Most Expensive Mistakes Feds Make at Retirement 

Can you explain?

@@vermontmike9800 Dallen H. has an 11 min video on the TSP Annuity topic specifically, title is "Should I Take the TSP Annuity Option". My takeaway was basically that doing an annuity is transforming some (or all) of your variable retirement income into fixed income...but most federal retirees have a decent amount that's fixed already between the pension and SS, so doing an annuity on top of those is taking away your flexibility permanently for that money, so that if something comes up - health crisis, etc. - where you need to tap into the funds that were in variable income (i.e. TSP) earlier than you anticipated, that option would be gone if you've transferred them over to get the annuity income.

Try to get that fixed asap.

OMG! I recently asked HR for my projected retirement date, and they gave me my SCD. I knew it was incorrect, but I don’t know how to get the correct date. I tried the OPM website, but there is no way to reach a live person.

@@philsmith9672 Well, I did consider doing that a while back but then I wondered what the chances might be that the same bureaucracy that messed it up in the first place might end up fixing my RSCD and breaking my SCD-leave in the process, lol. Then I'd be fighting to get my leave accrual back to where it should be, then maybe later find out that the system we have access to that displays SCD might not even have a way of distinguishing different SCDs and maybe HR has the correct dates and it's just an issue with the system they have for employees? Anyway, I talked myself into a circle and eventually just said I'd leave it alone until further down the road when I get closer to retirement and have a desire for it to display correctly.

Are you military?

@@vermontmike9800 no

Great question. This article can be helpful: hawsfederaladvisors.com/3-expensive-mistakes-federal-employees-make-at-retirement/ Look at mistake #2 to find info on RSCD

Great question. It depends on your situation. Feel free to schedule a meeting with us to figure out more personalized information: app.hawsfederaladvisors.com/whatservicemakessense

You would have to work 50 years for the FERS pension to be 50 percent of your high 3.

Where do you find a professional to go over your retirement application?

I have 42 years in a few months and my pension is 46%. How many years do you think I would have to work to reach 50%?

@@Kenbot2 , because of the 1.1 percent.

@@Kenbot2 46 percent of what? It’s a simple calculation. What I’m saying is that after all the deductions you may net 40 percent of your gross pension

Not in Vermont.

@@vermontmike9800 Vermont pays 1.25% instead of FERS which pays 1% to 1.1%. So yes, both suck, but State of Vermont is still higher.

Most state pensions are grossly underfunded and people are retiring and having their state or local pensions taken away. Plug it into youtube, there are several documentaries about it

@@edhcb9359 well the state is having difficulty paying out pensions and with a considerably smaller salary, no thanks.

@@vermontmike9800 You sound like you are trying rationalize things that may or may not be actually true or happen.

Great question. If you buy back military time, it can count towards your years of service for your FERS job. Here is a great video about that: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Rx1kIU_ikak.html&pp=ygUlaGF3cyBmZWRlcmwgYnV5aW5nIGJhY2sgbWlsaXRhcnkgdGltZQ%3D%3D

Disregard, OPM says unless you’re retired military, the SCD date is accurate.

It’s based off the earnings for that year. If you make $85,000 in retirement and you took a $100,000 TSP withdraw. That tax year is $185,000 which will increase your tax brackets to include Medicare premiums I don’t know the brackets off the top of my head, but it’s an easy Google search, but you may be in the 37% bracketfor everything. It is only that tax year the next tax year would reflect whatever your earnings are for that year which would most likely go back to the $85,000 of retirement income per my example. I hope that made sense.

Leave him alone! 😂 I like his energy.