Federal retirement

[INTHEAIRCOP]

I did a lot of looking around about this year and found out some real bad news. All 6c covered postions are all the same and FAMs fall under this.

1.7 percent every year upto 20 years.
1.0 percent every year after 20 years.

Example for 25 years total federal 6c covered postion:
34% for 20 years / 5% for the last 5 years with a grand total of = 39%.

So if I never get a raise and I am making $85,000 a year then I would get a wopping $33,165.21 a year for 25 years of service.

NOW THIS FU_KING SUCKS BIG TIME! Who the hell wants to work for 25 years and only get $35,000 a year for retirement?

I should of stayed with the police department then I would of gotten 70% of my salary for only 20 years and even more if I stayed on past 20 years. I wish I would of stayed on the street but it is to late.

[Bearcat357]

That's why it amazes me everyone wants 6c status....and the retirement for it sucks.... There are a lot of PDs/SOs/State Police that have much better retirement systems than that....

I have regular GOV retirement plus TSP....plus other stuff I do.....so when I finally toss my middle finger to the world and retire....I will be well taken care of.....

[ask80]

that's why you contribute a lot to TSP.
and i'd be glad with any pension considering most companies are abandoning them

[SA13]

The federal retirement is NOT just about the annuity, it is also about the TSP. Anyone who isn't putting away at least 10% of the pay in the TSP is a fool. Also, regardless of where you work or what the retirement plan is you should be maxing out contributions to a Roth IRA each year.

the "6c" annuity + TSP + Roth IRA should have someone retiring very comfortably after a 20+ year career. Those who depend solely on the annuity will struggle, and it's their own fault.

[raven52]

what about someone on the regular fed retirement (not 6c). Will you be ok if you have the "regular annuity", TSP, and your own roth? I am confused about the 6c vs. regular government employee retirement. $35,000 per year is alot more than most get in the private sector.

[kc12]

Intheair-- You're correct the figure seems very low. Take this into consideration: Many financial planners use a 4% withdrawal rate from retirement savings per year. Using that figure your pension is equal to roughly 800,000. If you only put in $750 per month, including the government match and are only able to earn 8% on this amount you will still have over 680,000 after a 25 year career. This will bring your total retirement up to just about 60,000, not including the Social Security supplement (if it's still around when your at retirement age).

When you consider that the amount you are making with the feds is about the same as other jobs, I know many private jobs pay a lot more others a lot less but stay with me here. Many, if not most, private industry jobs also require you to save for retirement in a 401k type account. If you do the same with the TSP and take wise investing decisions you will have a decent retirement. I do agree though that my last agency had a better retirement with 25 and out with 75% of pay. The pay was much lower, though, so retirement pay with a pension would be about the same as in your example, they also had a 401k type option that the agency made all contributions, something like 25% of my pay, which is what I did.

[ISPCAPT]

What's the feds cover for retiree medical? Dependant medical?
Is there an annual COLA for fed retirees?

[GoldBadge]

What's the feds cover for retiree medical? Dependant medical?
Is there an annual COLA for fed retirees?

Yes to all your questions.

INTHEAIRCOP,

I make roughly $140K which means that after 25 years, I'll pull in $54K a year.

I have about $500K in my TSP (with the matching gov't contributions), so I'll likely pull out $25K a year from there once I retire.

Then there's social security - I think that will be about $22K/year.

So I'll earn about $101k a year in my retirement.




I'm crying all the way to the bank ...

[ISPCAPT]

Yes to all your questions.

Yes to what?
Is medical furnished cost free on the retiree or does the retiree have to pay for it?
What's the medical costs for the dependants?
What's the annual COLA and what's it based on?

I make roughly $140K which means that after 25 years, I'll pull in $54K a year.
.

Our retirement is 80% of our high salary at 26 yr 8 mo. With deduction for accumulated sick time that knocks off nearly a yr so we pull full retirement at under 26 yrs. After figuring in the deductions each year such as retirement contributions and medical payments as a retiree we actually bring home more than when working.
Our 25 yr Troops base salary is $95K/yr. If that Troop never gets promoted and just works the road he will retire today and collect $76K/yr retirement. That does not include any OT which they may have worked which is also figured into the retirement percentage and will increase the amount. A Troop who managed to swing a lot of OT his last year could draw a retirement of $100K/yr. If he contributed to deferred comp his additional payout is figured on whatever he contributed. If the Troop started contributing when they were first hired and put in the max each year they'd have today about $1.5 mil to draw from in that account.
Medical is paid in full for the retiree. For my wife it costs me $74/mo for a full coverage HMO which has $15 co-pay on doc and perscriptions and $100 co-pay on any hospital stay. We get a 3% increase every year after retirement.
Retirement is nice! I highly recommend it.

[igneous]

The other thing you should think about is what the value of a dollar will be in 20-25 yrs. 100k could easily be low middle class by then, even possibly lower class.

[GoldBadge]

Yes to what?
Is medical furnished cost free on the retiree or does the retiree have to pay for it?
What's the medical costs for the dependants?
What's the annual COLA and what's it based on?

What's with your attitude? Am I being interrogated? You may have been an ISP captain, but you're not my boss.

In sum, I believe COLAs are based on the consumer price index. They are calculated each year. Health insurance is provided with the retiree paying a partial premium.

More questions and/or you want numbers? Check here http://www.opm.gov/.

[GoldBadge]

Ok, so you are SES level, or a GS-15. Most of us won't get there. We will be happy to be making $100,000 a year at retirement......that would be great as far as I am concerned.

So its not fair to use you as the example of a likely federal retirement.

I'm a GS-13, step 00 (maxed out on the General Schedule) and with LEAP, that's what I make.

I have that much money in the TSP because I have been faithfully contributing sizable amounts for many years and it's been compounding with the gov't match.

I specified my numbers to let others know that a comfortable retirement is an attainable goal for federal agents.

[ISPCAPT]

What's with your attitude? Am I being interrogated? You may have been an ISP captain, but you're not my boss.

No attitude. I asked some questions and all you replied was "yes".
I asked "What's the feds cover for medical?", not "Is there..." A "what" is not a yes or no answer. Do they cover 100%, 50%, just what? "Yes" doesn't explain "what". Same with dependant care and COLA. Explain what it is, not "yes".
I know it's yes, but "what" is the question.
You finally answered it the 2nd time around.
No kidding Dick Tracey I'm not your boss, which has nothing to do with it. Sounds like you're the one who copped the attitude. You didn't answer the question the first time and I just asked for an answer/clarification.

[ISPCAPT]

The other thing you should think about is what the value of a dollar will be in 20-25 yrs. 100k could easily be low middle class by then, even possibly lower class.

Exactly, that's why it's important to have a retirement with a good, consistent annual COLA.
Same with what I tell newbies starting out in LE. Don't look at the starting pay, look at what you'll be earning in 5 yrs, 10 yrs, and at retirement. Look at the bennie package, what do you pay for insurance (medical and life), and other non-pay. Too many guys starting into the field only look at what they'll be making to start and don't realize with a lot of depts after 5 yrs or so they're topped out and other agencies pass them by.

[GoldBadge]

No attitude. I asked some questions and all you replied was "yes".
I asked "What's the feds cover for medical?", not "Is there..." A "what" is not a yes or no answer. Do they cover 100%, 50%, just what? "Yes" doesn't explain "what". Same with dependant care and COLA. Explain what it is, not "yes".
I know it's yes, but "what" is the question.
You finally answered it the 2nd time around.
No kidding Dick Tracey I'm not your boss, which has nothing to do with it. Sounds like you're the one who copped the attitude. You didn't answer the question the first time and I just asked for an answer/clarification.

Why don't you just go back and read your original post. Not what you intended to write, but what you actually wrote:

"What's the feds cover for retiree medical? Dependant medical?
Is there an annual COLA for fed retirees?"

Those are yes or no questions as I read them. If you wanted all types of specifics you sure didn't make that clear, captain.

Attitude, yes I sensed one. Now you want to resort to name calling (i.e., Dick Tracey)?