Federal Benefits

• FERS Disability Retirement vs. Regular FERS Retirement: Two Different Doors

  Regular retirement is a test of age and service. Disability retirement is a test of medical capacity. Most federal employees only know one of them exists.

• Your High-3: The One Number That Decides the Size of Your Federal Pension

  Your annuity is not based on your final salary. It is based on an average, and the difference catches people out.

• The FEHB Five-Year Rule: How Federal Employees Lose Health Coverage at Retirement

  You can lose federal health insurance the day you retire unless you clear one requirement — and it is essentially unwaivable.

• Unused Sick Leave Isn’t Lost — It Becomes Pension

  “Use it or lose it” is the most expensive myth in federal service. Your unused sick leave converts to service credit for life.

• TSP Before 59½: The Penalty Rules Federal Employees Get Wrong

  Retiring early does not automatically mean a 10% penalty — and retiring on disability does not automatically avoid one.

• The Survivor Election: A Retirement Form That Decides Your Spouse’s Future

  It looks like one more page in the retirement packet. It determines whether your spouse has income — and health coverage — after you die.

• Deferred vs. Postponed Retirement: Two Words, Very Different Outcomes

  They sound like synonyms. For your health and life insurance, they are opposites.

• FEGLI After Retirement: The Election That Quietly Gets Expensive

  Keeping federal life insurance into retirement requires clearing a five-year rule — and then choosing how coverage behaves after 65.

• Creditable Service: The Years That Quietly Don’t Count

  Not every year you worked for the government automatically counts toward your pension. Some require action — and some never count at all.