Thinking about retiring from the federal government in 2023?
If so, congrats! Retirement is a big step.
But before you finalize your plans, here are the things you need to know.
Are You Eligible For all Your Benefits?
You can leave government employment at any time but to get the most of all your benefits you have to be eligible to retire.
But spoiler alert. There are actually many different types of retirements and your retirement package will be determined but what type of retirement you qualify for.
If you aren’t sure what type of retirement you qualify for then you can check out this full article on this topic.
Can You Afford to Retire?
Once you are eligible for retirement then you are not out of the woods quite yet.
Because unfortunately, just being eligible doesn’t guarantee that you can afford to retire the way that you’d like.
I have met many federal employees that chose to retire the moment they were eligible and ended up going back to work later because they didn’t think their numbers through before leaving.
And one of the most important numbers to know is what net income you’ll have in retirement. I say ‘net’ because your net income is what you’ll actually be able to spend after deductions and taxes come out of your income sources.
This article goes deeper into each of your income sources (pension, social security, TSP) to make sure you are good to go.
Do You Really Want To? You Sure?
Over the years, I’ve worked with lots of people that are both eligible and financially prepared to retire right away. So they do.
And some of these people absolutely love everything about retirement and never work another day of their lives.
But some of them miss work. Some people just really enjoy what they do. While others really enjoy the secondary benefits from work such as the social aspect or the challenge.
The most important thing is to make sure that you have a full and fulfilling life even once you don’t have to go to work every day.
