FedHorizon
Plain-English guides on FERS, TSP, military buyback, VERA/VSIP, and every major decision in your federal career.
Get My Free Retirement Report →FERS Retirement
Social Security and CSRS rise 3.6% in 2027; FERS retirees get 2.6%, and regular FERS retirees under 62 get nothing. The formula and worked examples.
Retirement Timing
Every FERS retirement path in one table (MRA+30, 60/20, 62/5, MRA+10, deferred, special category, early-out), plus when the pension stops being reduced.
Retirement Timing
An air traffic controller can retire at 50 with 25 years. Staying to 52 adds $263/month for life but gives up two years of pension and Supplement.
Survivor Benefits
Federal death benefits differ if you die in service or after retiring. The Basic Employee Death Benefit, survivor annuity, FEGLI, and TSP, side by side.
RIF & Severance
Federal severance: 1 week per year (2 after year 10), plus 10% per year over age 40, capped at 52 weeks, and only if you can't take an immediate annuity.
Retirement Timing
FERS annuities start the month after you separate, so the best day is mostly arithmetic: month-end, pay-period-end, leave-year-end, and your milestones.
Leave & Payouts
At retirement, annual leave becomes a lump-sum check and sick leave becomes pension credit. The math, the 240-hour ceiling exception, and the best timing.
FEGLI / Life Insurance
FEGLI Option B premiums climb steeply with age: $500,000 costs $780/year at 45 and over $37,000/year at 80. Age bands, the 5-year rule, and your elections.
FERS Retirement
FERS COLAs are capped or trimmed when CPI tops 2%, and regular retirees get none before 62. The rules, the 2026 numbers, and the 20-year cost.
TSP Strategy
2026 TSP limits ($24,500, $8,000 catch-up, $11,250 super catch-up) as per-paycheck amounts, the front-loading match trap, and the $150,000 Roth mandate.
TSP Strategy
The TSP has allowed in-plan Roth conversions since 2025. The break-even math, why the years before RMDs are the prime window, the IRMAA trap, and examples.
Retirement Timing
The FERS MRA is 55 to 57 depending on birth year. The full table, what MRA unlocks (and doesn't), and how MRA+10, MRA+30, 60/20, and 62/5 fit together.
Federal Compensation
Why a GS salary and a GS paycheck differ: FERS, TSP, FEHB premium conversion, FICA, and 2026 tax brackets, traced line by line through a GS-12 example.
Federal Compensation
How GS step increases work: the 52/104/156-week waits, what a step is worth, the 18-year climb to Step 10, and why a late WGI raises your pension for life.
Retirement Timing
Deferred vs. postponed FERS retirement: eligibility, the 5%-per-year penalty, the frozen High-3, and why FEHB, not the annuity math, usually decides it.
TSP Strategy
Roth vs. Traditional TSP comes down to your tax rate now vs. in retirement. The equal-cost math, the 2026 $150,000 Roth catch-up rule, and the bracket trap.
Federal Compensation
The 2026 GS pay scale: the 1.0% raise, locality pay from 17.06% to 46.34%, step increases, the $197,200 pay cap, and what it means for your pension.
TSP Strategy
Your TSP withdrawal choice affects your taxes for life. How installments, the age rules, RMDs under SECURE 2.0, and the Roth question actually work.
FERS Retirement
High-3 is the average of your highest 36 consecutive months of basic pay, the base of your FERS pension. What counts, how it's calculated, and costly mistakes.
FERS Retirement
Buy back military service and add it to your FERS creditable service. The deposit is typically 3% of military base pay, and break-even is often under a year.
Survivor Benefits
The full FERS survivor benefit costs 10% of your annuity and pays your spouse 50%. The exact cost, how lifespans decide the payoff, and when to decline it.
FEHB / Health Benefits
Keep FEHB in retirement with the government paying 70–75% of the premium, if you meet the five-year rule. What changes, Medicare at 65, and costly mistakes.
Federal Compensation
A GS-12 Step 5 in Washington, DC earns $116,070 in salary but roughly $165,000–$170,000 in total compensation. Every component, priced with 2026 figures.
VERA / Early Retirement
VERA means early retirement without the 5% penalty, but a smaller pension for life. How to weigh what VERA costs and what it's worth before the window closes.
FERS Retirement
The FERS pension formula step by step: High-3, creditable service, the 1.0% vs. 1.1% multiplier, MRA rules, special categories, COLAs, and worked examples.
FERS Supplement
The FERS Supplement pays $800–$1,500/month to eligible retirees — then ends permanently at 62. Who qualifies, the formula, and how to plan for the cliff.
Retirement Timing
Should FERS employees retire at 57 or wait until 62? The pension multiplier, service credit, and break-even analysis reveal what waiting is actually worth.
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