Mason & Associates, LLC

07/20/2026

In this mailbag episode of The Federal Employee Financial Planning Podcast, John Mason and Tommy Blackburn answer listener questions about the topics federal employees ask about most: the FERS annuity supplement, Social Security tax withholding, claiming strategies, and how FERS and CSRS calculate COLA differently.

Here's what's covered:
✓ How returning to work affects the FERS annuity supplement
✓ How to request Social Security tax withholding
✓ Why married couples may consider different Social Security claiming ages
✓ How FERS and CSRS COLA calculations differ
✓ Why the right retirement strategy is personalized, not one-size-fits-all

As John and Tommy put it, life isn't about always being optimal. It's about building a plan flexible enough to hold up when the future doesn't go as expected.

What questions do federal employees need answered before making maj...

07/17/2026

Federal employees carrying FEGLI Option B into retirement often make one costly mistake: dropping the coverage entirely instead of exploring their other options.

In a new video, John Mason, CFP® breaks down how FEGLI Option B premiums increase in five-year age brackets, why the cost can climb sharply after age 50, and why the better move at retirement is often shopping the coverage against an individual term policy rather than dropping it outright. For those who no longer need the coverage, electing the 100% reduction can provide declining coverage for 50 months at no additional cost.

The bigger takeaway: life insurance decisions should coordinate with survivor benefit elections and the rest of your retirement plan, not stand alone.

Watch the full video to see how this could apply to your own coverage: https://youtu.be/1qfnyYySQGI

07/16/2026

One concept came up in a recent client meeting that captures a lot of what we believe about financial planning: giving with a warm hand.

The idea is this -- giving while you're alive means being present for the impact. Watching the people you love benefit from what you've built.

Being in the room when it matters. A cold hand can transfer assets. A warm hand transfers meaning.

The rest of that meeting reflected the same philosophy. A husband who transitioned to part time and found himself more productive, happier, and earning more than projected. Purchases that reflect a life being actively lived. And clients who noted they valued not just guidance from their advisor, but the shared wisdom of others in similar situations -- people who've already navigated what they're working through.

A financial plan done well doesn't just protect what you've built. It creates the conditions to enjoy giving it. https://youtu.be/ryZgp1skRAI?si=aNc3na6mdp2_eeJm

07/15/2026

Something that came up in client meeting after client meeting this spring: cybersecurity.

Deed fraud alerts. SIM locks. Password managers.

These became part of standard conversations during Strategic Planning Meetings this season, because clients were asking about them.

Financial planning in 2026 means protecting what you've built, not just growing it. The Mason team addresses this as part of their comprehensive planning process.

Want to learn more? Tune into this episode of the Federal Employee Financial Planning Podcast -->

What if getting hacked isn’t a question of if, but when? In this ep...

07/14/2026

Tommy Blackburn, CFP®, CPA, was featured in MarketWatch this month discussing one of the most common retirement savings mistakes: getting more aggressive with investments when you feel behind.

His take: getting aggressive is usually the risk, not the fix, since the closer you are to retirement, the less time there is to recover from a market drop. For federal employees evaluating TSP allocations in the final years before retirement, that timing matters more than chasing returns.

Tommy also points to a simpler, often overlooked number: most people never lived off 100% of their paycheck, since savings and payroll taxes stop once you retire. That makes the real income target smaller than most retirement calculators suggest.

Financial experts on what to do — and what not to do — if you started saving late and haven’t saved enough for retirement

07/13/2026

Your retirement plan was built around a version of retirement you projected years ago. But real life doesn't always follow the plan, and if yours has changed, your plan needs to change with it.

Your retirement plan was built for a version of retirement you proj...

07/06/2026

After 350+ Strategic Planning Meetings in six weeks, John Mason, CFP®, and Tommy Blackburn, CFP®, CPA, PFS sat down to unpack what they heard from federal employee clients this season.

In the latest episode of the Federal Employee Financial Planning Podcast, they cover the questions that came up most often, from retirement income planning and tax strategy to spending philosophy, cybersecurity, and estate considerations. The conversation also explores investment expectations in volatile markets and why Mason is rethinking everything from onboarding to technology systems to better serve clients.

It's a transparent look at how real financial planning decisions get made at scale.

Listen to the full episode:

What really happens behind the scenes after 350+ client meetings in...

07/04/2026

Happy Fourth of July from the Mason team!

We spend every day working with federal employees, people who dedicated their careers to public service. Today feels like a good day to say thank you to all of them -- current, retired, and everything in between.

Enjoy the holiday. You've earned it!

06/30/2026

Estate planning gaps don't usually come from neglect. They come from life moving faster than the paperwork.

In our client meetings this year, we've seen it consistently: wills that needed revisiting after major decisions, trusts where funding levels needed to shift, beneficiary designations that no longer matched what clients actually wanted.

This is why estate document review is a built-in part of our ongoing financial planning process, not a one-time checkbox. When goals and circumstances change, we help coordinate the updates to make sure everything stays aligned.

Estate planning is a living part of a financial plan. If yours hasn't been reviewed recently, that's worth a conversation.

📅 Get started: masonllc.net/get-started

06/29/2026

Are you ready to retire, or are you just guessing?

Many federal employees spend years running the numbers and still aren't sure where they stand. We call it the "income Olympics" — and it's exhausting.

In this video, we walk through how combining your FERS pension, TSP, Social Security, and investment accounts into one complete picture can change everything. Not because your accounts changed — but because you finally know the score.

Watch now:

Do you know if you're ready to retire, or are you just guessing? If...