Estate Planning
A–Z Guide.
An 11-part guide for federal employees and retirees — from answering whether you're truly ready to retire through building a complete Survivor's Guide binder, drafting your will and trust, and addressing every estate planning step your family will need after you're gone.
Are you emotionally
prepared to retire?
The financial preparation gets most of the attention before retirement. But the emotional transition — identity, purpose, structure, stress — is just as consequential and far less often planned for. Part 1 starts there.
If you are an emotional wreck before retirement, there is a real possibility you will remain that way after you leave — unless you make changes now. Leaving a stressful job doesn't automatically leave the stress behind. It tends to travel with you unless you've deliberately made a plan for what comes next.
Retirement in and of itself won't solve problems you haven't addressed. All change is stressful, and retirement is one of the most significant changes you will ever make. What makes the difference between thriving and drifting is whether you've thought through the questions in advance — and had the meaningful conversations with your family that turn vague hopes into an actual plan.
The key to being emotionally prepared is to plan for your departure well in advance of leaving. Don't leave what you'll do in retirement to chance — start the process before you walk out the door.
No matter what you aspire to do in retirement — start a business, pursue hobbies, travel, volunteer, consult part-time — now is the time to begin putting those plans in motion. If you start now, you'll have direction and momentum when you leave. If you wait until after you retire, you risk finding yourself with more time than purpose.
Nine questions to answer before you retire — put pencil to paper
- 1Why am I retiring?
- 2Can I afford to leave?
- 3Am I physically prepared for the rigors of retirement?
- 4Is my will, estate, and directives in order?
- 5What will I do with my time?
- 6How will my life change when I leave?
- 7What are my significant other's expectations?
- 8Do I want to work in retirement — and if so, doing what?
- 9What do I need to do before I retire to achieve my retirement goals?
The ninth question is your action list
Question 9 can only be answered after you've worked honestly through the first eight. The gap between where you are now and where you need to be — financially, emotionally, legally — is your pre-retirement to-do list. Write it down. Discuss it with your family. Set a timeline. The purpose of this 11-part guide is to help you work through it systematically.
All 11 parts —
in sequence.
Each part of this guide builds on the last. Work through them in order for the most complete picture — or jump to the section most relevant to where you are in the planning process right now.
Are You Emotionally Prepared for Retirement?
The often-overlooked first dimension of retirement readiness. Stress doesn't stay at the office when you leave. Plan your departure, answer the nine core questions, and have the conversations with your family before you walk out the door.
Are You Physically Able and Ready for Retirement?
Physical changes in retirement — reduced structured activity, evolving health needs, new daily routines — deserve advance planning. Covers health preparation and the lifestyle transition out of federal service.
Are You Financially Prepared for Retirement?
Can you afford to leave? Connects the decision to the numbers: income from all sources vs. expenses, TSP strategy, insurance coverage, beneficiary designations, and the pre-retirement financial checklist. See also: Retirement Cost Analysis spreadsheet.
Up in the Heir — Basic Estate Planning for Feds
Introduction to the core probate avoidance tools available to every federal employee: joint tenancy, beneficiary designations, POD/TOD, and living trusts. How each works and when to use which one.
Putting It All Together — One Section at a Time
How to assemble your Survivor's Guide binder — the document your family relies on after you're gone. Includes account access instructions, a sample Word document, and a PDF template to get you started section by section.
The Estate Planning Checklist
A comprehensive step-by-step checklist of every estate planning item to address before and at retirement: beneficiary forms, account titling, will and trust preparation, health directive execution, and survivor communication.
Caretaker & Survivor Reports
What your caretaker and surviving spouse need to know — and what they'll need to do — in the immediate days and weeks after your death. Covers notification steps, account access, benefit claims, and more.
Financial Reports, Special Forms & Contact Information
Organizing your complete financial picture into your Survivor's Guide: account summaries, special federal forms, and contact information for OPM, TSP, FEGLI, Social Security, and your personal financial advisors.
Wills, Living Trusts, and Health Care Directives
The three core legal documents every retiree should have in place: a will, a revocable living trust (when appropriate), and a health care directive (living will). What each document does, what it doesn't do, and how they work together.
Where There Is a Will, There Is a Way
Wills in detail: what a will covers, what it doesn't (joint tenancy and beneficiary accounts pass outside your will), how to find an estate attorney, and why a will alone is usually insufficient for a complete estate plan.
Revocable Living Trusts & Professional Options
When a revocable living trust makes sense over a will-only plan, how trusts work for federal retirees with individually-owned securities and personal property, and how to select the right estate planning professional for your situation.
Build the binder
your family needs.
Parts 5 through 8 of this guide walk you through assembling a complete Survivor's Guide binder — organized section by section so your family has everything they need in one place after you're gone.
Account access instructions
How to access every account — logins, contacts, institutions. Covers checking, savings, brokerage, TSP, and online accounts.
Federal benefit contacts
OPM, TSP, FEGLI, Social Security Administration — phone numbers, account numbers, and step-by-step claim instructions for each.
Beneficiary designations
Copies of all beneficiary designation forms: TSP-3, SF-2823, SF-2808/SF-3102, IRA beneficiaries, and private insurance policies.
Legal documents
Location of original will, trust documents, health care directive, and durable power of attorney — and the name of your estate attorney.
Insurance policies
FEGLI, private life insurance, home, auto, long-term care — policy numbers, company contacts, and claim instructions for each.
Asset allocation chart
Your completed asset allocation chart showing who receives each asset and by what method — updated and current.
Caretaker report
Step-by-step instructions for the immediate days and weeks after your death — what to do, who to call, and in what order.
Financial advisor contacts
Names, firms, phone numbers, and relationship descriptions for your accountant, financial advisor, estate attorney, and any other professionals.
Where to store your Survivor's Guide
Keep the original binder in a secure, accessible location your surviving spouse or trusted family member knows about — not a bank safe deposit box, which may be sealed at death before your family can access it. A fireproof home safe or clearly identified file cabinet works well. Keep a digital backup (encrypted) of the account access instructions. Tell your surviving spouse where the binder is located and review it with them at least once.
Estate planning
tools on this site.
The estate planning sub-pages that connect to the topics covered throughout this 11-part guide.