It is common to hear that as a federal employee, “you must have a great retirement, right?”
But what does that mean?
And what benefits are included in this ‘great retirement’?
There are really 7 separate benefits that you (can) have and this article breaks down what they are so that you can get the most out of them.
Income and Insurance
Your 7 FERS benefits can be broken down to two types.
3 of your benefits come in the form of retirement income and they are:
-Your FERS Pension/The FERS Supplement
-Social Security
-The TSP (Thrift Savings Plan)
The remaining 4 are insurance and include:
-FEHB (Federal Employee Health Benefits, i.e. Health Insurance)
-FEGLI (Federal Employee Group Life Insurance)
-FEDVIP (Federal Employee Dental and Vision Insurance Program)
-FLTCIP (The Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program)
Your Retirement Income Benefits
Your FERS Pension/The FERS Supplement
Your FERS pension is a monthly check that you can receive in retirement if eligible.
Check out this article to see when/if you can retire and get a pension.
To calculate your pension and check out this article.
The FERS Supplement is separate from your pension and isn’t paid to every federal retiree but only to those that are eligible and retire under the age of 62.
You can find an in depth guide to the FERS supplement here.
Social Security
Social Security is also a monthly check you get in retirement and you can start it anytime between age 62 and 70.
However, the earlier you start benefits, the lower your monthly check will be. So naturally, the longer you choose to not start Social Security benefits, the more your monthly check will be once you do start benefits.
To help decide when you should start Social Security as a federal employee, check out this article.
The TSP (Thrift Savings Plan)
Your TSP is a crucial benefit as you control this benefit much more than you do your other benefits.
Your TSP is a retirement savings/investment account that you contribute money into and invest over your career which you can then live off of once you retire.
You have the same investment options during retirement as you do during your career.
Here is an in depth guide on how to get the most out of your TSP.
Your Insurance Benefits
FEHB (Federal Employee Health Benefits, i.e. Health Insurance)
Your federal health insurance is one of your best benefits during your career and especially during retirement.
However, not all federal employees are eligible to keep their health insurance into retirement. You have to meet the eligibility requirements.
You can learn more about keeping FEHB into retirement here.
FEGLI (Federal Employee Group Life Insurance)
This life insurance program can be very helpful but can get pretty pricey as you get older.
But one of the biggest benefits is that you can often get coverage without a medical exam.
There are 4 different parts to FEGLI and they are: Basic, A, B, and C.
All 4 parts are a little different and you can learn what parts are best for you here.
FEDVIP (Federal Employee Dental and Vision Insurance Program)
This program provides dental and vision insurance for those federal employees that choose to enroll, but just like your other insurance, you have to be eligible to take it into retirement.
The main requirement is that you have to retire with an immediate retirement and you can find more details on keeping FEDVIP into retirement here.
FLTCIP (The Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program)
This program is certainly the least used amongst the benefits but it can be very helpful for those that enroll.
Basically, this coverage helps cover long term care expenses (nursing care, nursing home care, etc.) in the future.
However, not everyone should enroll as this program can get very expensive.
You can learn more about whether you should enroll in FLTCIP here.
