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GT Wealth Your Free Federal Retirement Blueprint 👇www.gtwealthguide.com/federal-blueprint Hi, I’m Tom 👋 , a Certified Financial Planner™ and founder of GT Wealth.

We help successful families and business owners slow down, get intentional, and build a life they never want to retire from. One that's aligned with their values, goals, and vision for the future. Whether you're planning your next chapter or already retired, our GT LifePath process helps you create clarity, purpose, and financial confidence.

đź“Ť Based in PA | Working virtually with clients across the U.S.
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Husband & dad of two
đź’Ş Runner, drummer, lifelong learner
🎧 Always got a podcast on

Visit us at www.gtwealthguide.com to learn more!

10/24/2026

What would your spouse’s finances look like if you passed away five years into retirement?

The bills usually don't drop by half. The mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, and home costs may stay almost the same. But income can drop when one Social Security check goes away, a pension is reduced, and taxes change to single rates.

Here is a simple exercise. Run the widow’s year on paper.

Write down:

- FERS survivor pension
- The one remaining Social Security check
- TSP and savings withdrawals
- Health insurance costs
- Taxes as a single filer
- Housing and other monthly bills

If the numbers work, your plan may be in good shape. If they don't, you now know what needs to be fixed.

Federal employee survivor planning. FERS pension, Social Security, TSP, and widow tax planning for married couples.

10/24/2026

When one spouse passes away, Social Security stops paying both checks.

If one spouse gets $2,800 a month and the other gets $1,600, the household income can drop from $4,400 to $2,800. The bills may not drop with it.

Then the tax rules can change. The surviving spouse usually files as single the next tax year. That can mean higher taxes and higher Medicare premiums, even with less income. Medicare income limits for single filers are also much lower than for married couples.

This is why federal couples need to plan for the surviving spouse, not just the household while both are alive.

Look at your FERS pension, Social Security, TSP, survivor benefit, taxes, and Medicare costs together.

Federal employee widow tax planning. Social Security survivor benefits. FERS pension, TSP, and Medicare IRMAA planning.

10/23/2026

Choosing your FERS survivor benefit is not just about your pension check.

Under FERS, you usually have 3 choices:

- 50% survivor benefit, which can reduce your pension by about 10%
- 25% survivor benefit, which can reduce it by about 5%
- 0% survivor benefit, which does not reduce your check today

But here's the part many federal employees miss. If you choose no survivor benefit and pass away first, your spouse may lose their FEHB health insurance too.

So the real question is not just, “How much pension do we keep today?”

It's also, “What income and health coverage would my spouse have if I die first?”

If you choose less than the full survivor benefit, your spouse must agree in writing.

Before you choose 0%, look at the full tradeoff with your FERS pension, FEHB, Social Security, and TSP.

FERS survivor benefits. FEHB for surviving spouses. Federal employee retirement planning for married couples.

10/15/2026

When did you last check your TSP and FEGLI beneficiaries?

Your TSP, FEGLI, and FERS survivor benefits each have their own rules. They don't automatically follow your will.

An old beneficiary form could send money to:

An ex-spouse
A parent who has passed away
Someone you no longer want to receive it

This week, check your beneficiary forms after any marriage, divorce, birth, or death in the family.

Also review your:

TSP beneficiaries
FEGLI beneficiaries
Will
Durable power of attorney
Healthcare directive
If you cannot remember the last time you updated these documents, that is your sign to check.

TSP beneficiary designation. FEGLI beneficiaries. FERS survivor benefits. Federal employee estate planning.

10/15/2026

One FERS election can decide whether your spouse has a pension after you pass away.

When you retire, you can choose:

- Full survivor benefit
- Partial survivor benefit
- No survivor benefit

The full option can give your spouse 50% of your unreduced FERS pension for life. The cost is about 10% of your pension while you're alive.

Some couples choose no survivor benefit to keep more money each month. But if the federal employee passes first, the surviving spouse may be left with no FERS pension from that job.

Before you retire, compare both sides.

What do you keep each month with the full survivor benefit?
What would your spouse have without it?

This is a conversation to have now, not the week before you retire.

FERS survivor benefits. Federal employee retirement planning. FERS pension and spouse income protection.

10/13/2026

FEHB is one of the best benefits for federal employees, but keeping it in retirement is not automatic.

In this reel I explain the FEHB 5-year rule, how your premiums change after you retire, and how FEHB works with Medicare Part A and Part B.

At 65, you will need to decide whether to add Medicare Part B or keep FEHB on its own. The right answer depends on your FEHB plan, healthcare needs, premiums, and how the two plans work together.

Do not choose based on a generic rule. Run the numbers for your situation before you retire.

FEHB and Medicare for federal employees. FEHB 5-year rule. Medicare Part B and FERS retirement planning.

10/11/2026

Many federal employees spend years building their TSP but never make a plan for how to use it.

In this reel I show how the wrong withdrawal order can:

Push you into a higher tax bracket
Make more of your Social Security taxable
Increase future RMDs
Cause you to miss Roth conversion opportunities

A better plan may use Traditional TSP, Roth TSP, IRAs, and Social Security in a careful order. The right plan can help you keep more of your money over a 20 to 25 year retirement.

If you are close to retirement and have not planned your TSP withdrawals yet, that is okay. But this is something to solve before you leave federal service, not after.

TSP withdrawal strategy. FERS pension and tax planning. Roth conversions, Social Security, and RMD planning for federal employees.

10/11/2026

You only start the Roth five year clock once. Ever. This surprises people so let me walk through it.

The five year clock on a Roth IRA belongs to you. It doesn’t belong to the account. So the day you put your first dollar into any Roth IRA, the clock starts running. And it keeps running from there.

Say you made that first deposit seven years ago. Your clock is done. It’s been done for two years. And it stays done for every Roth IRA you ever open after that, including one you open the day you retire.

A new Roth IRA doesn’t get a new wait time. It picks up the clock you already started.

So if you’re past 59 1/2 and that first deposit was more than five years back, the earnings in that new account come out tax free. Roth TSP money you roll in is covered too.

Now one thing to keep straight because this is where it gets tricky. Roth conversions work differently. Each conversion carries its own five year clock. But that clock only matters if you want to pull converted money out before 59 1/2. After that, it stops mattering.

Here’s the whole deal. One clock per person for contributions. A separate clock for each conversion.

Now if you’ve never opened a Roth IRA, none of this is working for you yet. The clock can’t start until you do.

10/11/2026

Your retirement date can change more than the day you stop working.

In this reel I explain why your FERS retirement date and TSP withdrawal plan need to be planned together. Your date can affect:

Your FERS pension
How unused sick leave adds to service
Whether you qualify for the FERS supplement
How your TSP and Social Security work together
The taxes you pay in retirement

FERS employees also need to review the timing of their retirement. Retiring at the end of a pay period or month may affect when your pension starts.

These details may seem small, but they can change your retirement income.

FERS retirement date. FERS supplement. TSP withdrawal planning. Federal employee retirement income and tax planning.

This is the one people get wrong and I don’t blame them for it. It sounds like it should work the other way.You’ve got t...
10/10/2026

This is the one people get wrong and I don’t blame them for it. It sounds like it should work the other way.

You’ve got two Roth clocks, and they have two different start dates.

Look at the top bar. That’s your Roth TSP. Say you started contributing back in 2015, so that five year clock has been running for over a decade now. It’s done. You’re fine.

Now look at the bottom one. That’s a Roth IRA you open the year you retire. Its clock starts the day you open it, not back in 2015.

Here’s where people get tripped up. Rolling Roth TSP money into a new Roth IRA doesn’t bring your Roth TSP history along with it. For Roth earnings to come out tax free, you have to meet both the age rule and the five year rule, and the Roth IRA holding period generally starts with the first year you made a Roth IRA contribution. So a brand new Roth IRA means a brand new wait.

The good news is that the fix here is almost free.

If you’re eligible, go contribute to a Roth IRA now. Not at retirement. Now. Even a small contribution gets that clock started. Then by the time you retire, both bars are full and you’re not sitting around waiting on anything.

Honestly, this is the easiest thing on the whole list to fix. It just has to happen early.

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