Financial Planning for Federal Employees – When Is Too Much

Financial Planning for Federal Employees

As a Federal Employee, when it comes to financial planning, can you actually do too much?  Probably not, but I do know that you can do too little planning for the future.  I often write articles based on questions asked in my classes or from individuals and friends.  Each time I get a question from a Federal Employee 

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it fuels me to share, because obviously I didn’t think how important the information was prior to the question being asked.  That is the wonderful thing about communication, you always get a burst of sunshine because you learned something new, often valuable and something somebody else just might need to know.  The acquisition of knowledge and information is to be shared with the masses otherwise it is futile.

I am going to ask you some of the same financial planning questions I was asked by a federal employee I recently met.  Think about them and see if they might give you food for thought or motivate you to make certain you have taken care of some basic, but important business for you and your family.

What if I die and my spouse is only left with her Social Security check, how will she survive without what I brought to the table?

I remarried a few years back and after my divorce I did not see a need to elect a survivor benefit for my annuity.  I have not made provisions for survivor benefits for my current wife.  Is it too late for me to protect her now?

Our expenses will remain the same if either one of us passes away.  How can we protect each us from facing financial difficulty because one source of income will no longer be there?

I have a federal life insurance policy and my children are the beneficiaries, but living on a fixed income it is difficult for me to keep up the payments.  Would it be insensitive of me to ask the children to take over the premiums?  Can I find a less expensive policy?

I have a TSP with a pretty substantial balance.  What is the best way to make TSP withdrawals?

I keep my important papers in a special place.  I haven’t told anybody in my family where my important papers are.  When should I tell my family members about my important papers?

When it comes to financial planning and federal employees – there is no such thing as too much.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.