Life After Government: Financial Advice

When it comes to retirement, figuring out your ideal financial state of affairs-combining Thrift Savings Plan money, Social Security benefits, a defined pension, your spouse's retirement savings and other investments-can be a daunting challenge.

"First and foremost, what you try to narrow down is, 'Can you actually afford to retire?' " said certified financial planner Karen Schaeffer. "As simple as that sounds, many federal government employees don't go there first because they're focused on eligibility to retire, and that's a whole different concept. But that has nothing to do with your personal wherewithal and readiness."

Most financial planners say there's no hard and fast rules for determining when you're financially able to retire. For one thing, it depends on whether you plan to keep working after leaving the government or want to enjoy a traditional relaxed retirement.

If beaches and bocce are your idea of retirement, then you should aim to accumulate retirement income sources that equal 80 to 85 percent of your pre-retirement income, said retirement counselor John Grobe, author of Understanding the Federal Retirement Systems (FPMI Solutions, Inc. 2005). That's because some of your current expenses, such as TSP and Social Security contributions, Medicare taxes and commuting costs, will disappear upon retiring.

Worthy Advice

If you hire "any financial planner worth his or her salt," according to Grobe, you will end up with more money to retire on. But how do you find a salt-worthy financial planner?

First, make sure your planner is certified. To do that, refer to the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, an independent certifying body that lists financial planners by geographic location. The Financial Planning Association also has a listing of planners. Ask the planner you contact if he or she has experience dealing with federal employees, and ask for a reference of an employee who has used them.

In January, Federal Employee Benefits Specialists Inc., a private firm, started a Certified Federal Employee Benefits Specialist training and certification program to teach retirement planners about the federal system. There are a number of financial planners who have completed this course, but it doesn't necessarily guarantee a depth of knowledge.

No Free Lunch

There are a few ways financial planners can charge you for their services. One method is billable hours, which, according to Schaeffer, usually run between $100 and $250 per hour. Some charge a fee based on your assets, and some earn a commission paid by a third party from the products sold to you. Be sure to ask your planner how they will be compensated.

Neither the Office of Personnel Management or the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, an organization that lobbies for and educates federal retirees, will recommend financial planners. Why? There are cons to using these planners as well. For one thing, they cost you some of the money you're trying to save. For another, putting your money into someone else's hands brings with it risks.

There's no governmentwide training for employees in retirement planning, either. Each agency offers its own education, which may include human resources staffers who specialize in retirement issues, and which often involve private companies that contract to provide retirement seminars for agencies. These seminars can run in length from a few hours to three days, depending on the agency.

The Homeland Security Department, for one, contracts with the Federal Employee Benefits Group for some of its seminars. FEBG offers a free "personalized benefits analysis" to all employees who attend. After that, however, FEBG will ask employees to consult its sister company, Federal Employee Investment Services Inc., for financial advice, for a fee. The Commerce Department uses a number of companies, including the National Institute of Transition Planning Inc. and the USDA Graduate School. NARFE also offers pre-retirement seminars for federal employees.