FEDERAL EMPLOYEE'S
RETIREMENT PLANNING GUIDE

The Author's Personal Post-Retirement Journal (5)
From 1/23/06 through 3/6/06

The following journal runs from January 23, 2006 through March 6, 2006. Click current journal entries to return to the most recent entry.

You may have the same questions or concerns and hopefully these entries will help you prepare for your retirement. Visit retirement planning to get answers to many of your retirement questions. Parts of this journal may relate to your personal situation. If you would like to comment on a journal entry, this site in general, or to let us know what other areas you would like covered, send an e-mail to ddamp@aol.com. You will find other articles of mine online at Monster.com.

PREPARATION is the key to a successful retirement and this site is devoted to guiding you through the federal retirement maze and includes information on benefits, general retirement issues, and easy-to-use estate planning techniques. It was designed to help you think about the entire picture and not just your annuity and when you can leave. There is considerably more to retirement than meets the eye and this site will help you focus on the critical issues that we all must address at this time in our lives.

DISCLAIMER

Readers should seek professional advice concerning their retirement and benefits and for all other areas that require professional clarification and guidance. The author is not a benefits specialist or financial planner and is only relaying his personal thoughts and ideas in this forum. Readers are strongly cautioned to consult with a professional before using any information contained in this forum. No forum can substitute for professional retirement benefits and planning, investment, or medical advice. Caution is urged when using the information contained in the articles that are posted on this site. The authors and publisher are not engaged in rendering retirement planning, benefits, investment, or medical advice or services. If you have a retirement planning, benefits, investment problem or medical concern, you should consult with a qualified professional in that area. Accordingly, the authors and publisher expressly disclaim any liability, loss, damage, or injury caused by the contents posted on this forum.

Click here to go to the latest entry

January 23, 2005

What a Difference I THOUGHT a Day Makes
 

by Dennis V. Damp

Hummmmm........, sometimes being a federal retiree is like being on the outside looking in. Do you ever feel that way? You almost need an interpreter to navigate the complex rules and regulations that govern our retirement benefits. That’s actually a good thing believe it or not. The complex rules and regulations are there to protect us and to cover all of the subtle differences between retirement systems and options.

This is why we need knowledgeable experts to counsel us when we set out on our retirement journey. This journal is designed to relay my personal experiences, options I selected, and commentary about retirement life in general. Some of the options I selected for my retirement were right on target and others totally missed the bulls eye like the article I wrote about “What a Difference a Day Makes.” Instead of being a day late and dollar short I was really a month late and didn’t know it unit late last week.

Thankfully, experts in the federal retirement benefits area, like Tammy Flanagan from the National Institute of Transition Planning, Inc. (NITP), set me straight on this one. Tammy Flanagan has been involved exclusively with federal retirement benefits for 25 years and has taught retirement planning classes for more than 50 federal agencies. If you recall, I suggested that you would receive the full COLA next year if you retired the end of December instead of January 1, 2 or 3. I left on December 31, 2004 thinking I would get a full COLA in 2006. When I received my OPM statement last month I only received 11/12ths of the total. I called OPM and they stated that the date you list in block 2 of Section B on the CSRS retirement application is your separation date and that my actual retirement date was January 1, 2005, a day later. I asked the OPM counselor if I had left on December 30, 2004 would I have received a full COLA for 2006, and he said yes. He may have misunderstood the question or was thinking of involuntary retirements.

Tammy clarified the optional retirement issue and stated that, “It doesn't matter if you retire December 30, 31 or January 3... you will still only receive 11/12ths of the 4.1% COLA on January 1, 2006. The only way to have your ‘optional’ retirement commence prior to January which would entitle you to the full COLA is to retire by December 3.” She referenced the following three resources:

1. COLAs - http://www.opm.gov/asd/hod/pdf/C002.pdf
2. Cost of Lining Adjustments - http://www.opm.gov/asd/hod/pdf/C002.pdf
3. Voluntary Retirement - http://www.opm.gov/asd/hod/pdf/C041.pdf

Tammy advises “CSRS employees to retire January 1, 2, or 3. Or for that matter any month on the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd if this allows the employee to receive a few more days of full salary, a holiday, an extra month of service credit or allows them to retire at the end of a leave period to accumulate another accrual of annual leave. They will not affect their first retiree COLA if they do so.” Involuntary retirements start in the month you leave and therefore my suggestion to leave in late December to get a full COLA a year later only applies to involuntary retirements.

My journal was intended to help feds view the retirement process through my personal first hand perspective and experiences. Clarifications from other parties are welcome, clear up misconceptions, and close the loop. Hopefully you will learn from my error in this case and my successes in others. I removed the articles on these subjects from our archives to avoid any future misconceptions.

If you have a complex retirement issue that needs addressed contact your personnel office or a professional in the field like Tammy. The National Institute of Transition Planning (NITP) has an extensive “frequently Asked Questions” feature and “Questions Submission” form on their site at www.nitpinc.com. You can also tune into their “For Your Benefit” radio show Saturday mornings from 10:00 to 11:00 Eastern time online at www.federalnewsradio.com (Listen live). They also offer retirement seminars for agencies. NARFE at http://www.narfe.org and their regional sites offer retirement guidance and reply to member’s retirement questions. Their monthly magazine is also very informative.

We are looking for a professional federal benefits "contributing writer" to address retirement benefit issues and answer questions from our visitors. If you are interested or know of someone that may want to contribute contact me at ddamp@aol.com.

Dennis V. Damp
Retired FAA

January 30, 2006

Its That Time of Year Again
 

Yes, it’s tax time and time to think about where you will be at financially when you retire. Even if you are retired now you have options to make your long term retirement brighter. When I was an active federal employee I took at least half - more some years - of my annual pay raise and either increased my savings bond or credit union allotments. The last 20 years that I was employed with the FAA my take home pay didn’t increase much at all.

Sounds radical doesn’t it? Well, I can tell you first hand that it didn’t hurt me or my family a bit and we survived through it all. It’s a good idea to take at least half of your raise each year and invest it in savings bonds - I like the higher yielding inflation adjusted I bonds - credit union savings accounts, or invest it in any of a number of other ways including dividend reinvestment plans (DRPs). More on DRPs next week. If you don’t contribute the maximum to your Thrift Plan it’s recommended that you do that first and if you are over age fifty take advantage of the additional catch up contributions that you can make tax deferred. Another good idea is to put some of this extra money towards gradually paying off your home mortgage early - before you retire if possible. More on this next week as well.

If you increase your allotments beginning with the first pay increase you won’t miss it at all and if you only save 50% you will still get a raise. A win win for everyone. Retirees this year received a 4.1% increase and they too can take advantage of this same principle except they can’t contribute to the Thrift plan after retirement. I increased my allotments this month through OPM’s online retiree service web site. Very easy to do and you receive a confirmation for your records.

I’m still waiting for my first retirement 1099R from OPM and my last W-2 from the FAA. Still hasn’t arrived. If you recall, I had all of my Thrift Savings Plan invested in the G Fund until this month. I transferred half of my G Fund to the L 2020 fund on January 3rd. Even with the wild Dow fluctuations the L2020 fund beat the G fund as of the close of business on January 28th. My G fund increased from $11.16 to @11.19 a share and the L 2020 fund increased from $13.89 to $14.10 a share. This equaled a 1.5% increase in the L 2020 fund and a .003% increase in the G Fund and my balance is now 49.69% G and 50.31% L 2020 fund. I’ll recalculate this on the 31st and post this on a TSP tracking page on this site. My intent was to compare and track the long term performance of the G and L 2020 funds based on my actual Thrift Fund account. I like to verify my actual investment performance over time with real dollars.

Last week I mentioned the National Institute of Transition Planning, Inc and their excellent retirement planning services. Their weekly radio talk show “For Your Benefit” is informative and covers many diverse subjects for active and retired feds. Go online Saturday mornings from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. EST to http://federalnewsradio.com . Last week’s show was on Long Term Care planning and all of their shows are archived on this site so you can tune in the shows of interest at any time on the Internet. You can call 1-866-895-5086 to ask questions during the show or email them 24/7 at foryourbenefit@nitpinc.com. The topics run the gambit from TSP, tax tips, insurance options, retirement and health benefits, to retirement planning. The show’s hosts are experts in the field and very helpful and I intend to announce each Saturday’s radio show subject in my weekly column starting next week. I’ve been listening to some of their archived shows while working in my office.

On a personal note I attended my first retirement dinner since I left last year. Frank, a dedicated federal employee for FIFTY, yes 50 years, decided to finally retire at age 70. There were at least 10 or 12 retirees in attendance. Frank and his wife are leaving for Hawaii soon and many of the gifts were designed to help them enjoy their trip.

Can’t close without a short note about the Steelers. What a season and now that I’m retired I actually had time to follow them and watch all of the games this season. Looks like one for the thumb, their fifth Super Bowl win, this year. My fingers are crossed.
See you all next week.

Dennis Damp
Retired FAA

I used a $100,000 loan in this example for 30 years at 5% interest. The first payment includes $120.15 in principal and $416.67 in interest and the idea is to pay next months principal payment with this months payment. You can reduce your loan term in half (30 to 15 years in this example) and dramatically reduce your total interest payments if you do this for the duration of the loan. In the example the 2nd payment includes $120.65 in principal and $416.17 in interest. The concept is to pay your first full payment of 536.82 (120.15 + 416.67) plus next months principal payment of $120.65 for a total payment of $657.47. Use a highlighter and line through payments 1 and 2 and next month payment start at payment 3.  

You accomplished two things by doing this. You reduced the term of your loan by one month and saved $416,17 in interest payments. Quite a savings. Your principal increases with each payment and you may not have the extra cash to handle this down the road. However, your salary goes up each year and should compensate if you apply some of your annual increase to this task. I did this with our previous home and paid off a 30 year mortgage in 12 years. I made several early principal payments each month to accomplish this. Check with your mortgage company to make sure there are no prepayment penalties or minimum additional payment requirements. I know this may sound confusion but after you get an amortization schedule in front of you it clears things up considerably. This example excluded property tax payments which are in addition to your monthly principal and interest payments.   

                                            For Your Benefit (Weekly Radio Talk Show)  

One of my goals with http://federaljobs.net/retire Is to let visitors know about valuable retirement resources that are at their disposal. The National Institute of Transition Planning Inc. (NITP) is one of these resources. They host a weekly retirement planning radio talk show "For Your Benefit" and you can tune in online. I'll announce the subject for upcoming shows in this column. If you miss the show you can go online and listen to past shows stored in their archives. This week they are featuring Mike Causey on Saturday morning February 11 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. EST. Visit http://federalnewsradio.com to tune them in. The title of the show is "Everything Federal" and Mike is a wealth of information for feds. Mike and the hosts will answer your questions live on the air. Call 1-866-895-5086 to ask questions during the show or email your questions 24/7 to foryourbenefit@nitpinc.com. Tammy Flanagan and Bob Leins are this weeks hosts. Tammy, a federal benefits expert, recently starting writing an informative weekly retirement column for Government Executive Magazine. You can sign up online to receive her weekly articles at http://www.govexec.com.  

More to come next week. 

Dennis V. Damp
Retired FAA

February 13, 2006
 

It’s TAX Time, Your 1099-R, and General Updates

By Dennis V. Damp (Retired FAA)
 

I received several questions this week from retirees that left end of 2005. Several tried to access Employee Express online to check on their lump sum payment. After you retire your access to this service is terminated. When you receive your CSA number and your Retirement Booklet from OPM you will be able to go on line to OPM’s Employee Express equivalent at https://www.servicesonline.opm.gov/. This site allows retirees to add allotments, sign up for savings bonds, print out annuity statements, select health care providers during open season, update your personal information, and much more. OPM will also send you a password for this site in a separate mailing.

Here is a heads up concerning your 1099-R annuity statement. I noticed that my 1099-R gross annuity for 2005 was one month shy of my total annual annuity. If you leave by the third of January you will get an annuity for January. However when end of year comes around, the first year you are retired, you will notice that your 1099-R reports only 11 months of annuity for that year. Your December Annuity is paid on the first business day of January the following year. This is actually a good thing especially at tax time and if you sold back your maximum amount of annual leave like I did.

Well, it’s tax time again and due to the lump sum payout and the last FAA pay check that I received in January of 2005 my gross salary - counting active and retired pay - didn’t decrease much from last year. There are some excellent retirement tax advantages. Your 1099-R lists your gross annuity and taxable annuity which is a nice savings and the state of Pennsylvania and local municipalities don’t tax your annuity at all. I’m still working on my business taxes. A nice way to spend a weekend I suppose.

I mentioned this in early January, however it is worth repeating here. After you complete your taxes update your existing wills, trusts, and directives or initiate these documents if you put this important task off. Take time to evaluate where you are and where you will be financially when you leave government. I developed a simple and easy to use spreadsheet with a free downloadable copy at
http://federaljobs.net/retire/retirecosts.htm, click on the "Pre and Post Retirement Analysis" menu selection. It is also advisable to draft a basic estate plan. A free probate avoidance spreadsheet is also available with samples at http://federaljobs.net/retire/probate.htm, click on "Asset Allocation." It's never too late or too early to start the process. I use "Willmaker Plus software" and the book titled “Plan Your Estate” to draft me and my wife’s wills, health directives, and living trusts. You will find these resources at http://federaljobs.net/retire/resources.htm, "The Executor's Guide; Settling a Loved One's Estate or Trust." is another good resource written in plain English to help you read a will, transfer property, wrap up trusts, handle probate, work with relatives, and make sense of it all. I have a copy in my bookcase next to "Plan Your Estate" and I direct my heirs in my estate plan to those resources for clarifications and guidance. This book has been a lifesaver for baby boomers who must settle their parents and other estates.

NITP's "For Your Benefit" weekly retirement planning radio talk show is featuring “Making the Most of Your TSP Savings Plan” on Saturday morning February 18 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. EST. Visit http://federalnewsradio.com to tune them in live or to listen to the archived show after this date. Their guest is Dwayne Jackson a CFA, CPA who will be able to answer your questions. Call 1-866-895-5086 to ask questions during the show or email your questions 24/7 to foryourbenefit@nitpinc.com. Tammy Flanagan and Bob Leins are the hosts.

February 20, 2005

It’s the Little Things That Count

By Dennis V. Damp (Retired FAA)

I received two notices from OPM last week. The first one covered my increased allotments for Long Term Care and U.S. Savings Bonds and the second was my “Notice of Annuity Adjustment.” It starts by saying, “The amount we are paying you has changed” and it lists your new monthly annuity adjusted for the latest COLA increase and your other deductions for FEHB, FEGLI, federal income tax, long term care and all other allotments. The bottom line lists your net monthly annuity. Yes Virginia - There is a Santa Claus!!!

A recent retiree asked me why I elected the 75% life insurance reduction and if she should do the same. She recently retired and kept 100% of her original FEGLI coverage. There were several points that you may find interesting. I removed any reference that would identify the writer.

Question:

I came across your website and have found your journals very informative. While I realize that you are not an employee benefits specialist, I would value your opinion on my situation. I retired in late 2005 at 55 with almost 36 years of federal service. I am the single parent of a 5 year old. I have almost 100K in basic life insurance and elected no reduction. I have just received my first full annuity check and the monthly premium is quite costly at $178 a month. Should I elect 50% or even 75% reduction as you did or leave it as it is --of course I have my daughter to think about in the case of my death. Your thoughts?

Reply:

Congratulations on your retirement and your adoption. You will be busy in retirement that's for sure. There are a number of things to consider. The reason I elected the 75% reduction is that my kids are grown and I have several other smaller policies that I took out in the 70s.
 
You have a number of things to think about. One thing you really need to do, if you haven't already, is write a will to cover guardianship of your child should anything happen to you. This isn't as hard as you might think. I used WillMaker Plus, a software program and it asks you questions and after you finish answering the questions the program prints out a valid will for your state that includes guardian designation if required. Check out the resources page on my site at http://federaljobs.net/retire/resources.htm for this software. You can also have this done through an attorney and it should only cost $100 to $200 tops for a simple will. Secondly, you need to provide for your child at least though the college years and you might want to consider what is called a 529 plan for your child's educational costs. You can set them up through a mutual fund company such as Vanguard or Fidelity. General information about 529 funds are also available at www.collegeboard.com. They are easy to set up and there are other college savings options that may be more appropriate for your situation.

Here are some options to consider in the insurance area. Even with the FEGLI 75% reduction you still carry the full $100,000 until you reach age 65 and then it reduces to 25% over a period of several years. You will end up with $25.000 at around age 67 or 68. Look at low cost 20 year level term insurance policies and get several quotes from reputable companies for either a $50,000 or $75,000 level term life insurance policy. See if the cost of the term insurance will be less than what you are paying for the full FEGLI coverage. Remember that you will still pay .3358 cents per $1000 coverage with the 75% reduction and your premium will still be $33.58 per month until age 65, then you pay nothing after age 65 for the remaining lifetime coverage. A 20 year term policy will cover you to age 75 and your child will be 25 years old at the time and your $25,000 FEGLI should be sufficient to take care of final expenses.

This person was not aware that if she elected the 75% reduction she would still retain the full $100,000 in coverage until age 65 and then it reduces to $25,000 over several years. In cases like this truly its the little things that really count, you have to take care of your minor children especially in a situations like this and a will is a necessity.

On a personal note, the Army Times sent a photographer to my office last week to take photos for the article they interviewed me for several weeks ago titled “Decision Time.” It will be published in the Army, Navy and Air Force Times March 6th issue, on news stands starting February 27th. I also had the photographer take several portraits that I can use for my books, web sites, and publicity. The photo I have on my web page bio was taken in 1995 and several of my colleagues mentioned that I had way more hair back in those days - unfortunately they are right.

This Saturday’s "For Your Benefit" weekly retirement planning radio talk show is featuring “Creating Your Retirement Lifestyle” on February 25th from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. EST. Visit http://federalnewsradio.com to tune them in live or to listen to the archived show after this date. Their quest is Dr. Fred Hecklinger who will be able to answer your questions. Call 1-866-895-5086 to ask questions during the show or email your questions 24/7 to foryourbenefit@nitpinc.com.

February 27, 2005

The Balancing Act & Other Retirement Issues

By Dennis V. Damp (Retired FAA)

I just finished my taxes and each year I contribute to a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) business IRA plan. You can contribute up to 15% of net profits, actually a little less than that. I typically spend about a week evaluating my SEP mutual fund and stock investments and then rebalance the investments based on my goals and objectives. I’ve always done this manually until this year. I discovered a great tool for simplifying the process and it saved me almost a weeks worth of number crunching and investment evaluations. My SEP is with Fidelity and they have a number of very helpful tools that investors can use to evaluate their investments. Fidelity’s “Portfolio Planner” asks you basic questions about your finances, goals, risk tolerance, etc and then produces a portfolio of mutual funds that meet your criteria.

I was hesitant to use planners in the past because I didn’t want to limit my investments to 100% of any fund family. To my surprise, Fidelity allows you to select from all available mutual funds. I have my fund set up as a brokerage account so that I can buy and trade stocks, bonds, and mutual funds through the SEP. Many retirees like myself have small businesses and the SEP is a good way to continue tax deferred savings in retirement. There are many other options you can choose besides SEPs and you can talk to Fidelity or any of the major fund families to get more information on this subject.

This excellent planner produces an extensive and comprehensive Portfolio Review that shows what your current asset allocation is and what it should be based on your investment goals. The report shows all of your fund investments and tells you what you have to sell and buy to rebalance to the proper asset allocation to meet your investment goals. It is simple to use and it saved me a considerable amount of time this year. I still pull up “Morning Star” reports and review fund ratings and performance using references such as Money Magazine’s annual Mutual Funds rating issue. I substituted some of their selections with funds that I had researched earlier but overall it did an excellent job for me personally. Visit http://www.fidelity.com to check out what they offer. Vanguard and other funds also offer similar tools.

A federal employee asked me the following questions about general benefits that you may find of interest. I removed any reference that would identify the writer.

Question:

Hi Dennis, I retire from federal service in March of 2008, under CSRS. My wife asked me something the other day that I could not answer, and really never thought about. Say, after I retire with survivor benefit, a few months down the road, we get into an accident where both of us are killed, what happens to my retirement? Do my kids get anything? Is all the money I paid into CSRS gone?

Also, keeping health benefit, do I continue to pay the same or do I have to pay what Government has been paying also. I have Blue Cross Blue shield standard family.

Your help is much appreciated, I have been printing some of your journal entries to help me when I pull the plug. Thanks again.

Reply:

Good questions Ken. When I retired I completed a SF 2808 "Designation of Beneficiary" Civil Service Retirement System form that covers what is left in your retirement system should both you and your spouse die shortly after you retire and before what you contributed to your retirement is paid out. You can download this form direct from OPM. I listed our two children on the form and filling out this form does not have any effect on a surviving spouse's annuity incase you predecease your wife.

Fortunately, the federal government continues to pay the same amount towards your health care that they paid when you were working. The only difference is that you pay your part monthly instead of bi-weekly.

To prepare for your March 2008 retirement I suggest looking at the Cost Analysis page at http://federaljobs.net/retire/retirecosts.htm and download the free analysis form. I developed this form two years before I retired and it proved very helpful. It will show you and your wife what you are spending now and what your income and expenses will be in retirement. It goes one step further and will let your spouse know what she will have to live on if something should happen to you.

Thanks for visiting http://federaljobs.net/retire and I hope this was helpful

This Saturday’s "For Your Benefit" weekly retirement planning radio talk show features “Financial Questions that Need Answered before Retirement!” on March 4th from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. EST. Visit http://federalnewsradio.com to tune them in live or to listen to the archived show after this date. The hosts will be Bob Leins, CPA, and Linda Harris, benefits Specialists, both from NITP. Call 1-866-895-5086 to ask questions during the show or email your questions 24/7 to foryourbenefit@nitpinc.com.

March 6, 2006

Don’t Take Your Eyes Off The Goal, TSP, & Replies

by Dennis V. Damp (Retired FAA)

It has been a very busy week and the weeks really do fly by these days. I received a number of inquires and comments that you may find informative and I have an update on my TSP L 2020 and G fund performance. Before I start down that road I thought you might enjoy an update of sorts on my retirement. I’ll keep it short and sweet.

I’ve been retired 14 months now and overall I have absolutely nothing to complain about except that I have too much to do and not enough time to do it. Sound familiar? I echoed this same sentiment prior to retirement. The more things change....... the more they stay the same. I really didn’t retire I simply changed careers and many feds will do the same when they decided to leave. The decision to leave is — I think — one of the most difficult for many of us because we are not quite sure what to expect. Well, I can tell you first hand that life after retirement will most likely be what you PLAN it to be. Hannah Moore wrote, “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.” To have a satisfying and enjoyable retirement — lets call it a new beginning, or maybe even call it a second chance to make life what you always dreamed it could be — you really have to have a plan and goals to strive for. When you don’t sit down and evaluate your situation and discuss the realities of leaving with your significant other, friends, and family you are leaving it to chance and taking your eyes off the goal. That’s when indecision and fear step in. Next week’s column will focus on how to start this process so that you will be emotionally, physically, and financially able to take the plunge.

I planned for my retirement years before leaving and knew pretty much what I would be doing after I left. However, even with all of the planning I did I was still apprehensive when I walked out the door and wondered if I would regret this decision. After fourteen months I can honestly say that life after retirement was everything I imagined and much more. There were many bumps along the way, initially too much rushing to reach goals that in hindsight needed time to mature and develop. That’s life, you take the ups and downs and put it all together and hope that things even out on par and enjoy the journey. I believe that my retirement has been successful because of the planning models I developed and published on http://federaljobs.net/retire. I haven’t taken my eyes off the goal and frightful things haven’t happened.

Visit our “Health Awareness Forum” to read this week’s article titled “The Nature of Nutrition — Practical Alternatives for Optimum Wellness” Part II “Our Cells — Ourselves” by Chuck Jumpeter. It is really good reading and provides healthful insights for all. This week’s article incorporates sports analogies and quotes from “The Great One” — Wayne Gretzky. The Health Awareness Forum is located at http://federaljobs.net/retire/health.htm.

Vince wrote concerning the “Designation of Beneficiary” form SF-2808 that I mentioned you can use should both you and your spouse meet with an untimely death before your annuity is fully paid out. Many are not aware of the short time it takes to exhaust your retirement contribution and Vince makes a good point.

Comment:

I’m not sure if you or the person who asked the question is aware of this (I wasn't). Your CSRS contributions are considered to have been paid to you by OPM in approx 18 months. If your total CSRS contribution is $100,000 and your CSRS pension is $70,000 and you die after one year, the payout to your beneficiaries is $30,000. After 18 months it is $0.

A person called last week asking how they could obtain military records for their 85 year old father who retired from federal service in 1980. They couldn’t locate his DD-214 form.

Reply:

You can go to http://www.accessgenealogy.com/military/nprc.htm and download the SF 180 “Request Pertaining To Military Records” form. You can download the PDF file, fill it in on your computer, and print it out. There is an extensive address list of custodians on the form to request information from different branches of service. I also found this site helpful to search for family history information.

TSP Performance Tracking - The G Fund to L 2020 Fund

At the beginning of the year I put half of my Thrift Plan in to the L 2020 Fund and kept half in the G Fund. I wanted to track the performance from the initial base amount that I put in each fund to compare the overall performance of the L 2020 Fund to the rock solid G Fund. the L 2020 Fund is currently invested 27% G, 8% F, 34% C, 12% S and 19% I. The following chart outlines the performance of my TSP account to date. The gains are calculated from “Base” figures.

This Saturday’s "For Your Benefit" weekly retirement planning radio talk show features “Tax Savings Ideas” on March 11th from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. EST. Visit http://federalnewsradio.com  to tune them in live or to listen to the archived show after this date. The guest will be Edward Zurndorfer, Certified Financial Planner with host Bob Leins, CPA from NITP. Call 1-866-895-5086 to ask questions during the show or email your questions 24/7 to foryourbenefit@nitpinc.com.

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