What you’ll learn
With a decade or more of service behind you, the decisions get more specific. This track covers how your pension is actually calculated, when you become eligible to retire, how to think about TSP allocation as you age, and the trade-offs (survivor elections, early-out penalties, leave conversion) that shape your retirement.
Lessons
10 lessons · 3 available- 01Understanding your High-3What the High-3 average salary is, how it is measured, and how it drives your pension.
- 02Minimum Retirement Age and eligibility pathsHow your MRA is set by birth year and the combinations of age and service that make you eligible.
- 03MRA+10: the early-out and its penaltyHow retiring at your MRA with 10–29 years works, and the age-reduction penalty it carries.
- 04Part-time service and how it prorates your pensionHow periods of part-time federal work scale the pension formula at retirement.Soon
- 05TSP allocation as you age: glide paths and the L fundsHow investment risk is typically dialed down approaching retirement, and what the Lifecycle funds automate.Soon
- 06Catch-up contributions and the annual limitsThe extra TSP contributions available at age 50+ and the IRS limits that govern them.Soon
- 07Sick and annual leave: converting hours to service creditHow unused sick leave adds creditable service and how annual leave is paid out at retirement.Soon
- 08Survivor benefit elections: the 25% / 50% decisionHow a survivor annuity election reduces your pension and what it provides your spouse.Soon
- 09VERA and VSIP: early-out offers and what they meanVoluntary Early Retirement Authority and Separation Incentive Pay: when agencies offer them and the eligibility math.Soon
- 10Leaving early: deferred vs. postponed retirementTwo ways to preserve a future pension if you separate before full eligibility, and how they differ.Soon
Lessons are on the way
We’re publishing this track lesson by lesson. In the meantime, you can run your own numbers in the calculator. No account required.
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