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— Federal employee retirement —

FERS, TSP, and what comes next.

Coordinating your annuity, your Thrift Savings Plan, and Social Security into one income plan.

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Federal employee retirement planning is the work of coordinating FERS, the Thrift Savings Plan, Social Security, and your own savings into a single income plan rather than four separate decisions.

What makes federal retirement different?

Most private-sector retirees are working with one or two account types. A federal employee is often working with three income sources that interact: a FERS annuity, the Thrift Savings Plan, and Social Security, plus whatever has accumulated outside those.

Each has its own rules, its own timing questions, and its own tax treatment. The FERS annuity depends on years of service and salary history. The TSP has fund choices, a withdrawal framework, and rollover questions when you separate. Social Security has its own claiming decision on top.

Planned together, they can be sequenced. Planned separately, they tend to collide, usually in the tax year after you retire. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency.

— What it includes —

What we work through.

  • How your FERS annuity fits alongside the rest of your retirement income
  • TSP fund allocation review against your time horizon and risk tolerance
  • Whether to leave the TSP in place, roll it, or take a mixed approach
  • Survivor benefit election questions and what they mean for a spouse
  • Social Security timing in the context of a FERS annuity
  • The supplement, where it applies, and how it changes at Social Security age
  • Tax treatment of each income stream and the resulting withdrawal order
  • Coordination with your CPA on the year you separate and the years after

— Our approach —

Three income streams, one sequence.

The work begins with a Purpose Conversation, because the separation date itself is usually a goals question before it is a numbers question. Going at the earliest eligible moment and going three years later produce very different plans.

From there we map what each stream pays, when it starts, and how it is taxed. We look at the TSP as one holding inside a larger portfolio rather than in isolation. We look at what a survivor would receive under each election. And we look at the order withdrawals should happen in once everything is running.

We describe the process and the tradeoffs. We do not make representations about federal benefit determinations, which are made by your agency and by the relevant federal offices, not by us.

— Why it matters —

Some of these elections are difficult to revisit.

A survivor benefit election, a claiming date, and a rollover decision all have long tails. Two of them are effectively permanent. Making them in the same conversation, with the whole income picture visible, is materially different from making them one form at a time as each deadline arrives.

The year you separate is also frequently an unusual tax year, with a partial salary, possible leave payout, and the start of new income streams. It rewards planning in advance and punishes improvisation.

Nothing here is a promise about outcomes. It is a description of which decisions deserve to be made deliberately.

— At a glance —

Three streams, three different questions.

Income sourceThe main questionGenerally taxed as
FERS annuityWhen to separate, and which survivor electionOrdinary income
Thrift Savings PlanAllocation, and whether to leave it or roll itOrdinary income; Roth TSP differs
Social SecurityWhen to claim, and what a survivor receivesPartly taxable depending on total income

General information only. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. Benefit determinations are made by the relevant federal offices. Consult your CPA or attorney regarding your situation.

— Common questions —

Federal retirement questions we hear most.

Should I leave my TSP where it is or roll it over?
Both are legitimate choices and the answer depends on the fund options you want, the withdrawal flexibility you need, the costs on each side, and how the account fits the rest of your portfolio. We walk through the tradeoffs rather than assuming one answer.
How does Social Security work alongside a FERS annuity?
They are separate income streams with separate timing decisions, but they interact through your total taxable income. Claiming timing can change how much of your benefit is taxed and how much you need to draw from the TSP in the early years.
What does the survivor benefit election affect?
It determines what a surviving spouse would continue to receive from your annuity, and it reduces the annuity while you are living. Because it is difficult to change later, it deserves attention before the paperwork rather than during it.
When should I separate?
That is a goals question as much as a numbers question. We start with what you want the years after federal service to look like, then model what different separation dates mean for the annuity, the TSP, and the years before Social Security.
Do you work with federal employees in the Kansas City area?
Yes. The office is in Prairie Village, Kansas and serves the wider Kansas City metro including Overland Park, Leawood, Lenexa, Olathe and Kansas City, Missouri.

— Related services —

Where federal planning connects.

Social Security planning

Claiming timing alongside a FERS annuity is its own question worth working through.

401(k) and rollover planning

The TSP rollover decision follows the same logic as any employer plan review.

Retirement income planning

Three income streams still need one sequence, and that is what an income plan is.

See all CFG Wealth Management services

— Start here —

Let's map the three streams together.

There is no cost and no obligation for a first conversation.

Schedule a Purpose Conversation 913-660-0258