Buried in your retirement paperwork is one election that shapes your spouse's security for life — and you can't undo it once your annuity starts. Here's how to weigh the survivor annuity before the form-signing scramble.
FEHB for life is one of the best things a federal career produces — but you keep it only if you clear the 5-year rule going in, and your spouse keeps it after you're gone only if you clear another. Both trip up Foreign Service families.
Around 65, every federal retiree with FEHB faces the same fork: pay for Medicare Part B too? Roughly half do. Here's how to reason through it — including the one factor most guidance ignores for people who retire abroad.
FEGLI is almost invisible during your career. Then you near 65, and some coverage becomes free while other pieces get dramatically more expensive. Here's the one-time, permanent election to get right before you retire.
You can spend three years at post without setting foot in your "home" state — and that state may still tax every dollar of your salary. Or none of it. The difference is domicile, and most people drift into it instead of choosing it.
Total compensation at a tough post can run far above base salary, so it feels like those years should count for more toward your pension. They don't. Here's the figure your FSPS annuity is actually built on.