Mason & Associates, LLC

09/03/2026

Can you keep your FEHB coverage after you retire?

Most federal employees assume the answer is simple. It is not. Three specific requirements determine your eligibility, and the details trip up more people than you would expect.

In this video, Ben Raikes, CFP®, EA breaks down what it actually takes to carry your Federal Employees Health Benefits into retirement, along with the caveats that catch federal employees off guard.

Here's what you'll learn:

✓ The 3 requirements to keep FEHB in retirement, including which eligibility paths qualify you for an immediate annuity, and which of those are reduced versus unreduced
✓ Why your survivor benefit election, not just your enrollment, determines whether your spouse keeps FEHB after you're gone
✓ What happens to your FEHB under a postponed retirement (it pauses, it does not disappear)
✓ Why a deferred retirement means no FEHB at all
✓ How TRICARE can count toward your 5-year FEHB requirement, and how to suspend and reactivate FEHB around it

Every situation is different, and small details in these rules can change your outcome. If you are unsure how these caveats apply to you, we would love to help you work through it.

Can you keep your FEHB coverage after you retire? Most federal empl...

09/01/2026

We want to hear from you!

Take our quick Federal Employee Financial Planning Podcast listener survey and help us shape the topics we cover next.

It only takes a few minutes, and your feedback goes directly into planning future episodes for federal employees like you.

Complete the survey by September 13th, and you will be entered to win a free copy of Bob Laura's book, Retirement Intelligence: Personal Retirement Readiness. Winners will be announced on September 14th!

Take the survey here: https://forms.gle/rYDKWrr9whmymPeK9

08/31/2026

Being financially ready for retirement is only half the equation. What about the other half?

On the newest Federal Employee Financial Planning Podcast episode, John Mason, CFP® and Tommy Blackburn, CPA, PFS, CFP® sit down with Robert Laura, author of Retirement Intelligence and a pioneer in the psychology of retirement and legacy planning. He explains why having enough money doesn't automatically mean you're ready to retire, and how identity, relationships, purpose, and money beliefs shape the retirement experience.

You'll learn:
✓ What "retirement intelligence" means
✓ Why financial readiness isn't the whole picture
✓ How to assess your personal retirement readiness
✓ How to challenge inherited money beliefs
✓ Why couples need a shared retirement vision
✓ How to replace the connections work provides

Retirement isn't a finish line. It's an ongoing process, and this episode will help you plan for the transition beyond the numbers.

Listen here: https://youtu.be/3BldG5e6jCE?si=-y_bkoni9Hln2Xgv

Robert Laura

What if being financially ready for retirement is only half of the ...

08/30/2026

We're digging into this exact topic on Monday's episode of The Federal Employee Financial Planning Podcast. Retirement isn't always roses. Things don't always go according to plan.

If you're wondering how to plan ahead beyond the dollars and cents to create a retirement you're excited about, subscribe here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/federal-employee-financial-planning-podcast/id1605491625

What does the retirement you're excited about actually look like? Tell us in the comments.

08/28/2026

Federal employees often walk into retirement thinking they are behind when they are actually in a stronger position than they realize. Join John Mason, CFP®, on September 24 at 6:00 PM EST for a free webinar on avoiding the common financial mistakes federal employees make in retirement planning.

John will cover four key areas:

Know the Score: Understanding the Value of Your Pension
TSP and FEGLI Mistakes
In-Service and Retirement Survivor Benefits
Social Security Claiming and Tax Planning

This is an educational session, not a sales pitch. Come with questions.

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uVe_RDrSS_OllM2aZj5X7w #/registration

08/26/2026

The answer looks different at 30, 40, 50, and six months out from federal service. In this episode, John and Tommy break down retirement readiness by life stage, covering the financial, tax, investment, insurance, and estate planning decisions that matter most at each point in your career.

Here's what they cover:

✓ Why younger federal employees should focus on strong financial foundations, paying down bad debt, and saving consistently without sacrificing life today
✓ How to estimate your future pension and Social Security income
✓ How to evaluate whether your investment strategy is actually working for you
✓ Why being retirement ready is about much more than a large investment balance

Watch the full episode to see where you stand.

How do you know if you’re truly on track for retirement? And what s...

08/25/2026

Federal employees often treat retirement as a checklist. Complete the paperwork, elect your survivor benefit, submit your forms, and you are done. But being ready to retire involves more than completing HR's list. It means understanding how your FERS pension, TSP, and Social Security work together, and how your health coverage and tax situation change once you leave federal service. At Mason, we help federal employees look past the checklist and build a complete retirement plan.

08/24/2026

When should you start taking Social Security? It's not just a question of 62 versus 70.

In our latest mailbag episode, John Mason, CFP®, and Tommy Blackburn, CFP®, CPA, PFS, break down why this decision is more nuanced than a rule of thumb, especially for married couples planning around FERS or CSRS benefits.

✓ For many couples, claiming the lower earner's benefit early and delaying the higher earner's benefit to 70 can protect the surviving spouse with a larger benefit later
✓ Pension income, insurability, and survivor benefit elections all shape the right strategy
✓ Two households with identical Social Security benefits can land on very different approaches depending on their full financial picture

Watch the full clip and hear more listener questions answered on the Federal Employee Financial Planning Podcast.

When should you start taking Social Security benefits? John Mason, ...

08/20/2026

One box on federal retirement paperwork carries more weight than almost anything else on the form: the survivor benefit election.

It's a single decision, made once, with permanent consequences for a spouse's future income and health coverage. Mason's free guide, The Federal Employee's Guide to Survivor Benefits, was built to make sure that decision gets made with full information, not under time pressure during the paperwork rush.

Read it before you're staring at the form.

Download the free guide: masonllc.net/federal-employee-guide-to-survivor-benefits

08/19/2026

Feeling behind on retirement savings doesn't always mean what you think it does.

Many people underestimate what they've actually built, because they're not counting all of it. Social Security, pensions, deferred income, the spending that stops at retirement: these change the math significantly.

The advisors at Mason work through this with clients regularly. Before touching a portfolio, the real work is understanding what the income picture actually looks like and what the retirement target actually is.

Because you've never lived off 100% of your paycheck. Strip out savings, payroll taxes, the mortgage, the costs tied to working, and the number you actually need to replace in retirement is almost always smaller than the calculator suggests.

The biggest planning decisions for someone who started saving later aren't in the portfolio. They're the retirement date, the Social Security claiming strategy, and the spend-down plan.