{"id":19958,"date":"2025-08-27T12:48:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T12:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=19958"},"modified":"2025-08-27T12:48:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T12:48:19","slug":"10-must-do-action-items-to-prepare-to-retire-from-federal-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=19958","title":{"rendered":"10 Must-Do Action Items to Prepare to Retire from Federal Service"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As you begin getting serious about retiring from federal service, you may be concerned that you\u2019ll miss some critical steps in the preparation process.\u00a0 Follow these 10 must-do action items to ensure you\u2019re on track to living the retirement you\u2019ve imagined.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Update your beneficiary designations, wills and estate planning documents.<\/h2>\n

Federal employees have several beneficiary designations to make on various government benefits that they have (like lump sum benefits payable from CSRS or FERS, Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Allowing the default options to go into effect is dangerous \u2013 and unnecessary.<\/p>\n

Read our recent\u00a0article on the importance of properly designating beneficiaries\u00a0and then take 10 minutes to\u00a0update all of your<\/a> bene<\/a>ficiary<\/a> forms here<\/a>.\u00a0 While you are at it, ensure that your wills and estate planning documents are current.\u00a0 As always, keep a copy of each of these documents in a safe place where your family can find them easily.<\/p>\n

2. Get crystal clear on your federal service history to maximize the pension available to you.<\/h2>\n

Employees should be their own best advocate to ensure that their agency\u2019s record of their service is correct and that the employee understands how certain pieces of service they have had throughout their career may affect the ultimate pension they receive once they retire from federal service.\u00a0 Military service, part-time service, temporary time and periods of service which were refunded to the employee upon a break-in-service \u2013 if not properly handled \u2013 can leave the retiree receiving significantly less in their pension.<\/p>\n

To get clear on your federal service history,\u00a0start by certifying your federal service<\/a>. Despite the pushback you may receive from HR, you are entitled to submit this at any time during your federal career.\u00a0 Do not wait until you retire.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Understand the real impact that taxes will have on your finances in retirement.<\/h2>\n

Taxes can be the carbon-monoxide of a financial plan.\u00a0 If not properly planned for, taxes can be the silent killer to the grand visions that many have in retirement.\u00a0 Having proper tax awareness \u2013 coupled with tax planning strategies \u2013 will help you to feel prepared and confident that you know precisely how your income will be taxed once you step into this phase of your life.<\/p>\n

Proactive planning is key. Wait too long and you will lose the opportunity to make meaningful changes to put you in the best tax position possible for retirement.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Seek to get the best of both worlds \u2013 government benefits and private sector solutions.<\/h2>\n

When federal retirees are approaching their retirement from federal service, they are primarily concerned about running out of money and protecting assets for their beneficiaries. \u00a0Although some government benefits are available to keep in retirement, many don\u2019t stack up for the long haul when compared to private sector alternatives.<\/p>\n

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It is important to remember that the government does not have a monopoly on good ideas, so you should seek solutions that are tailored specifically for your situation.\u00a0 Often, we end up with a combination of government benefits and private products \u2013 each having different features to complement one another.<\/p>\n

5. Take advantage of legitimate retirement training opportunities available.<\/h2>\n

The federal government mandates that pre-retirement training be made available to employees when they are within the 5-year window of being eligible to retire. ProFeds\u2019 5-star live training experience allows federal agencies to provide their employees with legitimate, lively and thought-provoking retirement training to help them take action on their most critical tasks as they prepare to retire from federal service.\u00a0 Consider attending one of our free retirement workshops<\/a>.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0 Evaluate programs based on merit \u2013 not blind loyalty.<\/h2>\n

Blind loyalty is dangerous.\u00a0 No employer-sponsored plan is perfect \u2013 including the government\u2019s plan. The Office of Personnel Management does not scour the market for perfect programs for the millions of federal employees and retirees on the books. When evaluating your many benefits decisions, don\u2019t be loyal to government programs that don\u2019t serve your family properly into retirement.<\/p>\n

Although certain benefits have served you well while you have been employed, that does not necessarily mean they will work the same in retirement.\u00a0 You must be able to properly \u2013 and without bias \u2013 evaluate your options based on the merit of what the program does for you in the future.<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0 Have a properly funded emergency fund for the transition into retirement.<\/h2>\n

While we hope for a smooth financial transition into retirement, it can be a choppy ride for many.\u00a0 Having cash in the bank allows for a less stressful segue into the next stage of life.\u00a0 OPM often takes up to a year to have your retirement check stabilized, so having a properly funded emergency fund can be the difference between calm and chaos.<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0previous article, we took a deeper dive into the\u00a0importance of having an emergency fund and some strategies to fund one\u00a0if you are just getting started.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0 Have uncomfortable conversations about life insurance and long-term care planning.<\/h2>\n

There are some tough conversations to have when it comes to financial planning. Topics such as life insurance and long-term care planning, can be emotionally taxing causing many to avoid the conversation altogether.\u00a0 If you do not have a plan in place for your family\u2019s income needs when you die, or how to pay for long term care services should you need them while you are living, you are doing yourself and your family a huge disservice.<\/p>\n

Meeting with a financial professional<\/a> who understands the options available within your government benefits, can offer some framework to have the right conversations to ensure the right coverage is in place.<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0 Stress-test your retirement plan by pretending to retire.<\/h2>\n

In order to retire confidently, we must first know what we need.\u00a0 Start by roughing out a retirement budget to ensure you know the very basics that need to be covered.\u00a0 Keep in mind that the cost of many of your government benefits can rise significantly in retirement, and most of your regular household expenses (like your mortgage, car, food, gas, utilities, etc.) don\u2019t decrease just because you have taken a pay cut in retirement.<\/p>\n

Be honest with yourself about what this budget will look like \u2013 and then try it on for size.\u00a0 By pretending to live on your retirement budget (with a little imagination), you will be able to test drive the financial part to see how prepared you really are for this transition.\u00a0 After all, if you are not quite financially ready to retire, would you rather know now or after you\u2019ve already retired.<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0 Seek guidance from a financial professional specializing in helping federal employees.<\/h2>\n

Working with a financial professional who tailors their practice to working with federal employees is essential to the decision-making process.\u00a0 They will help you to navigate the complexities of government programs, articulate your goals clearly, anticipate planning challenges and help you to make better decisions based on your true needs. Don\u2019t be shy \u2013\u00a0request to be introduced to a financial professional<\/a> in the ProFeds network today!<\/p>\n

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\u00a0 As you begin getting serious about retiring from federal service, you may be concerned that you\u2019ll miss some critical steps in the preparation process.\u00a0 Follow these 10 must-do action items to ensure you\u2019re on track to living the retirement you\u2019ve imagined. 1.\u00a0 Update your beneficiary designations, wills and estate planning documents. Federal employees have<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[348],"tags":[54,478,664,7931,447,788,1336],"class_list":{"0":"post-19958","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-retirement","8":"tag-action","9":"tag-federal","10":"tag-items","11":"tag-mustdo","12":"tag-prepare","13":"tag-retire","14":"tag-service"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}