Federal Benefits and Retirement

04/08/2026

Do you have a power of attorney if you should become incapacitated?

Do you need a trust... or is a will enough?

Do you have medical directives in place to let your family know when they should "pull the plug" if necessary?

This 1 question survey is geared toward knowing how we can help people prepare for the future-

What matters most to you when planning for the future?

04/07/2026

Did you know that where you retire could affect how much you pay in taxes?

North Carolina, for example, does not charge state income tax on Federal pensions. 6 others states charge no income tax at all. But you'd also need to look at other factors. For example, Texas has no income tax but consistently rates among highest 5 states for property tax.

These are considerations worth having before finalizing where you want to retire. This map may help but as always, feel free to reach out to us with specific questions.

04/01/2026

We thought we'd share a unique bracket idea- make your bracket with an eye on how much tuition is at each school.

Wow- talk about a good way to put a damper on March Madness!

The bigger reason here is to highlight the costs of attending college these days. There are several ways to fund college for children or Grandchildren with 529 being the most popular. But did you know you can pull funds for college from a Roth IRA as well without penalty? And launched last year, the Trump accounts are also a potential option.

If you're someone who wants to put money away for others and their college plans- don't hesitate to reach out today. We'd love to do a virtual chat and cover all the options.

Disclaimer- we are not an affiliate of Invesco- we just thought the graphic was interesting and eye opening.

03/02/2026

We know that geopolitical events like the strike in Iran can make stomachs turn. We also know that long term, staying invested has always been the right approach to not lose money.

Look at this chart below and let us know what you're thoughts are:

02/26/2026

What is the downside to doing a Roth conversion within TSP?

With all the emails and information sent out- you would think that a Roth conversion within TSP is the best thing since sliced bread. But let's unpack that a bit.

First off- Roth conversions have been around as long as Roth accounts have been around (late 1990s).
The only thing new is that TSP now allows them.

The biggest problem with that: They DO NOT withhold taxes when they move money from your non-taxable TSP over to your Roth.

What that means is if you Roth convert $100,000 this year, at the end of the year they will add that to whatever your salary is for tax purposes and you will owe another $18,000- $35,000 at tax time. But additionally, if the amount moves your total income up more than 10% of the previous years income, you very likely could owe $1000s in penalties and interest back to the date you converted the funds!

So to the big question: do you even need to worry about it?

Moving money from a future-taxed account (normal TSP) to a never-again-taxed account (Roth) assumes that one of two things is true (or both): tax rates will go up OR your income will push you into a higher tax bracket in retirement.
Because if taxes are not higher then you're actually potentially creating a tax bill that is LARGER than what it would have been if you had waited until you retired when you will be earning less money.

There are people the Roth will be great for- and many people for whom it will be downright disasterous!
Which are you? We don't know until we talk with you. So if you're considering doing a TSP Roth conversion- or a roth conversion on an old IRA or other 401k plan- Take the advice that is highlighted in the picture: give us a call and find out! Your future self will thank you!

02/24/2026

Are you wondering: WHAT IS GOING ON WITH RETIREMENT???

Well you're not alone. With the rollout of the new digital Online Retirement Application (ORA) there was definitely a learning curve. Not just for employees retiring- but for entire agencies trying to themselves inserted into the OPM system so they can see who's retiring and when.

Well, you've probably heard the story about all the chef's in the kitchen having their own ideas about the spices going into the pot... Yes, that's exactly what seems be happening here! Add to that the long furlough in late fall of last year during the busiest time in the busiest year of retirements and what do you have? A GIANT backlog of retirement packets to process.
How many? Over 50,000 according to OPM- and that is the number they will admit to so who knows how big it is!

What can you do? Make sure your packet is pristine before submitting. We can help review if you'd like to be sure there are no unnecessary delays. We will also audit to be sure you are not forfeiting benefits that could be retained otherwise.

02/16/2026

For those looking at accounts for children and grandchildren, we've long considered Roth accounts a great option for children who have a job- even selling lemonade or a newspaper route would allow them to contribute, or allow a parent or grandparent to contribute in their behalf up to the amount that they earned that year with a maximum of $7,500 per year.

That is still a great option as it allows withdrawals for first home purchase, qualified educational expenses, and even allows principal withdrawal without tax implications- or they can keep it growing tax free for retirement.

You can set one up with almost any financial firm including Fidelity, Schwab, etc. and get your children's money invested into the stock market.

But there is a recent option that was part of the tax bill last year that allows parents and even companies that parent's work for to contribute money into the account. For children born starting last year through 2028, they will be gifted an initial investment of $1000. They are offered by the IRS by going to https://trumpaccounts.gov/ and they provide another option for tax advantaged investing albeit with a lower cap than Roth.

So one strategy that could be effective: open the so-called trumpaccount for children younger than can earn their own money and then once the child is old enough, transfer that money as allowable over into Roth IRA to jump start their future.

Trump Accounts provide eligible American children with tax-advantaged investment accounts courtesy of President Donald J. Trump.

12/16/2025

New year- new limits for how much you can put into TSP and other retirement plans.

Save this chart for a handy reference resource as it covers not only TSP but HSAs and private IRAs as well.

10/29/2025

96 years ago today- the stock market crashed in spectacular fashion!

10/07/2025

Are you trying to retire by the end of the year?

Or perhaps, you're someone who was trying to retire by Sept 30, 2025 but couldn't get the new electronic application to work.

In either case, we are happy to help you do retirement paperwork.

For DoD and many other department employees, you'll need to log in to GRB and submit a request to get access to ORA (online retirement application).

That triggers HR to link your civil service profile with your private Login.gov profile.

Then we simply login to the link below and fill out the paperwork.

10/07/2025

This is context for the current shutdown. As of today, this shutdown is now longer than 50% of previous shutdowns.