It is crunch time.
If you are within 5 years of retirement it is time to get serious.
There is no longer “plenty of time” to fix things later.
It is now or never to make sure you are on track for your dream retirement.
And here are the 5 most important things to do/check right now.
Are You Eligible to Retire?
As a federal employee one of the most important things is to make sure you can retire from the government and keep your best benefits.
And this only happens if you are eligible.
And because this topic is so crucial for a successful retirement, this article walks you through if you are on track to being eligible.
TSP In Order?
Once you are close to retirement you no longer have a bunch of extra time to figure out your TSP.
Again, it is crunch time to dial things in.
And how you should be investing in the TSP does start to change significantly as you approach retirement.
While most people should start investing more conservatively as they approach retirement, I see all the time how most people way overdue it which leaves them vulnerable to running out of money early.
This article will walk you through a great strategy to make sure your TSP is prepared to last for your entire retirement.
Service Records Squared Away?
At the end of the day it doesn’t matter how many years of federal service you’ve worked unless there are records proving you worked that time.
And you’d be surprised to know how often career records are missing or incomplete.
5 years out from retirement is a great time to review all your records (like your SF-50s, pay stubs, etc.) to make sure you have records for your entire career.
It is way easier getting these fixed now than trying to fix things right before retirement.
Can You Keep Your Insurance?
Not all federal employees can keep their insurance into retirement. Again, you have to meet the eligibility requirements.
Each type of insurance has different rules which are summarized here:
Health
To keep health insurance (FEHB) into retirement here are the main two requirements.
-You must retire with an immediate retirement
-You must be covered under FEHB for the 5 years before retirement
Life
To keep life insurance (FEGLI) into retirement here are the main two requirements.
-You must retire with an immediate retirement
-You must be covered under FEHB for the 5 years before retirement
Dental/Vision
To keep dental and/or vision (FEDVIP) into retirement here is the one requirement.
-You must retire with an immediate retirement
But for dental/vision you don’t need to be covered for 5 years before retirement.
Long Term Care (FLTCIP)
Federal long term care insurance is the easiest to qualify for. The one requirement to get FLTCIP is that most employees must be eligible for the FEHB Program in order to apply for coverage under the FLTCIP.
You don’t have to be actually enrolled in FEHB, you just have to be eligible to enroll.
And once you have the coverage, you can always take it with you once you leave the government as long as you keep paying the premium.
Can I Afford to Retire?
This is one of the most important questions to know the answer to and unfortunately, there is no way for me to summarize it in a paragraph.
It comes down to truly understanding exactly how much income you’ll have in retirement and if that will be sufficient to fund a great retirement.
Federal employees enjoy at least 3 sources of retirement income (Pension, TSP, and Social Security) and this article will help you figure out exactly what those will be for you.
