GT Wealth

GT Wealth Federal employees retire confidently. FERS, TSP & tax planning for couples 55–65 in federal service.

Get your free Federal Retirement Blueprint 👉www.gtwealthguide.com/federal-blueprint Hi, I’m Tom 👋 , a Certified Financial Planner™ and founder of GT Wealth. We help successful families and business owners slow down, get intentional, and build a life they never want to retire from. One that's aligned with their values, goals, and vision for the future. Whether you're planning your next chapter or a

lready retired, our GT LifePath process helps you create clarity, purpose, and financial confidence.

📍 Based in PA | Working virtually with clients across the U.S.
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Husband & dad of two
💪 Runner, drummer, lifelong learner
🎧 Always got a podcast on

Visit us at www.gtwealthguide.com to learn more!

06/25/2026

The 57 vs 62 decision gets framed as all or nothing.

It isn't...

If the math leans toward 62 but your gut is screaming 57, there's a door in the middle: retire around 60.

You give up the 1.1% multiplier bump...

but you also cut a couple of years off the part of your life you'd rather not spend at the agency AND you still pick up three more years of salary and TSP growth.

There's no universal right answer here.

The point is to actually see all three options side by side:

the bigger pension

the years you give back to yourself

and the middle ground and then choose on purpose.

Most people don't choose. They default to one option. Big difference.

06/25/2026

Some federal couples I work with have said, “You traumatized us with your RMD graphs.”

They were joking. Sort of.

When you actually model required minimum distributions in your 70s and 80s on top of a FERS pension and Social Security, the numbers can be surprising. If you have 7-figures in pre‑tax accounts like your TSP, 401(k)s, and traditional IRAs, it's not unusual to see hundreds of thousands of dollars a year the IRS forces you to take out, whether you need it or not.

At the same time, many federal employees feel stuck. One advisor brushes off Roth conversions. The accountant says, “That’s an advisor question.” And no one is putting your pension, TSP, IRAs, Social Security, and Medicare premiums on the same page so you can see the full picture.

So there are three questions you really want answered.

1. If you do nothing, what do your RMDs and future tax bills look like, and are you okay with that?

2. Do Roth conversions make sense for you at all, with your actual balances, spending, and feelings about leaving money to kids?

3. If they do make sense, how do you structure them so you're not accidentally jumping into much higher brackets or triggering Medicare IRMAA surcharges?

For many federal employees, the most useful window is the “gap years” after you retire and before RMDs, and sometimes even before Social Security. Those can be good years to do controlled conversions or shift more of your new contributions into Roth, but only after you have seen the full map.

Thinking about retiring from federal service in the next few years? Don't leave on the wrong date or leave money on the ...
06/24/2026

Thinking about retiring from federal service in the next few years?

Don't leave on the wrong date or leave money on the table...

After 25, 30, even 35 years of service, the difference between a good retirement and a stressful one usually comes down to the decisions you make in the final 5 years.

If you're a FERS employee in your late 50s or early 60s, here are the 7 steps to walk through before you submit your paperwork 👇

1️⃣ Verify your Service Computation Date (SCD) — this drives your annuity. An error here can cost you for life.

2️⃣ Estimate your full income stack — FERS pension, TSP, and Social Security working together.

3️⃣ Choose a smart retirement date — the right month and day can mean a bigger final check and unused leave payout.

4️⃣ Plan TSP withdrawals, taxes & RMDs — avoid the tax surprises that hits federal retirees hardest.

5️⃣ Confirm your FEHB & Medicare strategy — keeping FEHB into retirement is one of the most valuable benefits you have. Coordinate it right.

6️⃣ Decide on the survivor benefit with your spouse — this is a permanent, irreversible decision that protects the person you love.

7️⃣ Update beneficiaries & key legal documents — the step almost everyone forgets until it's too late.

Most federal employees do all of this alone, guessing with online calculators and hoping it works out.
You don't have to.

📌 Save this checklist and share it with a coworker who's also thinking about retiring.

06/24/2026

A federal pension is great.
But it's not the whole retirement plan.

Quick one for feds in their late 50s. 👇30 years in. You could leave at your MRA or grind to 62 for a bigger pension.But....
06/24/2026

Quick one for feds in their late 50s. 👇

30 years in.

You could leave at your MRA or grind to 62 for a bigger pension.

But... pretend money isn't the deciding factor.

The plan already works either way.

Which one are you, really?

A, B, or C?

Drop a letter below.

(Curious how this group splits.)

06/24/2026

Almost every piece of federal retirement advice says the same thing:

"Work as long as you can. Bigger high-3, more years of service, bigger pension for life."

And it's not wrong. It's just not the whole story.

Here's the version nobody says out loud:

You're 57. About 30 years in. Around $1M in your TSP.

Working five more years might add $2,000/month to your pension for life.

It also costs you five of your healthiest years.

That's not a math problem. That's a life problem.

If you're sitting at that crossroads right now, would you take the bigger check, or the time?

06/24/2026

Sometimes you run your FERS and TSP numbers and they don't quite add up to the retirement paycheck you had in mind.

That does not mean you failed. It just means you have decisions to make.

In this video I walk through four main options if your federal retirement plan is coming up short.

1. Work a little longer. Even one or two extra years can grow your pension and give your TSP more time to grow and collect contributions.

2. Save more now or review how your TSP is invested. The C, S, I, F, and G Fund mix that worked in your 40s might not fit your late 50s.

3. Adjust expectations. Sometimes the target retirement paycheck is higher than it needs to be, or downsizing the house can free up real cash flow.

4. Use tax planning. How and when you pull from your traditional TSP, whether you do Roth conversions, and how you manage income that can raise Medicare premiums all affect how much lands in your pocket.

You'd think $2 million feels like "we made it."For a lot of federal employees I sit down with it feels more like "don't ...
06/23/2026

You'd think $2 million feels like "we made it."

For a lot of federal employees I sit down with it feels more like "don't mess this up."

They've got the tsp, the fers pension, social security, and maybe some brokerage accounts, but they still have this knot in their stomach about actually spending any of the money.

Here's what almost nobody warns you about. At $2M+, you don't really have a retirement problem anymore.

You have a wealth preservation problem.

The job changes from growing the pile to protecting it.

Protecting it from taxes, from a badly-timed market drop, and from products that look sophisticated and often cost you money.

Same milestone. But brand new set of rules.

06/23/2026

You won't run out of money first. You'll run out of summers.

If I ranked the most common TSP withdrawal mistakes by what they tend to cost people, here's my leaderboard.1. Taking a ...
06/23/2026

If I ranked the most common TSP withdrawal mistakes by what they tend to cost people, here's my leaderboard.

1. Taking a big lump sum just because you can.

2. Treating every TSP dollar the same when traditional and Roth are very different.

3. Looking at the TSP all by itself instead of next to your pension, Social Security, and other accounts.

4. Missing the age-55 rule and assuming you'll get penalized.

5. Ignoring how today's withdrawal changes your future tax picture.

6. Leaving your spouse out of the decision.

None of these are about being smart or not.
They're just easy to miss when no one shows you the map.

Which one would you put at number one?
Did I rank it right?

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