IRAs and Your Retirement
The are different types of individual retirement accounts (IRA’s) and the requirements for investing in them are different. Here is an explanation.
Federal Employee Retirement
Federal employee retirement news: news about retirement-related topics as it pertains to employees of the federal government. Topics include FERS, CSRS, the latest TSP performance, annual COLA updates, and more.
30 Years of Retirement: What Will You Do?
The plans you have for retirement may be colored by your view of retirement as retiring from something (such as your government job or work). Remember: You are likely to live as long after you retire, as you worked for Uncle Sam prior to your retirement. Look ahead as well as looking back in you retirement planning.
Gloom, Doom, Bear Markets and Your Future Retirement
TSP investors are continuing to move money from stock funds and into the G fund although the number of transfers has declined substantially. What is the risk of not putting some of your investment money back into stock funds? Should you wait until the bear market is over before moving money around?
Should You Use Your Sick Leave or Save It For The Potential of a Higher Annuity?
Should employees under the FERS system use their sick leave or save it with the possibility of getting more credit toward a higher annuity payment?
What Happens to Your Benefits If You Die After You Retire?
No one lives forever but you will leave survivors. Your federal employee benefits are valuable. What happens to these benefits when you die as a retired federal employee? In some cases, it depends on actions you take to protect those you are leaving behind.
If You Die Before You Retire, What Happens to Your Benefits? Response to Readers’ Questions
Federal retirement expert John Grobe recently wrote an article read by tens of thousands of readers entitled “What Happens to Your Federal Employee Benefits if You Die While Still Working?” Some readers had questions or wanted more information. Here are answers to some of the more frequent questions. Please read this in conjunction with the previous article on this subject.
Pay, COLAs and Your 2009 Paycheck
COLA’s and pay raises are of interest to virtually all of our readers. There is also confusion about who gets what increase. Here is a brief explanation of the 2009 COLA and the 2009 federal employee pay raise–and why you do not get both a pay raise and a COLA.
The Federal “Five-Year Requirement” and Your Federal Health and Life Insurance
Open season will soon be upon us. Retirement expert John Grobe says that this is a good time to look at the “five-year requirement” for federal employee health insurance and life insurance and how this requirement may impact your retirement.
Trading Restrictions, TSP Investments, and Lousy Stock Market Performance
Declines in the value of the stock market are leading to proposed changes in retirement plans and complaints from a few investors that the TSP is taking money from their pockets by placing unreasonable restrictions on trading TSP funds. Here is a summary and a response from a TSP official that gives a more in-depth description of TSP expenses in the TSP funds that will interest to all TSP investors.
2009 COLA Jumping 5.8% for Some Federal Retirees
At 5.8%, the 2009 COLA will be the highest increase for federal retireesin about 25 years.
