Four federal retirement mistakes to avoid. These decisions have a short window to get right — survivor benefit, FEHB, FEGLI, and TSP withdrawals — and for most of them, there's no fixing it later. In this video, Charles walks through exactly what to do with each one, and why the "obvious" move (cancel, take the lump sum) is usually the expensive one.

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IN THIS VIDEO YOU CAN LEARN
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- Survivor benefit: the short window to change it — and why you can't count on a fix later
- FEHB: why you should SUSPEND, never cancel, your federal health insurance
- FEGLI: how a 75% reduction on Basic can cost $0 at 65 — don't just cancel it
- TSP withdrawals: why pulling a large lump sum is a one-way door

Which of the 4 scares you most? Drop a number below 👇

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START HERE
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Apply for a Retirement Consultation:
https://apply.cdfinancial.org/6a694299bad1c9a176cdc79f/

Get the Digital Federal Retirement Guidebook:
https://cdfinancial.org/being-a-federal-employee-book/

Subscribe for Weekly Federal Retirement Planning Content:
https://cdfinancial.com/newsletter

Want a plan so these are decided on purpose, not by accident? Guidebook link above.

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TIMESTAMPS
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0:00 FERS Decisions With No Do-Overs
0:42 #1 Survivor Benefit (the 30-Day Window)
1:55 #2 FEHB: Suspend, Never Cancel
3:09 #3 FEGLI: Do the 75% Reduction, Don't Cancel
4:17 #4 TSP Withdrawals: A One-Way Door
5:22 Watch Next: TSP Withdrawals With No Regrets

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WHO WE ARE
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CD Financial helps federal employees and retirees make smarter retirement decisions around FERS, TSP, FEHB, FEGLI, and survivor benefits — where health meets wealth.

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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
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Advisory services are offered through CD Financial LLC dba CD Financial, an Investment Advisor in the State of California. Insurance products and services are offered through CD Financial & Insurance Services LLC, an affiliated company.
Educational only; not financial, legal, tax, or investment advice. Election windows, FEHB/FEGLI rules, and TSP options depend on your situation and current OPM rules — verify with OPM before making elections.

#FERS #FederalRetirement #FEHB #FEGLI #SurvivorBenefit #CDFinancial

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Have a Financial Advisor for Federal Employees respond to your questions. Apply for a Retirement Consultation:
https://apply.cdfinancial.org/6a694299bad1c9a176cdc79f/

Two federal employees retire the same year with the same TSP balance. Five years later, one has paid tens of thousands more in taxes. The difference wasn't the market — it was the withdrawal decisions. In this episode, Charles and Marcus walk through the five TSP withdrawal mistakes behind that gap, and how to avoid each one.

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START HERE
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Apply for a Retirement Consultation:
https://apply.cdfinancial.org/6a694299bad1c9a176cdc79f/
Get the Digital Federal Retirement Guidebook:
https://cdfinancial.org/being-a-federal-employee-book/
Subscribe for Weekly Federal Retirement Planning Content:
https://cdfinancial.com/newsletter

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IN THIS EPISODE
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- Mistake 1: the big lump sum — why cutting into the "wheel of cheese" too fast can't be undone
- Mistake 2: why the tax withheld is NOT the tax you owe (and the filing-season surprise)
- Mistake 3: withdrawal order — how pulling from the wrong bucket can cost more than a bad market year
- Mistake 4: timing that trips IRMAA and bracket creep — including the 2-year lookback
- Mistake 5: the fix — a written withdrawal sequence before you separate
- Why the goal isn't the lowest tax THIS year, it's the lowest tax over 20–30 years

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TIMESTAMPS
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0:00 Same Balance, Tens of Thousands Apart
0:31 Welcome — CD Financial Podcast
2:13 Mistake 1: The Big Lump Sum (The Wheel of Cheese)
3:42 Mistake 2: Withholding Isn't Your Real Tax Bill
6:24 Mistake 3: Withdrawal Order — Traditional vs. Roth
7:48 Sailing the Tides: Adjusting Year to Year
9:30 Lower Brackets Now = Smaller RMDs Later
11:55 Mistake 4: IRMAA & Bracket Creep (2-Year Lookback)
14:52 Mistake 5: The Written Withdrawal Sequence
16:10 Watch Next: FERS Retirement Explained

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WHO WE ARE
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CD Financial helps federal employees and retirees make smarter retirement decisions around FERS, TSP, taxes, Medicare, and retirement income planning — where health meets wealth.

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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
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Advisory services are offered through CD Financial LLC dba CD Financial, an Investment Advisor in the State of California. Insurance products and services are offered through CD Financial & Insurance Services LLC, an affiliated company.
Educational only; not financial, legal, tax, or investment advice. Tax brackets, IRMAA thresholds, Social Security taxation, and RMD rules depend on your individual situation and change yearly — verify with the IRS, SSA, and a qualified tax professional before acting. Client examples are anonymized and illustrative.

#TSP #TSPWithdrawals #FederalRetirement #IRMAA #TaxPlanning #CDFinancial

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- Gross vs. net on a FERS pension — and why the difference matters
- How the survivor benefit election takes ~10% off the top
- Why FEHB (health insurance) is often the single biggest deduction
- What federal and state taxes do to what's left
- The number that actually reaches your bank account — your "port of entry"

Your FERS pension has a number that looks great on paper (gross) and a number that actually lands in your bank account (net) — and the gap is bigger than most federal employees expect. In this short video, Charles walks a $3,000 monthly pension through every deduction, dock by dock, until you see what really comes home.

Do you know your FERS NET number? Not just the gross.

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START HERE
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Apply for a Retirement Consultation:
https://apply.cdfinancial.org/6a694299bad1c9a176cdc79f/

Get the Digital Federal Retirement Guidebook:
https://cdfinancial.org/being-a-federal-employee-book/

Subscribe for Weekly Federal Retirement Planning Content:
https://cdfinancial.com/newsletter

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TIMESTAMPS
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0:00 Gross vs. Net — Why It Matters
0:25 The $3,000 Pension Sets Sail
0:30 Deduction 1: Survivor Benefit (–10%)
1:00 Deduction 2: FEHB (Your Health Insurance)
2:01 Deduction 3: Federal Taxes
3:03 Deduction 4: State Taxes
3:26 What Actually Reaches Your Bank Account
3:46 Watch Next: The FERS Choices You Can't Undo

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WHO WE ARE
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
CD Financial helps federal employees and retirees make smarter retirement decisions around FERS, TSP, FEHB, and retirement income planning — where health meets wealth.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Advisory services are offered through CD Financial LLC dba CD Financial, an Investment Advisor in the State of California. Insurance products and services are offered through CD Financial & Insurance Services LLC, an affiliated company.
Educational only; not financial, legal, tax, or investment advice. The $3,000 example and all deduction figures are illustrative — your survivor election, FEHB premium, and tax bracket depend on your situation. Verify with OPM and your agency.

#FERS #FERSPension #FederalRetirement #RetirementIncome #CDFinancial

Support the show