By Kyle Plotkin
Investment Advisor Representative
[email protected]
At Franklin Retirement Solutions, we work with all kinds of folks to help them build a secure future and retirement plan. Many of our clients were and are private sector employees, working in a variety of industries. We also have many clients who have spent careers in public sector jobs, such as teachers, school administrators, doctors, and nurses. Most of our clients have done a good job saving in their 401(k) and 403(b) accounts, along with other familiar savings vehicles.
One area where we wanted to improve our knowledge base was working with federal government employees. About a year ago, Franklin Retirement decided to join a program designed specifically to work with federal employees, or “feds”. Nick Hamner and I spent months last year studying, attending webinars, completing self-study programs, and attending an in-person bootcamp to learn the ins and outs of the benefits packages that the U.S. government offers to its many different types of employees. These benefits are markedly different from those offered to most private sector workers and require a great deal of specialized knowledge and resources to fully understand.
This week, we hosted our third full-day retirement workshop specifically for those federal employees at a hotel conference room near the Philadelphia International Airport. We had more than two dozen attendees representing many different agencies, including the Defense Department, Veterans Affairs, IRS, FBI, U.S. Park Police, Post Office, Treasury, and several military branches. Our guest speaker spent a full seven hours discussing the unique benefits package available to each of these employees and ways to utilize and plan around them for a successful retirement.
These “feds” are entitled not only to health benefits and a retirement savings program called the Thrift Savings Plan, but also pensions, life insurance options, and spousal benefits. We plan to meet individually with each of our attendees to review their individual benefits packages and work to fill in any gaps in their long-term financial and retirement planning.
If you or someone you know is a federal government employee and would like some help navigating FERS, CSRS, FEHB, FEGLI, FLTCIP, and TSP benefits, we’d be happy to assist. You can register for our next workshop event in June at www.fedimpact.com/kfrs or contact us directly at 215-657-9200 for more information.