Most federal employees spend decades building their retirement, then rush the last 12 months. The result is missed deadlines, wrong elections, and costly surprises that are hard to undo. In this episode, Tom Poltersdorf, CFP® walks you through a plain-English, step-by-step checklist for retiring from federal service the right way.

Tom covers your Service Computation Date, how to estimate your FERS pension and TSP income, how to pick the right retirement date, what happens to your FEHB health insurance, and how to coordinate Social Security and Medicare, all without guessing. Whether you're 3 years out or 10 years out, this episode gives you a clear picture of what needs to happen and when.

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If you want a personalized look at your own retirement timeline, visit https://gtwealthguide.com/federal-blueprint to request your free Federal Retirement Blueprint.

We'll map out your federal benefits, TSP, Social Security, and tax plan on one page so you can retire from federal service without guessing.

If you're a federal employee and 80–95% of your retirement savings are sitting in the traditional TSP, you might feel great about how much you've saved. But what most people don't see coming is how those pre‑tax balances can turn into very large required minimum distributions (RMDs) in their 70s, and a tax bill that keeps going up, even when their lifestyle doesn't.

In this episode of Confident Federal Retirement, Tom walks through a real‑world style scenario of a federal couple with strong pensions and substantial TSP balances who were shocked to see six‑figure RMDs and $50,000+ per year in federal and state taxes later in retirement. You'll learn why having almost everything in traditional TSP can create a "tax surprise," how RMD rules work for federal employees, and the planning window many FERS employees have in their 50s and 60s to start fixing the problem.

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When you're ready for one‑on‑one help, visit https://gtwealthguide.com/federal-blueprint to request your free Federal Retirement Blueprint.

We'll map out your federal benefits, TSP, Social Security, and tax plan on one page so you can retire from federal service without guessing.

If you're a federal employee in your late 50s or early 60s and you actually still like your job, this might be the hardest retirement decision you ever make. Because now the question isn't "Can I survive a few more years?" It's "Am I crazy to retire… or am I crazy to keep working?" In this episode of Confident Federal Retirement, I walk you through three simple tests I use with federal couples to separate "just one more year" fear from a clear, confident decision.

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When you're ready for one‑on‑one help, visit https://gtwealthguide.com/federal-blueprint to request your free Federal Retirement Blueprint.

We'll map out your federal benefits, TSP, Social Security, and tax plan on one page so you can retire from federal service without guessing.