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It's easy to talk about long-haul, no-panic investing during good times, like we’ve just experienced for an unnaturally long time. But when the going gets tough and markets decline, it is harder to stay the course and sleep at night.
If you are currently a federal worker who is considering retiring this year, is it possible to get both the pending pay raise and the COLA due retirees in January?
Despite tremendous interest (and some dread) over the coming investment expansion for six million federal Thrift Savings Plan investors, fewer than 30 took the opportunity to make formal comments, suggestions or to criticize the proposed changes.
Retiring as soon as you can may seem like a good idea now. But how will it impact you financially years into retirement when inflation has reduced your FERS annuity or your TSP balance?
A will and an estate plan can reduce or mitigate hard feelings among survivors. Maybe prevent decades-long feuds among children, siblings or spouses over what you wanted.
If you have a simple exit strategy that provides the best deal for you in retirement, there is a good chance it may be wrong. Or at least not very simple.
Many investors know the conventional thing to do, when times are good. But when things go south, which they do regularly, the fight-or-flight instinct kicks in. Times like now.
By later this year, TSP investors could have as many as 5,000 new investment options. So what next?
Probate can be a lengthy and expensive process that takes months, even years in some cases, to determine how your estate will be split up. Learn what you need to legally protect your family/friends and be sure they get what you want them to get.
Important consideration: Know when to quit! Often later is better, even if you could get by leaving the job earlier.
Financial planner Arthur Stein, who has a large number of federal-retiree clients, says there is another option for them — or anyone else — who may want to invest some of their emergency funds or excess cash in a super-safe option.
Whether you are (or should be) for Postal Reform or against the Windfall and Offset laws, help is coming. John Hatton, staff VP for NARFE, will discuss the status of these on Your Turn.
For many feds, the money they have in their Thrift Savings Plan will provide anywhere from one-third to one-half of their income. Most know that knowing when to buy and when to sell is a crap shoot, at best.
If you choose the invest-for-the-long haul course you may, as 112,000 rank-and-file federal and postal workers have done, become a TSP millionaire. But the keys are long-term investing and doing what the proven winners have already done.
Learn about everything from pay, benefits and retirement, to buyouts, COLAs and pay freezes. Dial 667-930-9385
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