Your Turn with Mike Causey

Most people know they are worth more dead than alive. But many — including those who survive them — don’t know how much more. Or where the treasure (if any) is buried. And how you want it to be handled.

Many federal workers and retirees, especially if they own property or have TSP accounts and life insurance, are easily worth a million dollars or more. Deciding who gets it (Uncle Sam, the state, your children) isn’t easy but it isn’t rocket science either. And you doing it now can save lots of grief, ill will and money down the road. Might help keep an otherwise tight-knit family from falling apart.

So we asked estate and tax attorney Tom O’Rourke what he tells his clients. Most of them are current or former feds.

Many, if not most people, are familiar with the phrase “shouting fire in a crowded theater” — even if they might have trouble recalling who first said it (Justice Oliver Wendell Holms in a 1919 case before the Supreme Court) — and why.

The modern day equivalent of the panic-starter is to bring up the subject of the Government Pension Offset or Windfall Elimination Provision in any venue — theater, retirement community, house of worship — with a large number of retired federal or state government employees, or their spouses.

The initials may not mean much, if anything, to you, but ask your federal parents or grandparents, then watch their blood pressure go off the charts.

So what’s the big deal?

Tammy Flanagan will be my guest today on Your Turn. Meantime, for background, each has agreed to share answers and observations from someone seeking help and clarification from Social Security about WEP and GOP issues.

Some savvy investors say the President has a major impact on the economy and the stock market. Others say events — not whoever is elected POTUS in November — will determine whether your Thrift Savings Plan languishes or takes off like a rocket over the next four years.

Bottom line: What do you think?

Is it all important that your candidate win? Or does it really matter when it comes to building and growing a nest egg that, depending on the breaks, may supply anywhere from one third to one half of all the spending money you have in your golden years. Will they be 24 carat, or something less?

We asked D.C. area financial planner Arthur Stein for his thoughts on the importance of the November election on the economy in general — and your TSP in particular. Stein has a wide background in economics. He’s also a long-time financial advisor whose clients include several TSP millionaires.

Kathryn Troutman is a job-hunter/promotion finder coach and author of more than 30 books on getting a job or promotion. And she is the founder of The Resume Place. Kathryn talks about navigating your way OUT of your current federal job into a new agency and position. And why it's a great time to get out of the private sector and into the federal government, which is hiring!

A lot of things could have happened this year that are off your radar because you are still adjusting to the many changes the pandemic has brought to our everyday lives. So we’ve called on Washington, D.C.-area attorney Tom O’Rourke for a tuneup. Tom is an estate-tax attorney, a former fed with the IRS and most of his clients are current or former civil servants.

Six months into an historically-lethal pandemic that potentially threatens everybody on the planet is probably a pretty good time to update or begin your personal financial checklist —In case you unexpectedly check out.

Many people, and especially long-time career federal civil servants are almost certainly worth more dead than alive, and by a lot more than they think. Especially true if you can leave a lifetime indexed-to-inflation survivor annuity, subsidized lifetime health insurance coverage, life insurance and more.

But how much more? Do you have a clue? Can you think of a better time for a personal tune-up?

Benefits expert Tammy Flanagan has spent most of her adult life, in addition to raising sons, probing the mysteries of the federal benefit package, from cradle to grave and beyond. But it’s worth keeping on top of because it is one of the best, anywhere, for you now and for your survivors down the road. She joins us on Your Turn with Mike Causey today to discuss.

After the long-anticipated crash of the record 11-year bull market, a lot of 401(k) investors worried about the hit their stock-fund investments had taken. Others who learned their lessons from the Great Recession of 2008-2009 thought the downturn might be the equivalent of a fire sale.

In the case of federal and postal investors, that meant an opportunity to buy more shares of the stock-indexed C, S and I funds. Turns out they were right — that’s what most of the 45,219 (as of June 30) millionaires did.

So is it happening again?

Arthur S. Stein, a Washington area financial planner, whose client base includes several self-made TSP millionaires, said it would be relatively easy to figure out what ended the bull market, but not so easy figuring out its quick (so far) recovery. He was my guest today on our Your Turn radio show.

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