FERS/CSRS Employees

FERS Employees

Most employees hired Jan 1, 1984 and later were more than likely a part of the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).    There are a few exceptions for those people who had 5 years CSRS employment, left service and then came back (CSRS Off-set), but by and large most people working today are a part of the new FERS retirement system.  When FERS was created, it put more of the burden on federal employees to ensure they had enough money saved to retire.    A typical CSRS employee could depend on at least 56% of their high three salaries from the government until they died.   A FERS employee would only get 30% of their highest three years of salary from the government and would have to make up the difference between their TSP contributions and Social Security.  

Many FERS employees do not know this and are going to be in a very difficult position when they reach retirement age.   Knowing how much you will have and how much you need is priceless information.   The earlier you can get this information the better you can plan and ensure you are not working until 70  like many federal employees.

When you meet with a Federal Benefit Specialists representative, we can determine how much you will have in retirement and how much you need in order to maintain your lifestyle.  Furthermore, we will advise you of the proper timing of your retirement based upon your individual circumstances.    It's a very difficult process to evaluate how much you will need to retire and it is an area in which we would be happy to assist.

CSRS Employees

If you were hired before Dec 31, 1983 you are more than likely a Civil Service employee.  There are many aspects of being a CSRS employee that you need to be aware of and that we would like to help you understand:

1. How to keep your federal health insurance in place through retirement not only for you, but for your surviving spouse as well.
2. How to determine your "RSCD - Retirement Service Computation Date". Getting this number wrong can mean you are not eligible to retire and it will take OPM up to 6 months to recognize the error. If you were not eligible you have to go back to work (this has actually happened to hundreds of employees).
3. Military time - should you buy it back and if so how much will it cost you?
4. Temporary time - will it count towards retirement and if so, how much?
5. Voluntary Contribution accounts - how to manage those monies in order to reduce taxes.
6. How much of a survivor's annuity should you leave to your spouse, and is the government annuity the best alternative?
7. How to maximize your TSP funds in retirement and employ strategies to lower taxes.