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Retiring This Year: Federal Retirement

The application, the OPM timeline, and what your first year of retirement income looks like.

ForYour final months before retirement
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What you’ll learn

This track covers the mechanics of actually retiring, the part most guides skip. Learn the application packet you file, how long OPM takes to finalize your annuity and how interim payments bridge the gap, what hits your final paycheck, and what your cash flow and tax bill look like in the first year.

Lessons

6 lessons
  1. 01The retirement application packet (SF-3107)What forms you file to retire, and the documents OPM needs to process your annuity.Soon
  2. 02OPM processing time and interim paymentsHow long OPM takes to finalize your annuity, and how interim payments tide you over until it does.Soon
  3. 03Your final paycheck and lump-sum leaveWhat hits your last paycheck and how your unused annual leave is paid out at separation.Soon
  4. 04Carrying your benefits past your retirement dateHow FEHB and FEGLI continue the day your federal job ends, and the rules that decide whether they can.Soon
  5. 05Your 12-month pre-retirement runwayA month-by-month checklist for the year before you submit your retirement paperwork.Soon
  6. 06Your first year of retirement: cash flow and taxesWhat to expect from interim pay, your first full annuity, and the first-year tax bill.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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