Five Key Steps Towards Federal Retirement and Financial Security by Carol Singer

Carol Singer
April 23, 2017

Five Key Steps Towards Federal Retirement and Financial Security

by Carol Singer

If you’re concerned with your Federal Retirement and financial security you may want to look into the social security administration’s “National social security month” to learn more about the benefits of social security and your thrift savings plan. These plans can be applied to the federal employees & retirees.

Steps To Help You With Your Federal Retirement and Financial Security

Step 1:

The crucial step towards keeping maximizing your social security is to first understand how social security works. Understand that Social Security is not just simple as it might looks and that there are thousands of potential claiming solutions that you could elect. Once you understand the different ways you can claim your Social Security benefits and how that might be impacted by other income source (like your TSP and the therefore impacted by potential taxes on your TSP Withdrawals) you will be able to make a more informed decision.

Step 2:

Performing verification is the next crucial step to do under the mySocialSecurity account. Assuming that the Social Security Administration has an accurate record of your earnings could cause you to lose out on some of your benefits; you should check the earning record inside the statement of your account.

Step 3:

The Social Security Administration suggests that estimating your social security benefits with the help of using their calculators/tools under the My Social Security Account section can be beneficial for you. Using these estimates along with tsp considerations and thrift saving withdrawals options can be a major step toward finding the perfect solution to maximizing what you will receive from your FERS / CSRS Annuities, TSP and Social Security combined.

At the same time, you can calculate how much you are entitled to receive social security benefits at different ages. You should be careful with the words like “on average” & “approximately” as most of the federal employees earn more than the average wage earner. According to the data received from the Bureau of Labor, the average salary of US workers in the year 2016 was $44K. This is because the formula used by many retirees for the calculation of SS benefits replaces the major percentile of higher earners with the low wage earners.

Step 4:

The next consideration is to apply for your security benefits online. Online applications are easy to complete & are readily available. The representatives will call you to help you out with your doubts related to social security. At the same time, you have to mention the amount withheld inside the remarks section of the application from as current online application doesn’t address the federal income tax withholding. This can be achieved if you want to have your money withheld for taxes. Apart from that, if you are applying for the social security schemes after the attainment of perfect age for retirement, then you should indicate whether or not you want to receive the six months of retroactive benefits in place of remarks section.

Step 5:

The fifth & final step regarding your social security is to manage your benefits with the help of online tools or with the help of your personal mySocialSecurity Account.

Conclusion

Your social security retirement benefits will be based on your earnings history and inflation-indexed calculations. Your thrift savings plans and your social security benefits will impact one another as income from either source could cause the other to be taxed at a higher rate. You should carefully weigh the various social security claiming options along with thrift savings plan withdrawals options. At the same time, you should not forget your taxes on your TSP funds & all other TSP considerations while having the social security benefits.