Federal Benefits and Retirement

07/30/2026

Some wisdom here regardless of when you're retiring.

One of our big takeaways was have something in retirement that you're running toward- not just a job you're running away from!

I walked away from my career at 52 with enough money to never work again. On paper, it was the culmination of 25 years of disciplined saving, smart

07/06/2026

Thank you to all those who came out to our party on July 3rd. Tacos, T-shirts, and toasty warm: pretty well sums up July in South Texas!

06/30/2026

We get asked all the time: Is a pension taxable? Is SS taxable? If so, how does a Federal pension get taxed in retirement and how does it affect Social security and how it is taxed? Great questions.

Answer is yes- pension is taxed by federal govt (states too, most of them). Answer to SS taxation is also, sadly, yes.
The last question is more complex so allow us to use an example:

If you are retired and have about $20,000 in pension income and $48,000 in Social Security, and your provisional income sits right at the $44,000 threshold, most of your Social Security probably isn’t taxable and your federal tax bill is close to zero.

But if you want to pull money from TSP to go on a trip, or some other expense comes up, and you pull $40,000 from your TSP or IRA in a single year. You’re still in the 12% bracket, so you expect the tax on that withdrawal to be around $3,700.
Simple math right? WRONG!

When your tax return arrives, you find out you should have paid $7,743 — more than double what the simple math said!

Here’s why:
That single $40,000 withdrawal pushed your provisional income to $84,000.
Once you crossed that line, up to 85% of your Social Security suddenly became taxable.
Thirty-four thousand dollars of benefits that were never taxed before are now counted as taxable income!

The $40,000 you took out didn’t just create $40,000 of new taxable income- it made your Social Security more taxable and therefore effectively created $74,000 of taxable income.

The difficult part is that this tax increase doesn’t show up when the money leaves your IRA. It appears months later on your Form 1040, after the money is already spent.

The old saying is "when you pick up a stick, you pick up both ends". If you're considering pulling funds from TSP, give us a call so we can try to make sure you don't get stung by the other end of that stick!

06/19/2026

These kind of stories make our work easier on hard days. Helping so many who have served and sacrificed is an honor.

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.