Care Ful Federal

Guidance for Your Federal Retirement Not affiliated with any government agency.

You Worked for Your Federal Benefits. Do You Know What They Are Actually Building Toward?

Federal retirement is more than one number. Your FERS pension, TSP, Social Security, insurance choices, taxes, and retirement timing can all affect what retirement looks like.

The three resources below are designed to help you see the parts that matter, spot questions worth asking, and understand what deserves a closer look.

Tell Us Where to Send Your Request

Enter your information first. Once submitted, you can choose the resource — or resources — that match the questions you have right now.

Name
Select The Federal Retirement Resources
Are you a Federal Employee or retired Federal agency employee?
Are you age 59½ or older?
Do you want to see 30 to 40 options for TSP rollovers when you are over age 59½?
Do you want to see why OPM says employees “should shop around” when it comes to FEGLI Part B?

Explore the Three Federal Retirement Resources

See the actual resources below and choose the option — or options — that match the questions you have right now.

Who these resources are for: Federal employees across pay systems and grades—including General Schedule (GS), Senior Executive Service (SES), Federal Wage System (FWS), Wildland Firefighter pay, and other federal pay grades and bands—working full-time, seasonal, or intermittent schedules.
 

Federal Employee Benefits Guide

The Informed Fed

A Survival Guide to Federal Employee Benefits

You can work for the federal government for years and still never have anyone explain how all the pieces fit together.

What should you know about FERS, TSP, FEGLI, Roth TSP, health insurance, retirement income, and the choices that can quietly cost you money?

This practical guide was written to help federal employees understand the rules, common pitfalls, and overlooked decisions that can matter before retirement – not after.

Personalized Report

Federal Retirement Benefits Summary

Your retirement numbers only help if they are based on the right information.

A personalized Federal Retirement Benefits Summary can bring your key retirement figures into one place – including your estimated FERS pension, High-3, service time, retirement timing, survivor considerations, Social Security or FERS supplement information, and an overall retirement-income picture.

Before the summary can be prepared, Joseph has a short phone or Zoom conversation with you to confirm the information that drives the calculations.

2026 Planning Guide

2026 TSP Roth Conversion Planning Guide

The new Roth in-plan conversion option creates a simple question with a complicated answer: should you pay the tax now?

Does converting everything at once make sense? Could smaller conversions over several years deserve comparison? What happens when retirement timing, FERS income, Social Security, RMDs, Medicare premiums, and state taxes are part of the picture?

This plain-English guide explains what the new option changes, what it does not, and the questions to think through before you submit a conversion request.

See What Your Federal Retirement Numbers Can Look Like in One Place

Most federal employees have retirement information spread across different statements, systems, and estimates. A personalized Benefits Summary is meant to bring the important pieces together so you can see the relationship between them.

It can include:

The sample shown is illustrative. Your actual summary depends on the information confirmed for your situation.

How It Works

Look

See the three actual resources and what each is designed to help you understand.

Choose

Select the resource - or resources - that match the questions you have right now.

Request

Tell us where to send your requested material. If you request the personalized Benefits Summary, the next step is a short phone or Zoom conversation so Joseph can confirm the information needed to prepare it.

Next Step: A Short Phone or Zoom Conversation

Your Benefits Summary is personalized, so Joseph first needs to confirm a few items from your recent federal pay/personnel or benefits information and your retirement plans. After that conversation, he can prepare the summary using your actual circumstances.

    Your Federal Retirement Benefits Review Is Personalized.

    Choose your preferred conversation method. This is a short information-gathering conversation — not a sales appointment.

    Federal Retirement Has a Lot of Moving Parts. The Goal Here Is to Make Them Easier to See.

    FERSHelp.net focuses on the decisions federal employees actually face: FERS, TSP, Social Security, insurance, taxes, and retirement timing.
    The resources are designed to help you understand the questions before you make the decisions.

    Federal retirement focus

    Information centered on federal benefits and retirement planning.

    See before you request

    You can see exactly what each resource is intended to help with before providing your information.

    Independent educational resource

    FERSHelp.net is not a government agency or government website.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Is FERSHelp.net a U.S. government website?

    No. FERSHelp.net is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by OPM, TSP, or any federal agency.

    No. Choose only what is useful to you. You may request one resource or more than one.

    It is a personalized summary built from information relevant to your federal employment and retirement situation. Because the numbers depend on your actual information, a short phone or Zoom conversation is needed before the summary is prepared.

    It is an educational guide to the new TSP Roth in-plan conversion option, including tax timing and other retirement factors worth considering before making a conversion request.

    If you request a guide, FERSHelp.net can send the requested material. If you request the personalized Benefits Summary, Joseph will contact you to arrange the short phone or Zoom conversation needed to gather and confirm the information for the report.

    You Do Not Have to Figure Out Every Part of Federal Retirement at Once.

    Start with the question that matters to you now. Choose the resource that can help you understand it more clearly.

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