What this course covers
Federal retirement under FERS has three parts (a pension annuity, the Thrift Savings Plan, and Social Security), plus rules for eligibility, survivor benefits, and the Special Retirement Supplement. This course explains all of it in plain English, one idea per lesson, with visuals built from the same formulas the RetireCiv calculator uses. Three tracks follow your career stage. The topic tracks go deep on taxes, insurance, public safety, the retirement process, workforce change, and the TSP.
Start with your career stage
0–10 years of service
Early Career
Build the foundation: how FERS works and why your first decade matters most.
10–25 years of service
Mid Career
Optimize the plan: eligibility, High-3, allocation, and the trade-offs ahead.
25+ years · within 5 years of retiring
Late Career
Land the plan: SRS, timing, withdrawals, and your readiness checklist.
Or go deep on a topic
Taxes, Insurance & Special Cases
The cross-cutting topics: health and life insurance in retirement, how your income is taxed, and special situations.
Public Safety & Special Provisions
The enhanced-pension rules for law enforcement, firefighters, and air traffic controllers.
Retiring This Year
The application, the OPM timeline, and what your first year of retirement income looks like.
Benefits & Insurance
The benefits nobody briefs you on: dental and vision, long-term care, spending accounts, and what your survivors get.
Workforce Change
What a reduction in force, a buyout, or an involuntary exit means for your pension and benefits.
TSP Mastery
The deep dive on the Thrift Savings Plan, from loans and the mutual fund window to the compounding math.
Prefer to see your own numbers?
The RetireCiv calculator turns everything in this course into a personalized estimate: your pension, TSP projection, and readiness score. No account required.
Start the calculator