The TSP Tax Trap at the Second Passing
When the Choice Isn't Yours: How Involuntary Separation Changes the FSPS Math
Sequencing Your TSP in Retirement: The Foreign Service Timeline
The Golden Handcuffs of the FSPS: What Leaving the Foreign Service Early Really Costs
The FSPS is deliberately back-loaded — and the difference between leaving at year 15 and year 20 isn't five-twentieths of a pension, it's most of the pension. Here's what a voluntary early departure really forfeits: the 1.7% multiplier, the annuity supplement, and retiree FEHB — and how to run the break-even math against a private-sector offer.
State Income Tax and the Foreign Service: Your Domicile Is a Decision, Not an Accident
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.