If you're a FERS employee and you've been planning your retirement around that nice, clean pension number from OPM, there's a good chance you're overestimating what will actually hit your bank account each month. In this episode of Confident Federal Retirement, Tom Poltersdorf, CFP®, breaks down the gap between your gross FERS pension and your net retirement paycheck. We walk through survivor benefits, taxes, and FEHB premiums so you can see how quickly that headline number shrinks once real life shows up.

-----------------------------

When you're ready for one‑on‑one help, visit https://gtwealthguide.com/federal-blueprint to request your free Federal Retirement Blueprint.

We'll map out your federal benefits, TSP, Social Security, and tax plan on one page so you can retire from federal service without guessing.

If you're a federal employee within ten years of retirement, you probably know your pieces: a FERS pension, a TSP balance, and Social Security coming later. But the real question is, "How do I turn all of this into one clear, after‑tax paycheck I can actually live on without guessing?" That's where most federal retirement plans break down.

In this episode of Confident Federal Retirement, Tom Poltersdorf, CFP®, walks you through a simple three‑step "retirement paycheck" framework just for federal employees. You'll learn how to build your guaranteed base with your pension and Social Security, how to use your TSP as an income bridge before Social Security starts (instead of just a big pile of investments), and why planning around your net, after‑tax paycheck matters far more than the headline balances in your accounts. Tom also shares a real‑world case study to show how shifting from "three buckets" to one coordinated paycheck can dramatically reduce anxiety in retirement.

----------------

When you're ready for one‑on‑one help, visit https://gtwealthguide.com/federal-blueprint to request a personalized Federal Retirement Plan and schedule a call.

We'll map out your federal benefits, TSP, Social Security, and tax plan on one page so you can retire from federal service without guessing.

For many federal employees, deciding what to do with your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) at retirement is one of the biggest financial choices you'll ever make. Keep it in the TSP? Roll everything to an IRA? Or use a smart "split" strategy that combines the best of both? In this episode of Confident Federal Retirement, Tom Poltersdorf, CFP®, walks you through the three real options you have with your TSP and how to think about each one so you can retire without guessing.

You'll hear when it can make sense to keep everything in the TSP for simplicity and stability, when rolling to an IRA might give you more control and tax-planning flexibility, and how a split approach can create a TSP "foundation" plus an IRA "planning tool."

-------------------------

When you're ready for one‑on‑one help, visit https://gtwealthguide.com/federal-blueprint to request a personalized Federal Retirement Plan and schedule a call.

We'll map out your federal benefits, TSP, Social Security, and tax plan on one page so you can retire from federal service without guessing.

If you're a married federal employee within about 10 years of retirement, your TSP decisions are not just about you. They're about whether your spouse would actually be okay if something happened to you. In this episode of Confident Federal Retirement, Tom Poltersdorf, CFP®, explains the key TSP choices you really shouldn't make solo, what "spousal rights" actually mean, and how one checkbox can create lasting regret for surviving spouses.

You'll hear why federal rules give your spouse specific protections, how TSP decisions interact with your FERS pension and Social Security, and the most common mistakes couples make when one person "handles everything." I walk you through simple, table‑side action steps to review your TSP beneficiaries, understand what spousal consent really signs away, and stress‑test your retirement income if one of you passes away first, so you can retire from federal service without guessing.

When you're ready for one‑on‑one help, visit https://gtwealthguide.com/federal-blueprint to request a personalized Federal Retirement Plan and schedule a call.

We'll help you see exactly how your TSP, pension, Social Security, and taxes fit together so you and your spouse can make clear, confident decisions about retirement.

If you're a federal employee five to ten years from retirement, there's a simple "whenever we need it" TSP habit that can quietly add tens of thousands of dollars to your lifetime tax bill. In this episode of Confident Federal Retirement, I walk you through how most retirees naturally stack their FERS pension, Social Security, and TSP withdrawals, and why that default order can backfire.

You'll hear a real‑world case study of a federal couple who looked great on paper but were on track to pay about $60,000 more in taxes than necessary, plus how widowhood and single tax brackets can make the problem worse. I break down a simple, one‑page, year‑by‑year framework to coordinate your pension, TSP, Roth, and taxable accounts with your tax brackets so you can avoid obvious withdrawal mistakes.

When you're ready for one‑on‑one help, visit https://gtwealthguide.com/federal-blueprint to request a personalized Federal Retirement Plan and schedule a call.

We'll map out your federal benefits, TSP, Social Security, and tax plan on one page so you can retire from federal service without guessing.

Most FERS employees accidentally give away tens of thousands of dollars in pension benefits without realizing it. Once your retirement forms are signed and processed, many of those choices are permanent. In this episode of Confident Federal Retirement, Tom Poltersdorf, CFP®, walks you through five of the most common FERS pension mistakes he sees with soon‑to‑retire federal employees: survivor benefit elections, timing your retirement date, missing or miscredited service time, planning off gross instead of net, and treating your pension in isolation instead of as part of a full income plan.

You'll hear real‑world examples and simple, plain‑English explanations so you can see how these decisions affect your spouse, your health insurance, your taxes, and your long‑term retirement income. If you're within about 5–10 years of retiring from federal service, this episode will help you avoid some very expensive surprises and make clearer, more confident choices.

When you're ready for one‑on‑one help, visit https://gtwealthguide.com/federal-blueprint to request a personalized Federal Retirement Plan and schedule a call.

We'll map out your federal benefits, TSP, Social Security, and tax plan on one page so you can retire from federal service without guessing.

If you're a FERS or CSRS employee approaching age 65, you've probably heard a dozen different opinions about whether you "need" Medicare Part B if you already have FEHB. In this episode of Confident Federal Retirement, I walk you through a simple rule of thumb to cut through the noise, plus the key cost traps and timing rules you need to know so you can make a clear, confident decision without guessing.

You'll learn how FEHB and Medicare Part B actually coordinate in retirement, when it usually makes sense to add Part B, when it can be reasonable to delay it, how IRMAA surcharges work for higher‑income households, and what happens to your Health Savings Account once Medicare is on the table. I'll also walk through a practical example of a federal couple comparing FEHB‑only versus FEHB plus Part B so you can see how this plays out in real life.

When you're ready for one‑on‑one help, visit https://gtwealthguide.com/federal-blueprint to request a personalized Federal Retirement Plan and schedule a call.

We'll map out your federal benefits, TSP, Social Security, and tax plan on one page so you can retire from federal service without guessing.

When you retire from federal service, your Thrift Savings Plan goes from "put money in" to "take money out." The problem is, if you guess wrong on your TSP withdrawals, you won't feel it right away. You feel it 10–20 years from now, when it's too late to fix and you've accidentally tipped six figures to the IRS. In this episode of Confident Federal Retirement, I walk you through the main TSP withdrawal options once you separate from federal service, what really happens behind the scenes, and how these choices fit into a step‑by‑step retirement income plan.

We'll cover leaving money in the TSP, setting up installments, taking partial or full lump sums, and using the TSP life annuity option. You'll hear how taxes, the 10% early withdrawal penalty, and required minimum distributions (RMDs) actually work in practice, plus common mistakes federal employees make when rolling money out of the TSP. You'll also learn why timing, account order, and spousal consent can quietly make or break your long‑term plan.

When you're ready for one‑on‑one help, visit https://gtwealthguide.com/federal-blueprint to request a personalized Federal Retirement Plan and schedule a call.

We'll map out your federal benefits, TSP, Social Security, and tax plan on one page so you can retire from federal service without guessing.

If you're a federal employee close to retirement and your spouse is on your FEHB plan, one checkbox on your FERS retirement paperwork can have a huge impact on their future. In this episode of Confident Federal Retirement, I walk through how the FERS survivor benefit really works and why it matters so much for both your income and your spouse's health insurance if you die first. You'll learn the difference between the 50%, 25%, and 0% survivor options, how each one changes your pension while you're alive, and what it could mean for your spouse's lifestyle if you're not here.

I also explain the key FEHB rule most people overlook: the requirement for your spouse to be entitled to a survivor annuity or other qualifying benefit to keep FEHB after your death.

When you're ready for one‑on‑one help, visit https://gtwealthguide.com/federal-blueprint to request a personalized Federal Retirement Plan and schedule a call.

We'll map out your federal benefits, TSP, Social Security, and tax plan on one page so you can retire from federal service without guessing.

Are you actually okay to retire from federal service… or are you missing something big with taxes or TSP?

In this episode of Confident Federal Retirement, I walk you through six key parts of your federal retirement that quietly decide whether you run out of money, overpay in taxes, or retire confidently. You'll see how your FERS pension, TSP, Social Security, and health benefits fit together, why the location of your savings (pre‑tax vs Roth vs taxable) can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in lifetime tax difference, and how to turn all of that into one clear "retirement paycheck" without guessing.

You'll learn a simple confidence equation (income minus taxes minus surprises) and how to use it to stress‑test your own plan. If you're a federal employee in your 50s or early 60s and you've ever wondered, "Are we going to run out of money?" or "Are we making big tax mistakes with our TSP and withdrawals?", this episode will give you a practical framework you can start using right away.

When you're ready for one‑on‑one help, visit https://gtwealthguide.com/federal-blueprint to request a personalized Federal Retirement Plan and schedule a call.

We'll map out your federal benefits, TSP, Social Security, and tax plan on one page so you can retire from federal service without guessing.