Federal Pre-Retirement Consultation

Who does a federal employee turn to for help with federal benefits and retirement planning? With many human resources departments being understaffed, it can be a challenge to get retirement estimates from them unless you are within a couple months of retiring. You could try talking to a financial advisor, but do they understand your FERS annuity, special retirement supplement, FEGLI, or even Thrift Savings Plan?

In over ten years of working with federal employees I have learned that there are many questions around retirement and how federal benefits work in retirement. I believe a federal employee’s financial well-being is vital to a happy and satisfying retirement. Federal employees should know exactly how their retirement will work before submitting their retirement papers.

If you are close to retirement and have even thought about contacting an advisor, I encourage you to keep reading to learn more about my Federal Preretirement Consultation. However, if you would rather read the short version, here is a link to my website that sums up the service discussed below.

Questions about retirement

Here are some common questions that federal employees approaching retirement have:

Are there benefits of working another year or two? What are they?
Will my FEHB continue in retirement?
How much will my FEHB cost?
What is the retirement supplement?
How will income from another job impact my supplement?
Should I keep my FEGLI?
Will I receive cost of living adjustments on my FERS annuity?
How does my TSP work in retirement?
Should I move all my money to the G fund?
What will my spouse receive if I die first?

How do I help?

No product sales

I have started a service for federal employees that is guaranteed to only provide objective advice. No life insurance nor annuities will be sold. I am a a fee-only advisor, which means exactly that – the only compensation I receive is a fee paid directly to me by my clients. The new service is a 90 minute consultation for advice on retirement and federal benefits.

Qualified Advisor

To get help with your retirement benefits and income, you need to start with the right source. That means talking to someone who is knowledgeable in federal benefits and financial planning. This service provides objective advice and is an opportunity for federal employees to meet with a financial planner who is:

Trained on federal benefits
Qualified – Certified Financial Planner™
Fee only advisor – an advisor who cannot receive commission from product sales

How does this benefit the federal employee?

Federal employees can pay a fee to receive quality advice. If you meet with an advisor who is only paid a fee for giving you advice, everything the advisor recommends should be in your best interest. The advisor has no incentive to make recommendations that aren’t in your best interest, and acts as a fiduciary (click on link for a great video on fiduciaries) on your behalf.

This is as simple as the financial world can get, a fiduciary acts in the client’s best interest at all times.

What is included?

This is your opportunity to meet with a Certified Financial Planner™ for up to 90 minutes to cover the following topics:

FERS annuity
Survivor annuity
Special retirement supplement
TSP options in retirement
FEGLI in retirement
FEHB in retirement
Retirement income
Taxes in retirement
Social Security options

A good HR department can cover many of the elements above, but their knowledge is limited to benefits. A good financial advisor can help with investing and taxes in retirement. A Certified Financial Planner™ who has been trained on federal benefits can explain how they all relate together and plan accordingly. For example, you might want to transfer you money out of TSP when you retire at age 57, but it may be best to wait until age 59.5 due to TSP’s more lenient withdrawal rules prior to age 59.5.

If you would like advice from a Certified Financial Planner™ who has knowledge of your federal benefits then this service may be a great fit for you. The cost of the Pre-Retirement Federal Consultation is $300. To schedule an in person consultation or webinar you can email me here.

Brad Bobb, CFP® is the owner of Bobb Financial Inc, and an expert in retirement planning for federal employees.