see every year is typically higher than what FERS retirees see especially in the years when inflation rates are higher. The pay raise the active employees see comes about in a completely different way. Every year the president and congress get together and decide on their budget. During this process, they decide on what type of raise if any they are going to give federal workers. The 3.1% raise that we just saw is much higher than we’ve seen in years.  So far, federal pay (especially with all the other great benefits) seems to be still competitive enough to encourage people to seek out government jobs. We will have to wait and see what the government does next year and what the future holds for the millions of federal employees around the country. 

It is one thing to understand the inner workings of your individual benefits, but what is more important is to understand how they interact together. FEHB, FEDVIP, and FSA’s can all be great tools in your financial life, but they become the most effective when you coordinate them in a way that best suits your needs.  Here are some general things to think about when it comes to deciding how to coordinate these benefits. FEHB is an extremely valuable benefit and the vast majority of employees should take advantage of it. There are a number of types of plans within the program and you will want to pick the one that makes sense for you and your family. When deciding on whether or not to enroll in FEDVIP, here are a few things to consider: What things are covered under FEHB plan already? If anything is covered by your FEHB plan, that would be considered your primary insurance and your FEDVIP would be secondary. Most national FEHB plans don’t cover many dental or vision services but some high-deductible plans and FEHB HMO-type plans have comprehensive benefits for dental and vision. Comparing the coverage of your FEHB plan can make it much easier to decide if FEDVIP is right for you. What is the likelihood of using the services that are covered by the plan? This decision may be easy if you already wear glasses and have regular expenses because of it. But for others, it may be difficult to predict how much they’ll use them. Things like emergency dental procedures are almost never planned. You will have to weigh the probability of use for your situation and see what makes sense.  Would it make more sense to simply put the amount that you would have paid in premiums into a FSA account? This way you have funds if needed while still retaining some control over where that money goes.  Both FEDVIP premiums and FSA contributions can be paid with pre-tax dollars which is important to know when deciding where to put your money.  Some employees prefer to use both FEDVIP and their FSA account. This way they are  able to pay any copayments, coinsurance, or deductibles from their FSA account.  There is not a right or wrong answer with any of these decisions. It comes down to  deciding how much risk you want to take and what seems to make sense for you. Oftentimes, what makes sense for your co-workers doesn’t make sense for you. But just by reading this article you are already better prepared to make an informed decision. 

Just like all your other Federal Benefits, FEGLI can be quite complex with all the rules and special situations. I will try to break down the most important aspects here to make it a bit more digestible. FEGLI can be broken into 4 different parts. I will walk you through them one by one. Basic Life Insurance When you are hired by the government, you will be automatically enrolled in this coverage. You will pay ⅔ the premium and the government picks up the rest. You are able to decline coverage but few people do. This coverage is equal to your annual salary rounded up to the next $1,000 plus another $2,000. For example, if your annual salary is $67,560, you’d have $70,000 over life insurance coverage ($68,000+$2,000).  This is the only type of coverage that the government helps pay for. The other coverages are optional and paid solely by the employee.  This coverage includes what they call “living benefits.” This means that if you are covered by this option and are terminally ill (defined as expected to die within 9 months), you may elect to cash in coverage. The payout would go to you instead of to a survivor. At that point, your policy would end.  Option A-Standard Insurance This coverage is pretty simple. It is a flat $10,000 death benefit. Again at age 65, this coverage becomes free and will reduce by 2% a month until it reaches $2500. Option B-Additional Insurance If your basic insurance and option A insurance isn’t enough for your needs, you can also enroll in option B. You can choose coverage in the amounts of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 times your annual salary after it is rounded up to the next $1,000. For example, if you make $69,545 and elected 4 times your salary, that would be $280,000 of coverage ($70,000 x 4).  At age 65, this coverage becomes free but the coverage does start to decline by 2% per month until it reaches 25%.  Option C-Family Insurance This option allows you to buy insurance on your spouse’s and/or childrens’ lives. This coverage can be bought for 1-5 multiples of $5,000 (ie, $5,000, $10,000, $15,000 ect) for your spouse and in 1-5 multiples of $2,500 for each child that is eligible.  Important Notes At age 65, all 4 types of coverage become free but the coverage does start to decline by 2% per month until it reaches 25%. However, you will be able to pay premiums to stop this reduction. The amount of premium will vary depending on how much of your coverage you will want to keep into retirement.  The premiums are based on your age and get very expensive as you get older. In general, FEGLI premium rates are very competitive when you are young and get less so as you age. The biggest advantage of the plan is that you get group rates. If life insurance is important for your financial plan, it might make sense to look in the private market for policies as you get older. This doesn’t make sense for everyone but might be worth looking into. 

Before we start talking about the federal Long Term Care Program we have to address what  long-term care insurance is and why someone might want it. In the past, when someone got older and was unable to take care of themselves, their children often stepped in and cared for their parents. In modern times, this solution might still be applicable but there are many situations where it is not. Someone may not have kids or may not want to have to rely on their kids. Or sometimes, the children aren't financially prepared to take on this responsibility.  This is why we now have nursing homes, assisted living facilities, respite, and home care options. The one downside of these resources is that they tend to be very expensive, especially if you need them for a long period of time. Long-term care insurance was invented to help cover these costs if someone ended up in a situation where they needed them. Long-term care insurance isn't perfect for everyone, but it can be a very viable solution for those who need it. For the federal program, the insurance is provided by LTC Partners, which is a subsidiary of the John Hancock insurance company. If an employee applies for this program right when they are hired, they are subject to only a very short underwriting process. Current employees and retirees are subject to a longer underwriting process, but it still isn't that extensive. The questions will ask about general lifestyle and health. Unlike other benefits, this benefit is completely portable. This means that if you were to leave the federal government and find a job somewhere else, you'd be able to take your policy with you. Your coverage amount will stay the same as well as your premiums. In general, especially as you get older, long-term care insurance can be very expensive. You will have to look over the different coverage amounts compared to the average costs of long term care in your area to see what makes sense for you. You will have to weigh the pros and cons between the cost and the benefits of this insurance. Just like any other insurance, it comes down to a question of risk. How much risk do you want to take on as an individual and is it worth paying a monthly premium to transfer that risk to an insurance company? Some people never end up using the coverage while others need it extensively.  I firmly believe that everyone should have a long-term care plan. This doesn't always have to be formal insurance,  but everyone should know what they're planning to do if they find themselves in the situation where they can't care for themselves. By doing this planning  ahead of time, it can save you and your family members a lot of money and struggle. 

What To Do At Least 5 Years Before Retirement Retirement may seem like a distant dream, but it generally comes faster than you think. Some people only start thinking about retirement when they are within a year of leaving the government. While some people get away with this, it is much harder to be proactive with that  short amount of time. By starting the planning process years in advance you'll be setting yourself up for success by knowing exactly what your retirement will look like down the road. This will not only improve your retirement outcome but also give you time to make adjustments if needed. Here are a few things that you should start thinking about around five years before you retire. The first thing to note is that you don't have to go through this process alone. Make sure you involve any tax or financial adviser that you may have in this process. Your agency is also a valuable partner in this process. They will help you gather your personal records as well as  give you information about the retirement process. Agencies will also offer retirement counseling seminars which can be very helpful. For a number of reasons, five years out from retirement is a good time to start planning. First, you're close enough to have necessary information about what your life might look like to make educated decisions. Second, you have to be enrolled in FEHB and FEGLI for at least five years before retiring to be eligible to continue these programs after you retire. Having access to FEHB in retirement can save you thousands and thousands of dollars and should not be taken lightly. You will want to review your service records at this point as well. Every employee has an official personnel folder with information about their career and benefits. Sometimes this folder is physical and sometimes it is electronic. Here are some of the things that you should check for accuracy. - The beginning and end dates for each of your employment periods that will be used to  calculate your benefits. - The beginning and end dates for each promotion or pay increase to make sure your high-3 salary will be computed correctly. - If there is a portion of your career where you were not contributing into the retirement plan, you will want to check those dates as well. - You will also want to make sure that your military service, if any, is well documented with the correct dates. If you will want to buy back your military time, you will want to think about doing this sooner than later. The next things that you will want to check is your pension calculation and your estimated Social Security benefit. You can calculate your pension based on the type of retirement you are planning for with the applicable equation. You can request an estimate of your Social Security benefit at your full retirement age from the Social Security website. These two numbers will give you an idea of what your income will be in retirement. With this information you will be able to decide what type of retirement lifestyle you can afford and if you want to make any changes to your plans.  Many people are really excited for the amount that they calculate their pension will pay them every month, but we can't forget all the reductions that will come out of your pension in retirement. It will be things like your survivor annuity reduction, FEHB premiums, FEGLI premiums, and taxes. Just make sure to keep these in mind when planning for retirement. If your pension and your Social Security benefit won't be enough to provide for your retirement expenses, the next thing to look at is your TSP. This can be a great tool to supplement your other benefits. Because everyone's situation is so different, there is no perfect answer for the amount of money you'll need in your TSP for retirement. You'll have to educate yourself the best you can while looking at your personal situation. While this short article is by no means a comprehensive retirement planning checklist,...

Death is something no one likes to think about or plan for. But regardless of how much we think about it, it is a natural part of life. For some of us it comes later and for some of us it comes sooner. There is really no way to know, but there are some things that we can do to make sure those that we leave behind are taken care of.  For the purposes of this article I will focus on those that are near or already in retirement.  Survivor Annuities This can be a really important benefit for a surviving spouse. When you're filling out your retirement paperwork, you have the option to elect a full survivor annuity. What this means is that your spouse will be eligible for 50% of your pension if you were to pass away first. To be eligible for this option however, your pension will be decreased by 10%. There is also an option for a reduced survivor annuity which would give your spouse access to 25% of your pension if you were to pass away, and this option would only decrease your pension by 5%.  For example, let's say your full pension was $30,000 and you elected a full survivor annuity.  Your pension would decrease to $27,000, but your spouse would be eligible for $15,000 if you were to pass away first. If your spouse was to pass away first, then your pension would go back to the original $30,000. Electing a survivor annuity is not only important to provide potential income for your spouse,  but also to allow them access to FEHB if you were to pass away. I'll address this in the next section. FEHB Your spouse will only remain eligible to keep your health benefits plan if the following three criteria were met. 1.  You must have been enrolled in FEHB when you died. 2.  Your spouse must have been covered under your plan at that point as well. 3. Your spouse must be eligible for a survivor annuity. As I mentioned above, if you do not elect a survivor annuity on your retirement paperwork, your spouse will not be able to continue FEHB without you. This single consequence can make a difference of thousands of dollars very quickly.  If all three of these points are met, your spouse can continue your plan and can even convert to a different type of plan within the FEHB program if desired.  Children who are covered under the plan can continue coverage as well until they reach age 26. Life Insurance (FEGLI) Whoever you designate as your beneficiary for your life insurance would be entitled to the proceeds. It is essential to keep these beneficiaries up-to-date as your family situations change. For example, if you forgot to remove your ex-spouse from your beneficiary designation, they would still be entitled to your life insurance proceeds regardless if you were married again or not. A beneficiary designation will even trump your will and other estate documents. It is important to remember that at age 65, your basic life insurance under the federal plan will start to decline by 2% per month unless you decide to pay for more coverage. If life insurance is important to your financial plan, make sure that you address this issue.  Long Term Care Benefits While a federal worker or a federal retiree is still alive, their spouse is able to enroll under the federal long term care insurance program. Once the federal retiree passes away, their spouse will only be eligible to enroll if they have a survivor annuity.  Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) At the death of the TSP participant, the account will transfer to whoever was the beneficiary. (Another reason to keep your beneficiaries up-to-date.) The beneficiary will then be able to decide if they want to keep the funds in the TSP or transfer it to a different account. Social Security Survivor Benefits If a federal worker had enough social security credits then their surviving spouse will be eligible for at least a portion of their benefit. If the survivor...

Life is constantly moving and it can be hard sometimes to keep up with a rapidly changing world. But your federal benefits are something you should always keep up on.  Retirement can be a more difficult time to keep up with it all because you are no longer surrounded by co-workers going through the same things.  Here's a list of some common life events that might happen during retirement and what you should do to keep your benefits all up to date.  A Move You would need to contact OPM and give them your new address. This will be vital if any of your benefits or payments were connected to your geographic area. Sometimes your health  Benefit Plan covers only a limited geographic area and OPM would be able to help you change that plan.   If you had your state income taxes withheld from your pension, you will want to make sure you get that updated based on the new state that you live in.  A Move out of the United States  Most of your benefits won't be affected by this change unless you move to a  "Blocked" country. It is unlikely because the only countries that are currently blocked are Cuba and North Korea. Medicare might be affected by this move because only certain types of treatment are covered outside the United States. You'll want to take this into consideration when planning a move. A Divorce If you have a divorce decree that affects your federal benefits, you will want to provide this decree to OPM.  They will be able to coordinate your benefits accordingly. You will also want to update any of your beneficiary designations if they don't match your new family situation. A Marriage You will want to send a copy of your marriage certificate and OPM will provide the information to provide a survivor annuity to your new spouse if desired. If you want to update your health benefits for dental vision benefits, you will have 31 days before your marriage then 60 days afterward to get that updated without waiting till the next open enrollment. Again, you will want to update your beneficiary designations to match your new family situation. Reaching Age 65 At this point you will want to apply for Medicare. Analyzing the pros and cons of Medicare is for a different discussion, but age 65 is when most people become eligible. At this point you are able to convert to a less expensive health benefits plan if desired.  Starting after your 65th birthday, your Federal Group life insurance will start to reduce by 2% per month. You can stop this reduction if desired by paying the premiums to OPM. Reaching Age 72 At this age you will have to start taking required minimum distributions from your tsp balance. This basically means that the government wants you to take a portion of your money out of the tsp so they can collect taxes on the portions that were pre-tax. If these distributions don't happen, a penalty will be charged. The Death of a Spouse or Child If this member of the family was covered under the federal group life insurance then you would file a claim with OPM. You'd also want to update your beneficiary designations if applicable.  If you were receiving a reduced pension/annuity payouts for the right to a survivor annuity for your former spouse, you will want to contact OPM to get your full pension reinstated.

It makes sense for many people to stay with the federal government for their entire career. But for others, it simply does not. For these individuals it is important to know what happens to your federal benefits if you decide to leave before you are eligible to retire. Pension You have two different options when it comes to your pension. You can apply for a refund for all of your contributions that you made during your career. This refund will generally include interest if you had more than one year of service.  If you had more than 5 years of service, you may be eligible for a deferred retirement. This means that you could potentially start drawing a pension at age 62. Under FERS, if you have at least 10 years of service, you may be eligible to receive a pension once you attain your minimum retirement age. This age is between 55 and 57 depending on the year you were born. With this option you would see a 5% decrease to your pension for every year that you start drawing your pension before you turn 62. If you have more than 20 years of service you may be eligible for different types of retirement.  FEHB Once you separate from service, you have the ability to continue your coverage up to 18 months after your separation date. But you will have to pay your normal premiums plus your employer portion as well as an extra 2% fee.  You also have the option of converting your plan to individual coverage. Your coverage may not be identical to what it was before and you will have to talk to your insurance company to know what it would cost. FEDVIP There are very few options to keep this benefit once you leave the government. If you have at least 10 years of service you may be able to re-enroll once your annuity begins. But other than that, there is no way to extend coverage, temporarily continue coverage, or even convert to an individual policy. FEGLI You have 31 days after your separation date to convert this benefit into an individual policy if desired. If you wait longer than the 31 days then you may have to provide medical information. If you chose to convert, you could choose how much coverage you'd like but you will have to pay full premiums at individual rates. Long-term Care Insurance You can continue your coverage under this benefit as long as you pay the premiums. If your premiums had previously been deducted straight from your pay, you should call your long-term care insurance provider to arrange to pay those premiums directly. TSP First, you can keep your money in the TSP if you'd like. Once you are separated, you will still have the ability to change how it is invested. You also have the option of doing a direct rollover into an IRA or your next employer's retirement plan.  If you transfer your TSP funds in any other way other than a direct transfer, the TSP will withhold 20% of your account for tax purposes. If you leave the government before age 55 you will not be able to withdraw any money from the TSP before age 59 1/2 without being subject to a 10% penalty in addition to taxes.  A direct rollover to another retirement account does not count as a withdrawal for the purposes of this rule. Conclusion: Working for the government has many perks but sometimes it makes sense to move on to something bigger and better.  Knowing how your benefits will work after the switch will help the transition be that much smoother.

I've seen many people retire, travel for a year, get bored, and then go back to work. Whether it's out of boredom, financial need, or for any other reason, many federal employees find themselves in a position where they want to go back to work after they've already retired. The question is, how will going back to work affect your benefits and your retirement? To those who are employers that go back to work in the private sector, they will see basically no change in their benefits. The only situation where benefits might be affected is if they are not yet their full retirement age for Social Security and have income over certain limits. In this case, their social security monthly payout may be decreased. Once someone reaches their full retirement age then their Social Security will not be decreased for any reason. Social Security can always be taxable but will not be reduced after your full retirement age.  For those who want to go back to work for the federal government, the rules get much more complex. For most of these individuals, they will continue to receive their full pension and benefits but their pay may be reduced by the amount of their pension. In other cases, their pension will be stopped completely and they will be covered as just a regular employee.  In most cases your pay will be simply decreased by your pension amount, but I would definitely check with your hiring HR department to see what applies to your position. Some agencies hire retired federal workers under personal service contracts. In this situation retirement benefits would not be affected. These contracts often explicitly state what tasks are to be completed, at what compensation rate, and within what amount of time. Another thing to ask your hiring HR department would be how they handle your federal employee health benefits. During your career, your premium comes right out of your paycheck on a pre-tax basis. In retirement however, you have to pay taxes on your income and then pay your premiums with what is left. Some agencies allow rehired retired federal employees to come back under the agency plan. This would allow them to enjoy the pre-tax benefits. Consult with your agency to see if this would apply to you. Although it is impossible to know exactly which rules will apply to you, hopefully this article gives you an idea of what things might look like and if it makes sense for you to jump back into the workforce. For more information about the rules for rehired retirees: https://www.federalretirement.net/rehired_annuitant.htm#FERS_Rehired_Annuitant_Guidance (https://www.federalretirement.net/rehired_annuitant.htm#FERS_Rehired_Annuitant_Guidance)

Beneficiary designations  are one of those things that most employees fill out when they're first employed and never think about much after that. But most people don't know that these designations are extremely powerful. They will overrule a will or other estate documents every time. This means that regardless of what you put in your will, once you die your benefits will go to exactly who is on your beneficiary designations. Even if this means that your benefits go to a former spouse. This has been upheld in many court cases as well.  It is important to consistently review your designations, especially after a life event. Things like a birth, adoption, death, marriage, divorce, or any other significant change within your family. You may change your designation as many times as needed. Key designations to think about are those for your TSP, your group life insurance, and your pension. Speak to your agency to get the correct forms for these designations. If there are no designations on file then your benefits will be paid according to law. This generally goes to your spouse first, then to your children in equal shares, then to your parents in equal shares, and finally to your estate.  Putting in a little effort now to make sure these are correct can save tremendous amounts of problems and heartache download for your family.

A federal employee has a lot of options when retirement comes. With just about every benefit that employees enjoy, a decision will have to be made on how to use that benefit in retirement. One of these decisions that will make a huge impact over the course of a retirement is what to do with your TSP. Following the TSP Modernization Act that was implemented last September, there are now more options and flexibility when taking money out of your tsp. One of these (although not new) options is to take what they call a life annuity. With the life annuity option, you give a portion or all of your tsp balance to MetLife (an insurance company and annuity provider) who then guarantees you fixed payments over the course of your lifetime. It may seem like an attractive option for some people but there are some things you have to know before choosing this option. The major downsides to this option is that it limits what changes you can make down the road. Once you make the decision, there is very little you can do to change or get out of the contract. If something was to change in your life that would affect how much you need each month, it is very difficult or impossible to adjust.  Another downside of life annuities is that your money doesn’t grow much over the life of your contract. The annuity provider (Metlife) guarantees a fixed growth rate but it is generally around 2.6%.   The good news is that those who want a fixed monthly payment out of their tsp will have other options to make this happen. Retirees can take what they call an installment payment. With this option your money stays in your tsp account and the tsp will pay you a fixed amount every month, quarter, or year (whatever you pick). Not to mention that you will be able to stop and start these payments whenever you'd like and even change the payment amount a couple times a year. And because your money stays in your tsp account, you will also be able to  continue investing those funds in retirement. When you compare the life annuity option to the installment payment option, the latter is simply a better option for the majority of people. It provides much more flexibility and potential growth. Especially now that retirements are lasting 20, 30 or even 40 years, it can be a huge plus to have the flexibility to adjust as the needs in your life change. The one advantage with the life annuity however is the certainty that comes with it. This option guarantees that you will receive a monthly payment for the rest of your life and you won't have to worry about your investments. These can be valuable characteristics for some people. With any of your retirement decisions, you have to educate yourself in what options are available and see what makes sense for you. With many federal benefits and especially your TSP, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars are won and lost based on these types of decisions. It is worth your time and energy to make sure you make the best decision for you. 

This is a crazy time for the world. A time that no one has predicted or lived through before. The global spread of the coronavirus as well as the economic consequences that are following are unprecedented. In response to these events, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was just passed into law on March 27th. This has now become the largest stimulus package of all time with provisions to pour more than 2 trillion dollars into the economy.  Here are some of the highlights. Rebate Checks Understandably, one of the most popular and already well-known parts of the act is the Recovery Rebates For Individuals. If you haven’t heard, that is the portion about Uncle Sam writing checks to 80% of the taxpayers.  Here’s how it works. Individuals will be eligible for a refundable tax credit of up to $1,200 while couples will be eligible for up to $2,400. That credit will be increased by $500 for every child they have that is under age 17. For example, if a couple files jointly and they have three kids. They’d be eligible for up to $3,900 ($2,400+500+500+500).  But if you noticed I did say they’d be eligible for “up to” those amounts. That is because over certain income levels, this credit will be phased out. More specifically, for every $100 a taxpayer’s income these thresholds, their potential Recovery Rebate will be reduced by $5.  The thresholds where the credit will start to be phased is:  -Married Joint: $150,000 -Head of Household: $112,500 -All Other Filers: $75,000 It is important to know that the credit will be based on either 2018 or 2019 tax returns (Which ever is the most recent that the IRS has on file). If someone had income that was too high for the credit in 2018 and 2019 but were eligible based on their 2020 income, they will be eligible for the credit when they file their 2020 tax return in the spring of 2021. Individuals who have banking information on file with the IRS should only have to wait a few weeks to receive their funds while those that don’t may have to wait a few months to get a check mailed.  Coronavirus Distributions This portion of the act allows individuals to distribute up to $100,000 from their retirement accounts such as IRAs and employer sponsored retirement plans such as your TSP. To be eligible someone would have to have been adversely affected by the virus in some way. This may include getting the virus or experiencing financial difficulty from things like being quarantined, reduced hours, or being laid off.  Normally, there are numerous rules around how individuals can access their retirement accounts before age 59 and ½. For those that qualify, the following will apply: No 10% penalty for removing funds before age 59 and ½. No 20% withholding for taxes. Whenever you take money out of pre-tax accounts, taxes will become due. Those that are eligible would be able to spread out that income between the next three years.  They would have 3 years to replace the funds they took out without penalty. This provision will allow those affected to have access to funds that they might not otherwise be inclined to use. But because all of this is so new and changing rapidly, I would definitely wait to hear from the TSP to see how they will be implementing this change.   No Required Minimum Distributions in 2020 For those that have retirement accounts and are over age 70 and ½ (now age 72 after the Secure act passed in 2019), you are already familiar with RMD’s or required minimum distributions. This is where the government requires you to take a portion of your money out of your retirement accounts so that they can collect their portion of taxes on that money.  The CARES act completely waives the requirement for RMD’s in 2020 so the individuals that this applies to will be able to keep more money in their retirement accounts for longer.  Student Loans This act...

Starting a family can be an exciting time but it is important to adjust your health benefits so that everyone is always covered. But just like everything else with the government, this is not quite as simple as you might hope. The first question we have to answer is who qualifies as a child that can be covered under your plan? Qualifying children include children under age 26, adopted children, natural children born out of wedlock, stepchildren, and foster children (the rules are a little more complicated for foster children so I would encourage you to research the rules if you'd like to add a foster child to your plan). Also, to be covered under the FEHB program the children need a state-issued birth certificate that claims you as a parent. Having a child is considered a qualifying event which allows you to change your benefits even if it is not open enrollment. You would be able to change your enrollment between self only, self plus one, or self and family. You would also be able to switch to another FEHB plan if desired.  Employees that are not currently enrolled in FEHB would also be able to enroll because of the birth of a child. If you are already retired, this life event would not allow you to re-enroll. Once a child turns age 26 they are no longer eligible to stay on their parents plan (unless they have a qualifying disability). At that point they can continue coverage through FEHB for up to 36 months but they will have to pay the full premium plus 2% for admin fees. After that they would then have to get their own coverage. The parents would then be able to switch their enrollment to self only, self plus one, or continue with self and family depending on what is applicable for their family. The parents have a window of about 90 days to change their coverage. This window allows for 30 days before and 60 days after your child turns 26. It is up to the parents to notify their agency once a child is no longer eligible. For a retiree they will have to talk to OPM. Parents would be able to remove a child from their plan before age 26 if their child is eligible for their own help plan through their employer. Generally, the child must be at least 18 for this to be possible. This would only make sense if the family could then downgrade coverage from family coverage to self plus one for example.  All this may seem quite complicated but it gets better as you learn more about it. FEHB is an incredible benefit and knowing the rules will help extend this benefit to your entire family.

Whether we realize it or not, we all have a relationship with money. Just like food, your possessions, and the people in your life, there are certain feelings and attitudes that you associate with money. These feelings can be vastly different from person to person. Most people never stop to think about what their relationship with money looks like. Or at least never in those terms.  Some people grew up with nothing. Others had plenty plus some. Some see money as a means of survival. Others see it as a means to gauge success. Some see it as a necessary evil. Others see it as a blessing in their lives. Some see it as the reason they have to go through the 9 to 5 grind every week. Others see it as a tool to lift those around them. But if we stop and think for a moment, we might remember that money is nothing but a tool meant to ease the buying and selling of goods. It is inherently 100% neutral. Neither good nor bad. Then why do we all have vastly different experiences and feelings about money?  Everyone on earth grows up with a certain view on the world. Even the most neutral things, such as money, are seen through the lense that we have formed over our lifetime.  We all have heard the saying that money is the root of all evil. While this may be popular, I don’t agree. I have seen how powerful money can be for the good. Money can change lives. It can get people proper medical treatment. It can give someone the opportunity for education. It can give the freedom of time to do things that we are passionate about. It can give security that our future will be bright. It can truly change lives. I subscribe to the adjusted version that the love of money is the root of all evil. When we obsess over money itself, we will always come away wanting, no matter how much we have. Money doesn’t have the ability to fulfill or bring true joy. Don’t get me wrong, money can provide a lot of comfort and opportunities, but at the end of the day, it can’t and won’t make you happy.  It is completely up to you what your relationship with money will look like. Define what you want your life to be and what role you want money to play. Just remember that you are the star of your life’s show and don’t ever let money replace what you really want out of life. Money should not be the goal. It should be a tool that can help you get to your goals. 

You have worked hard your whole career looking forward to a comfortable retirement. You have patiently invested and planned diligently. You are excited to start drawing social security to reap the benefits of years of hard work. But, did you know that a huge portion of your social security benefits will most likely be counted as taxable income? This is a common mistake that we see people make all the time in their retirement planning.  Because of all the misconceptions that exist about social security, here are few things that we all need to keep in mind.  It Matters When You Start Drawing It This may seem like a no-brainer but deciding when to start Social Security can make a huge difference on your benefits over your lifetime. The earliest you can start drawing it is age 62. But your benefits will be reduced by every month that you begin benefits before you FRA (Full Retirement Age). Your FRA will range from age 65-67 depending on when you were born. The Social Security estimate that you can get online, is your estimated monthly benefits if you start drawing at your FRA. Now if you choose to delay starting your benefits until after your  FRA, your benefits will increase by 8% every year up until age 70.  Some might ask, “Why doesn’t everyone just wait until they are 70 to start drawing Social Security to get the highest monthly amount?” There are a couple of things to consider. Need and longevity. Some people can’t afford to delay starting their benefits so they start right at age 62. This may make sense for some but they will see up to a 30% decrease in their monthly benefits because of the early start. Now, if someone starts benefits at age 70 and they pass away at 71, they did not benefit much from their increased monthly amount. It is important to find a balance between your financial need and lifespan in order to maximise your benefits.  Taxes, Reductions, and More Taxes If someone takes Social Security early (before their FRA) and they continue to work, their benefits will be reduced for every dollar they make in their jobs over certain limits. In this case, their benefits would be reduced for taking them early and reduced again for earning over certain amounts. Sometimes it still makes sense to continue to work in retirement just make sure you understand these limits. Once you reach your FRA, your benefits will not be reduced because of your income.   Like I mentioned in the intro paragraph, Social Security can in fact be taxable. The equation can get complicated but for simplicity’s sake, if you have income over certain thresholds, up to 85% of your benefits can be taxable. For this calculation, money that is taken out of certain retirement accounts (401(K), TSP, IRA) may be counted to push your benefits into taxable zones. When you are planning for retirement, make sure you run your numbers with taxes in mind.  Conclusion: The rules can be a bit complex and hairy at times but please don’t let this scare you into making an uninformed decision. This is a decision that can make a huge difference in your life. Because people are living longer, retirement is making up a larger percentage of our lives. It might take a little time and energy to navigate the Social Security system, but it will be one of the best investments you make as you reap the rewards of an informed decision for years to come.