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Published: April 2020

By: Ray Kirk, Ph.D., Federal Benefits Specialist

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has identified financial well-being as the ultimate measure of the success of financial literacy efforts. Financial literacy efforts traditionally have focused on gaining knowledge and applying that knowledge appropriately to make good financial decisions. Financial well-being is defined by CFPB “as the state of being wherein a person can fully meet current and ongoing financial obligations, can feel secure in their financial future and is able to make choices that allow enjoyment of life.”

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Published: March 2020

By: Vanessa Craddock, Federal Benefits Specialist
Do you have at least 10 years of government service? You may wonder what benefits you have earned at this point and what to expect for the second part of your career. The following are 5 frequently asked questions and answers you may find helpful.
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Published: February 2020

By: Maureen Wilkin, Federal Benefits Specialist

When you start planning for retirement in this era of overwhelming technology and data, the last thing you want is another application or program to work through. Take heart. There is a simpler, tried-and-true method to assist you. It’s a checklist.

The Retirement Countdown Checklist begins five years before your planned retirement date. It includes things you should know and should be doing at various points along the way. Although it is written for Federal Employees and their retirement, the basic planning points might be applied elsewhere.

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By: Karen Schaeffer, CFP®

January 2020
What’s your New Year’s resolution? Need one that you can really accomplish instead of that exercise goal we’re already making excuses about? Look no further than www.tsp.gov. There’s a great goal there for everyone.
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By: Vanessa Craddock, Federal Benefits Specialist

Published: December 2019

What is the OPF?

The OPF is the official record which documents your employment history in the Federal government.

Why do employees need a personal copy of their OPF?

The OPF houses the documentation used by HR to make personnel-related decisions affecting your employment. Whenever information is transferred, forms can be lost or misplaced. HR Specialists change over time and your information goes through different hands and locations. Information necessary to process a sudden change in your employment status may be incorrect or missing. When you maintain your own personal copies of your records, these may be used.
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By:  Michele Bollier, Federal Benefits Specialist

Published:  October 2019

Federal Open Season is November 11, 2019 – December 9, 2019

Michele has compiled a useful guide containing hyperlinks to online resources during Federal Open Season.

CLICK HERE to view the guide.

Michele Bollier, Federal Benefits Specialist, NITP, is a retired Federal employee.  She worked for the Federal government for over 30 years focusing on Federal benefits.  Since then, she has been a seminar presenter for NITP.

By: Karen Schaeffer, CFP®

Published: September 2019

You’re Going to Love the New and Improved TSP!

For years (ok, let’s be honest, decades) when participants in our retirement classes learned of the limited withdrawal options from the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) they were stunned. For Traditional TSP accounts the choices amount to:

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By: Vanessa Craddock, Federal Benefits Specialist

Published: August 20, 2019

As many Federal employees may know, the FERS retirement program is a three-tiered benefit system: the FERS Annuity, the Social Security retirement, and the Thrift Savings Plan. It is the FERS portion, however, that serves as the foundation of this retirement plan. So what exactly is a FERS Annuity benefit and what can employees do to get the most from it?
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