• The 7 Biggest FERS Mistakes We See Federal Employees Make
    May 28 2026
    Apply for a Retirement Consultation:https://perspectivefunnel.co/682642d22275ec003bfa6626/691df07396253e003c42b434/?ps_hello=%20Get the Digital Federal Retirement Guidebook:https://cdfinancial.org/being-a-federal-employee-in-the-era-of-trump-book/Take the Checklist Challenge:https://cdfinancial.org/checklist-challenge/Subscribe for Weekly Federal Retirement Planning Content:https://cdfinancial.com/newsletterComment Below:Which FERS Mistake Could Cost You the Most Later?If you are a federal employee getting close to retirement, these FERS retirement mistakes can affect your pension, survivor benefits, FEHB coverage, TSP withdrawals, Medicare costs, and long-term retirement income. In this video, we break down seven of the biggest federal retirement planning mistakes we see employees make before leaving federal service.Why FERS survivor benefit elections can affect both pension income and FEHB coverageHow the wrong federal retirement date may impact annual leave, taxes, and retirement timingWhy FERS COLA rules can create long-term inflation pressure in retirementHow pension income, Social Security, TSP withdrawals, and military pension income can stack for taxesWhat IRMAA is and why Medicare costs may rise after certain income eventsWhy coworker advice may not fit your federal retirement situationHow to think through irreversible retirement decisions before signing final election formsWhy federal retirement planning should be based on your full financial picture, not one isolated benefit━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━FEDERAL RETIREMENT RESOURCES━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━OPM Retirement Center:https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/OPM Survivor Benefits:https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/survivor-benefits/OPM Cost-of-Living Adjustment Information:https://www.opm.gov/frequently-asked-questions/retire-faq/post-retirement/how-is-the-cost-of-living-adjustment-cola-determined/SSA IRMAA Information:https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0601101020Medicare 2026 Premiums and Deductibles:https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-parts-b-premiums-deductibles━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━TIMESTAMPS━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━0:00 The 7 Biggest FERS Mistakes Federal Employees Make1:09 Why Pension Mistakes Stay Invisible Until Later2:13 Mistake 1: Survivor Benefit and FEHB Coordination5:22 Mistake 2: Retiring on the Wrong Date8:24 Mistake 3: FERS COLA and Inflation Drag11:51 Mistake 4: Tax Stacking in Federal Retirement14:35 Mistake 5: IRMAA and Medicare Cost Surprises20:19 Mistake 6: Believing Retirement Myths Instead of Planning23:21 Why Coworker Advice Can Lead to the Wrong Retirement Decision24:17 What May Still Be Fixable After Retirement24:40 Health Tip: Decision Fatigue and Retirement Forms26:02 Next Step for Federal Employees Near Retirement━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━WHO WE ARE━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━CD Financial helps federal employees and retirees make smarter retirement decisions around FERS, TSP, FEHB, Medicare, survivor benefits, retirement income planning, and health-focused financial strategies.Our mission is simple:Help federal employees retire with more clarity, confidence, and peace of mind.Subscribe for practical federal retirement planning content designed to help you better understand your benefits, avoid common planning gaps, and prepare for your next chapter with confidence.IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERAdvisory services are offered through CD Financial LLC dba CD Financial, an Investment Advisor in the State of California. Insurance products and services are offered through CD Financial & Insurance Services LLC, an affiliated company.This video is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, tax, healthcare, or investment advice. Federal retirement decisions depend on your individual service history, agency records, health coverage, survivor needs, retirement income goals, and personal circumstances. Always consult qualified professionals and review official OPM guidance before making retirement elections.Opinions expressed herein are solely those of CD Financial and our editorial staff. The information contained in this material has been derived from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness and does not purport to be a complete analysis of the materials discussed. All information and ideas should be discussed in detail with your individual adviser prior to implementation.FERS retirement mistakes, federal retirement planning, FERS survivor benefits, FEHB in retirement, federal employee retirement date, FERS COLA, TSP withdrawals in retirement, IRMAA Medicare, federal pension planning, OPM retirement, federal employee benefits, retirement income planning, federal employees nearing retirement, survivor annuity, federal retirement taxes, CD Financial#FERSRetirement #FederalRetirement #FederalEmployees #...
    Show More Show Less
    27 mins
  • Federal Retirement Mistakes: 7 FERS Pension Errors to Avoid Before You Sign
    May 26 2026
    Apply for a Retirement Consultation:https://perspectivefunnel.co/682642d22275ec003bfa6626/691df07396253e003c42b434/?ps_hello=%20Get the Digital Federal Retirement Guidebook:https://cdfinancial.org/being-a-federal-employee-in-the-era-of-trump-book/Take the Checklist Challenge:https://cdfinancial.org/checklist-challenge/Subscribe for Weekly Federal Retirement Planning Content:https://cdfinancial.com/newsletterIf you are within one year of federal retirement, this is one of the most important times to review your FERS pension before making a final decision. In this video, we break down key federal retirement planning considerations around survivor benefits, retirement timing, COLA, taxes, Medicare, FEHB, and TSP income planning.Whether you are trying to protect your spouse, avoid unexpected tax issues, or make more informed decisions around your federal benefits, this episode walks through the planning areas many federal employees overlook before signing retirement paperwork.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━IN THIS VIDEO YOU’LL LEARN━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• Why FERS survivor benefit elections should be reviewed before retirement• How choosing the wrong federal retirement date may affect your planning• Why FERS COLA and long-term inflation should be part of your retirement income strategy• How tax stacking can happen with a FERS pension, Social Security, TSP withdrawals, and other income• Why IRMAA may surprise federal retirees who do not plan around Medicare income rules• How FEHB, Medicare, and spousal coverage decisions can affect your retirement strategy• Why federal employees should avoid relying only on one-size-fits-all retirement advice━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━FEDERAL RETIREMENT RESOURCES━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━OPM Retirement Center:https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/FERS Information:https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/fers-information/FEHB & Medicare:https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/medicare/annuitant/Survivor Benefits:https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/survivor-benefits/Thrift Savings Plan:https://www.tsp.gov/TSP Withdrawals in Retirement:https://www.tsp.gov/withdrawals-in-retirement/Medicare IRMAA Information:https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0601101020━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━TIMESTAMPS━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━0:00 FERS Pension Mistakes That Can Affect Retirement Income0:27 Survivor Benefit Decisions and Spousal Protection0:55 Choosing the Right Federal Retirement Date1:26 FERS COLA, Inflation, and Long-Term Income Planning2:00 Tax Stacking with FERS, Social Security, and TSP Withdrawals2:25 IRMAA Surprises and Medicare Income Planning3:43 FEHB, Medicare, and Federal Retiree Health Coverage4:08 Why Federal Retirement Advice Is Not One-Size-Fits-All4:36 Building a Retirement Plan Around Your Specific Situation━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━WHO WE ARE━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━CD Financial helps federal employees and retirees make smarter retirement decisions around FERS, TSP, FEHB, Medicare, survivor benefits, retirement income planning, and health-focused financial strategies.Our mission is simple:Help federal employees retire with more clarity, confidence, and peace of mind.Subscribe for practical federal retirement planning content designed to help you better understand your benefits, avoid common planning gaps, and prepare for your next chapter with confidence.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Advisory services are offered through CD Financial LLC dba CD Financial, an Investment Advisor in the State of California. Insurance products and services are offered through CD Financial & Insurance Services LLC, an affiliated company.This video is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, tax, healthcare, or investment advice. Federal retirement decisions depend on your individual service history, agency records, health coverage, survivor needs, retirement income goals, and personal circumstances. Always consult qualified professionals and review official OPM guidance before making retirement elections.Opinions expressed herein are solely those of CD Financial and our editorial staff. The information contained in this material has been derived from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness and does not purport to be a complete analysis of the materials discussed. All information and ideas should be discussed in detail with your individual adviser prior to implementation.FERS pension mistakes, federal retirement planning, FERS survivor benefits, FEHB Medicare coordination, TSP withdrawals, IRMAA Medicare surcharge, federal employee retirement, FERS COLA, retirement income planning, federal benefits, retirement date planning, tax planning for federal retirees#FERSPension #...
    Show More Show Less
    5 mins
  • The Last Year Before Retirement: 5 Steps Every Federal Employee Must Follow
    May 22 2026

    Apply for a Retirement Consultation: https://perspectivefunnel.co/682642d22275ec003bfa6626/691df07396253e003c42b434/?ps_hello=%20

    📘 Federal Retirement Resources:

    Get the digital guidebook to retirement as a federal employee here:
    https://cdfinancial.org/being-a-federal-employee-in-the-era-of-trump-book/

    Checklist Challenge:
    https://cdfinancial.org/checklist-challenge/

    OPM Retirement Center:
    https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/

    FERS Information:
    https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/fers-information/

    FEHB & Medicare:
    https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/medicare/annuitant/

    Survivor Benefits:
    https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/survivor-benefits/

    Thrift Savings Plan (TSP):
    https://www.tsp.gov/

    🎯 Subscribe for Weekly Federal Retirement Planning Content: https://cdfinancial.com/newsletter

    💬 Comment Below:
    What concerns you most about federal retirement right now?

    🚨 Federal Employees: Your Last Year Before Retirement Could Cost You Thousands If You Miss These Steps

    If you are within 12 months of federal retirement, this is NOT the time to “wing it.” The final year before leaving government service can directly impact your FERS pension, FEHB coverage, Medicare decisions, survivor benefits, sick leave credit, and long-term retirement income.

    In this video, we break down the 5 most important federal retirement decisions every FERS employee should review BEFORE submitting retirement paperwork — including mistakes that are difficult or impossible to reverse later.

    Whether you are trying to maximize your pension, choose the best retirement date, understand Medicare Part B, or protect your spouse with survivor benefits, this episode walks through the key planning areas federal employees often overlook.

    ✅ In This Video You’ll Learn:
    • How unused sick leave affects your FERS pension
    • The truth about the High-3 calculation and FERS 1.1% multiplier
    • How to choose the best federal retirement date
    • FEHB + Medicare Part B strategies for retirees
    • Survivor benefit elections and spouse considerations
    • A 5-step federal retirement checklist before leaving service
    • What many retirees experience during the first 90 days of retirement

    ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
    TIMESTAMPS
    ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

    0:00 Biggest mistakes in the last year before retirement
    1:23 FERS sick leave credit explained
    4:09 High-3 pension calculation & FERS 1.1% multiplier
    7:36 Best dates to retire from federal service
    10:38 FEHB and Medicare Part B decisions
    14:37 Survivor benefit elections explained
    18:16 5-step federal retirement checklist
    19:14 The first 90 days of retirement
    22:08 How to get help with your retirement plan

    ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
    WHO WE ARE
    ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

    CD Financial helps federal employees and retirees make smarter retirement decisions around FERS, TSP, FEHB, Medicare, survivor benefits, retirement income planning, and health-focused financial strategies.

    Our mission is simple:
    Help federal employees retire with more clarity, confidence, and peace of mind.

    ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
    IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
    ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

    Advisory services are offered through CD Financial LLC dba CD Financial, an Investment Advisor in the State of California. Insurance products and services are offered through CD Financial & Insurance Services LLC, an affiliated company.
    Opinions expressed herein are solely those of CD Financial and our editorial staff. The information contained in this material has been derived from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy and completeness and does not purport to be a complete analysis of the materials discussed. All information and ideas should be discussed in detail with your individual adviser prior to implementation.

    #FederalRetirement #FERSRetirement #FederalEmployees #RetirementPlanning #FEHB #TSP #Medicare #FederalBenefits #OPM #CDFinancial

    Support the show

    Show More Show Less
    23 mins
  • Retiring from Federal Service? Don't Skip These 5 Steps
    May 19 2026

    Get the digital book at no cost to you here: https://cdfinancial.org/being-a-federal-employee-in-the-era-of-trump-book/

    Want to work with Charles? Apply here: https://cdfinancial.org/schedule-a-meeting/

    Checklist Challenge: https://cdfinancial.org/checklist-challenge/

    Newsletter: https://cdfinancial.com/newsletter

    WHO ARE WE?
    CD Financial helps federal employees and near-retirees create sustainable, tax-smart retirement income. Expect weekly strategies on 401K, FERS, TSP, Social Security timing, tax planning, and health-meets-wealth habits—clear, practical, compliant.

    TIMESTAMPS
    0:00 Last Year Before Federal Retirement Checklist
    0:22 Two Federal Employees, Two Different Retirement Outcomes
    0:46 Sick Leave Credit and Common FERS Retirement Mistakes
    1:08 How to Review and Potentially Improve Your Federal Pension
    1:43 Retirement Date Considerations for Federal Employees
    2:12 FEHB, Medicare Part B, and Retirement Healthcare Decisions
    3:13 Survivor Benefit Elections for Federal Employees
    3:50 Free Federal Retirement Checklist and Next Steps

    #FederalRetirement #FERSRetirement #FederalEmployees #RetirementChecklist #CDFinancial

    Advisory services are offered through CD Financial LLC dba CD Financial, an Investment Advisor in the State of California. Insurance products and services are offered through CD Financial & Insurance Services LLC, an affiliated company.
    Opinions expressed herein are solely those of CD Financial and our editorial staff. The information contained in this material has been derived from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy and completeness and does not purport to be a complete analysis of the materials discussed. All information and ideas should be discussed in detail with your individual adviser prior to implementation.

    Support the show

    Show More Show Less
    4 mins
  • Federal Employees: Some Are Dying With Too Much Money Left to Enjoy – Will You?
    May 14 2026

    “Die with zero does not mean reckless spending. It means thinking intentionally about how to use your money for experiences, family, giving, and purpose while still protecting your retirement plan.”

    Get the digital book at no cost to you here: https://cdfinancial.org/being-a-federal-employee-book/

    Checklist Challenge: https://cdfinancial.org/checklist-challenge/

    Apply for a 15-minute call: https://perspectivefunnel.co/682642d22275ec003bfa6626/691df07396253e003c42b434/?ps_hello=%20

    Newsletter: https://cdfinancial.com/newsletter

    👋 WHO ARE WE?
    CD Financial helps federal employees and near-retirees create sustainable, tax-smart retirement income. Expect weekly strategies on 401K, FERS, TSP, Social Security timing, tax planning, and health-meets-wealth habits—clear, practical, compliant.

    ⏱ TIMESTAMPS
    0:00 Federal Employees and the Fear of Spending in Retirement
    1:12 What “Die With Zero” Really Means for Retirees
    2:24 Why Federal Retirees Often Hesitate to Spend
    5:56 How to Give Yourself Permission to Enjoy Retirement
    8:10 Building a Written Retirement Income Plan
    9:24 Planning Travel, Experiences, and Meaningful Spending
    12:39 How to Spend Earlier Without Risking the Future
    14:19 Family Experiences, Gifting, and Creating Memories
    17:40 Charitable Giving and Purposeful Retirement Spending
    21:40 Health Tip: Beets, Brain Health, and Athletic Stamina
    24:48 Final Thoughts on Spending, Saving, and Living Well

    Advisory services are offered through CD Financial LLC dba CD Financial, an Investment Advisor in the State of California. Insurance products and services are offered through CD Financial & Insurance Services LLC, an affiliated company.
    Opinions expressed herein are solely those of CD Financial and our editorial staff. The information contained in this material has been derived from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy and completeness and does not purport to be a complete analysis of the materials discussed. All information and ideas should be discussed in detail with your individual adviser prior to implementation.

    Support the show

    Show More Show Less
    26 mins
  • Federal Employees: Are You Getting Shortchanged on COLA?
    May 12 2026

    Federal employees may hear “COLA increase” and assume their retirement income keeps full pace with inflation, but under FERS, the cost-of-living adjustment can work differently than many expect. Before you retire, it is important to understand how FERS COLA, CSRS COLA, Social Security COLA, and your overall federal retirement income may interact over time.

    Apply for a federal benefits retirement review: https://perspectivefunnel.co/682642d22275ec003bfa6626/691df07396253e003c42b434/?ps_hello=%20

    Get the digital book at no cost to you here: https://cdfinancial.org/being-a-federal-employee-in-the-era-of-trump-book/

    Checklist Challenge: https://cdfinancial.org/checklist-challenge/

    Newsletter: https://cdfinancial.com/newsletter

    “Many federal employees do not realize that the COLA number they hear in the news may not be the same adjustment applied to their FERS pension.”

    LINKS AND RESOURCES

    Official OPM COLA Information:
    https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/publications-forms/benefits-administration-letters/

    Social Security COLA Information:
    https://www.ssa.gov/cola/

    WHO ARE WE?
    CD Financial helps federal employees and near-retirees create sustainable, tax-smart retirement income. Expect weekly strategies on 401K, FERS, TSP, Social Security timing, tax planning, and health-meets-wealth habits—clear, practical, compliant.

    TIMESTAMPS
    0:00 Federal Retirement COLA and the “Diet COLA” Problem
    0:30 Why Real Cost of Living Can Feel Higher Than Your COLA
    0:56 Grocery, Housing, and Inflation Pressure on Retirees
    1:31 How Rising Food Prices Can Affect Retirement Income
    2:11 Housing Costs, Rent, and Family Financial Pressure
    2:36 Regional Inflation and Cost-of-Living Challenges
    3:14 FERS, CSRS, and COLA Differences in Retirement
    3:41 Why Future Growth May Matter in Retirement Planning
    4:02 Balancing Safety, Income, and Inflation Risk

    Advisory services are offered through CD Financial LLC dba CD Financial, an Investment Advisor in the State of California. Insurance products and services are offered through CD Financial & Insurance Services LLC, an affiliated company.
    Opinions expressed herein are solely those of CD Financial and our editorial staff. The information contained in this material has been derived from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy and completeness and does not purport to be a complete analysis of the materials discussed. All information and ideas should be discussed in detail with your individual adviser prior to implementation.

    Support the show

    Show More Show Less
    4 mins
  • TSP Rollover Mistakes That Cost Federal Employees Thousands
    May 7 2026

    Most federal employees are told to roll over their TSP when they retire, but that decision should start with a better question: What is this money supposed to do for you in retirement? In this episode, we break down common TSP rollover mistakes, IRA rollover considerations, tax treatment, withdrawal rules, and how a written retirement income plan can help federal employees make more informed decisions.

    Apply for Your Retirement Review: https://www.cdfinancial.org/fa93xi62e

    Get the digital book at no cost to you here: https://cdfinancial.org/being-a-federal-employee-in-the-era-of-trump-book/

    Checklist Challenge: https://cdfinancial.org/checklist-challenge/

    Newsletter: https://cdfinancial.com/newsletter

    👋 WHO ARE WE?
    CD Financial helps federal employees and near-retirees create sustainable, tax-smart retirement income. Expect weekly strategies on 401K, FERS, TSP, Social Security timing, tax planning, and health-meets-wealth habits—clear, practical, compliant.

    ⏱ TIMESTAMPS
    0:00 TSP Rollover or Leave It?
    0:41 The Question Most Federal Employees Skip
    1:17 Why People Automatically Roll Over Their TSP
    2:20 Common Reasons Retirees Move TSP Funds
    3:07 TSP vs IRA vs Roth IRA Explained
    5:09 How Rollovers Can Simplify Retirement Accounts
    6:05 Where TSP Rollover Mistakes Begin
    7:22 What “FBO” Means in a Retirement Rollover
    8:24 Early Withdrawal Penalties and Tax Risks
    9:41 The Importance of a Written Retirement Plan
    11:00 Creating a Retirement Income and Tax Strategy
    15:16 Final Thoughts and Retirement Roadmap

    Advisory services are offered through CD Financial LLC dba CD Financial, an Investment Advisor in the State of California. Insurance products and services are offered through CD Financial & Insurance Services LLC, an affiliated company.
    Opinions expressed herein are solely those of CD Financial and our editorial staff. The information contained in this material has been derived from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy and completeness and does not purport to be a complete analysis of the materials discussed. All information and ideas should be discussed in detail with your individual adviser prior to implementation.

    Support the show

    Show More Show Less
    16 mins
  • TSP 401k Strategy: Keep It or Move It? We've Tested Both
    May 5 2026

    TSP vs 401(k) rollover strategy isn’t about where the money goes—it’s about what the money is meant to do.” Discover how to decide whether to keep or move your retirement accounts with a clear, purpose-driven plan.

    Get the digital book at no cost to you here: https://cdfinancial.org/being-a-federal-employee-in-the-era-of-trump-book/

    Checklist Challenge: https://cdfinancial.org/checklist-challenge/

    Apply for a 15-minute call here: https://cdfinancial.org/schedule-a-meeting/

    Newsletter: https://cdfinancial.com/newsletter

    👋 WHO ARE WE?
    CD Financial helps federal employees and near-retirees create sustainable, tax-smart retirement income. Expect weekly strategies on 401K, FERS, TSP, Social Security timing, tax planning, and health-meets-wealth habits—clear, practical, compliant.

    ⏱ TIMESTAMPS
    0:00 Intro
    0:18 The Real Question You Should Be Asking
    0:41 Why “Roll It Over or Leave It” Is the Wrong Starting Point
    1:01 Defining the Purpose of Your Retirement Accounts
    1:25 Building a Retirement Income Strategy Blueprint
    1:50 Combining TSP, 401(k), IRA for Stronger Outcomes
    2:06 Creating Income Phases: Short-Term vs Long-Term Planning
    2:32 Building a Stable Retirement Foundation That Lasts
    2:54 Step-by-Step Retirement Planning Approach

    Advisory services are offered through CD Financial LLC dba CD Financial, an Investment Advisor in the State of California. Insurance products and services are offered through CD Financial & Insurance Services LLC, an affiliated company.
    Opinions expressed herein are solely those of CD Financial and our editorial staff. The information contained in this material has been derived from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy and completeness and does not purport to be a complete analysis of the materials discussed. All information and ideas should be discussed in detail with your individual adviser prior to implementation.

    Support the show

    Show More Show Less
    3 mins