Financial Plan for the Federal and Postal Employee

Like all Federal and Postal Employees we must all consider the importance of our Financial Plan as we prepare to live in retirement – on our own terms.  Whether you are part of the CSRS system or FERS you should know the importance of having an overall financial PLAN and how vital it is for a successful retirement future.  Part of THE PLAN should include a financial piece –  your financial plan.

What is a financial plan?  It is a thought process of what is important to you and what is required for your life in order to make your dreams a reality.  A financial plan assists us in identifying what we want, how to get it and how to keep it.  Sometimes it is as simple as identifying the small changes that you can make today which will have large impacts in the future?   Devising a financial plan means making choices, sometimes difficult ones, in order to reach your retirement goals.

The process of building your financial plan has much to do with your value system.  Our value system is often shaped by our parents. As we mature our value system may change.  The values we have today, we probably did not have them when we were younger.  One reason being, our responsibilities and obligations have changed.

Often when we make one decision, it simply causes us to make another decision.  Constructing a financial plan and making decisions also involve trade-offs.  

For instance:  Would you like to maintain a Life Insurance policy on yourself or your spouse so you can protect your family?  The trade-off is the cost of the insurance for the benefit of that protection.  Then if you make the decision to protect your family in this manner, what is the best way (most cost effective way) of managing this expense?  Should you stay with FEGLI or find a different policy?  Is there a ‘best and cheapest’ policy for your needs?  

Another decision you will need to work through is with regard to your TSP Account. The decisions you will need to make consists of the amount and manner you take income from your savings.  Additional TSP consideration include rolling your funds into an IRA or and whether or not you should hire a professional to help you with your investments

You may have to give up something today in order to gain something tomorrow that might ultimately be of far greater benefit in the future.  We save now and we plan now so that our retirement years can be spent in comfort and security.

The most educated Federal and Postal employees and retirees will likely be working with a Financial Professional to help them with these decisions.  That is to say – the federal employees who choose to enjoy more of their free time and worry less in retirement will likely want someone else to manage the day-to-day minutiea of their investments and retirement plan.  We may know a lot about our own circumstances and may even know a lot about the economy or the markets – but I suggest that you find a financial expert in your benefits to ensure that you are looking at all of the possible savings and advantages that you have as a result of your employment.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.