Federal Executive Retirement Planning – John & Julie Williams

Their Goals and Desires

John Williams had spent 35 rewarding years in various leadership and executive positions in public service. He was hoping to retire the year he turned 60 – a year from now. Julie also worked in public service and also had a successful and rewarding career. They both have enjoyed their work, but each felt that it was time for a new season and new adventures. They wanted to explore if their goal of retirement and the new life they hoped for was financially feasible in the next year.

Their Financial Lives

John and Julie had been money-wise their whole lives, and had a debt-free home, and substantial savings in each of their TSP and other investment accounts. John had earned a defined benefit pension in the CSRS system, and Julie also but under the FERS system. Together they had accumulated quite a large nest egg.

John and Julie had been educating themselves and gathering wisdom about retirement planning, and had also attended a Federal Executive Board sponsored retirement seminar at their office building at which a Gevers Wealth Management, LLC advisor was a featured speaker.

Their Questions and Concerns

They scheduled an appointment with the Gevers Wealth Management team at which they wanted advice and help with the following questions:

  • Is it feasible and wise for us to retire soon?
  • If we retire which option should we choose for our CSRS and FERS pensions?
  • What are the rules and issues regarding CSRS, FERS and Social Security, and how does that impact us?
  • How much income can we expect to generate from our investments?
  • Which investments should we draw from?
  • How should we draw from our investments and is there a strategy for an optimal income plan?
  • Should we rollover our TSP to an IRA account, or leave it in the plan? What are the tax and planning issues we need to consider regarding our TSP, IRA and Roth IRA accounts?
  • Should we use a Roth IRA for part of our planning?
  • Should we consolidate our accounts?
  • What do we need to do about our other retirement benefits?
  • How should we invest our TSP assets and other investments based on our retirement and income needs and goals?
  • What should we be concerned about regarding the economy, the US National Debt, and Money Printing?
  • Are there any other issues we should be considering or steps we should take to prepare for leaving?

The Outcome

The Gevers Wealth Management Team took John and Julie through a retirement planning process specifically for Federal executives based on 20 years’ experience working with Federal retirees. Over the course of several meetings they offered objective advice for their questions, and endeavored to provide a balanced perspective with both benefits and potential disadvantages of the many decisions they were facing. The team also provided written notes with a summary of each meeting, along with an overall plan.

At the conclusion of the retirement planning meetings, John and Julie had achieved the following; 

  1. They had a sense of confidence for, and historical probability of their financial success for retirement.
  2. They had a comprehensive income plan which detailed how much income they planned to draw, and where they planned to draw it from, coordinated with a withdrawal strategy to attempt to maximize income and minimize income taxes.
  3. They walked through a personal analysis of both John and Julie’s pension options, and used this output and their discussions to make a final decision.
  4. They integrated their CSRS, FERS, TSP, Social Security, and other retirement benefits into their overall income plan.
  5. They walked through a detailed discussion of the various tax and investment benefits and disadvantages of an IRA rollover, and used this output and their discussions to make a final decision.
  6. They discussed and had a much better understanding of investment principles for a retiree portfolio and how they might best allocate their investments. 
  7. They had an age-based schedule which outlined upcoming time-sensitive financial decisions and issues they would need to deal with in the months and years to come.
  8. They had a cash plan in place addressing their liquidity needs, short term spending, and need for a cash balance.
  9. They had a comprehensive asset allocation and diversification plan for their overall investment portfolio, which they planned to implement and have managed by the Gevers Wealth Management Team.

Implementing their Plan

Once John and Julie had a retirement and investment portfolio plan completed that they were comfortable with, they took a number of steps to reach their goals. They met with their advisors at Gevers Wealth Management several times before their goal retirement date, to help them with the overall process.

A rollover and consolidation plan for their retirement accounts was implemented, new accounts were set up, and the team assisted with the steps necessary to move their retirement accounts into their new retirement portfolio. The William’s decided to take a monthly income distribution from their portfolio, and a direct deposit was established into their bank account. An account set up and review meeting was held right after the new portfolio was established to go over their statements and to review the rollover and transfer process and their new investments, and answer any of John and Julie’s questions. (Click here to read more about our Investment Management Services)

John and Julie were scheduled on a pro-active meeting schedule to get together twice per year to review progress, discuss the portfolio, the economy and the markets, and help with any planning needs that they might need to discuss. They also were set up on an age based calendar that identified many of the time-sensitive financial decisions that they may need to take care of in the future. John and Julie were also set up with comprehensive web access to their account, along with regular statements, and an aggregated portfolio and asset allocation view of their entire financial situation. The Gevers Wealth Management team also connected with their CPA and attorney to help coordinate and facilitate any financial information or assistance that their other professionals might need. (Click here to read more about our Wealth Management Services)    

John and Julie Williams had a long-term retirement and investment plan, and more confidence for their future, and they also felt good that they had a long-term partner to help them along the way with advice, guidance, and to manage their retirement assets.

This example is a case study for illustrative purposes and are not actual clients. The principles and strategies and advice are based on our years of experience working with families with similar circumstances. To request a consultation please contact us at info@geverswealth.com.