Mike Causey

The Odds of Being Average

Chances are you are going to retire three years later than you had planned. Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says it\'s because the odds are that you are averag...

Federal News Network Staff

May 12, 2008 4:00 am

3 min read

Let’s say you will be eligible to retire this coming November. And you’ve told family, friends and coworkers that as soon as the magic date arrives you are gone. Outta there. Maybe off to write or read The Great American Novel. At least to rent the DVD.

So what are the odds that you will keep your promise?

Not very good.

The fact is that the typical federal worker toils on for another 3.1 years after amassing both the age and service time to qualify for retirement. That’s an average of 3.3 years for men and 2.7 years more work for women.

Oh, and as far as retiring in November, fuggedabout! Tain’t gonna happen. The odds of your retiring when first eligible, and doing it in November, are slim-and-none. November it turns out is the least favorite month to retire in the federal community. January (like we’ve been telling you) is the most popular, although that may soon shift over to December. How come? Check this which explains why.

The fact that many people don’t retire for several years after they become eligible should be part of your exit plan. Many people just assume that when they retire they will start taking payments from their Thrift Savings Plan accounts.

In reality, according to many financial planners, many feds (especially those under the CSRS retirement plan with its more generous, indexed-to-inflation annuity) won’t tap their TSP accounts for 5 or 10 years. Or until they must begin making minimum mandatory withdrawals at age 70 1/2. That could be a long time after you actually retire, especially if you are Joe Average and keep working for an extra 3 years.

All of the above means that many feds who are investing and planning for the future have additional time (from 3 years to a dozen years) to let their TSP accounts grow. And the more time you have the more risk you can take without losing sleep or money.

Virtual Reunion

In a perfect (for some folks) world, there would be a family reunion where you didn’t actually have to be there, eat lead-based biscuits or sleep on the couch where Uncle Ned spent his last night on Earth. Which is why they are calling it a Virtual Family Reunion.

What it is is a large screen, in two facilities near military bases, where families can have face-to-face sessions with their loved ones in the military. Even if they are 5,000 miles apart. The virtual reunion sites are open 24-hours a day: one is located a Wal-Mart in Temecula, Calif. (near Camp Pendleton). The other is in a Wal-Mart near Ft. Drum in Evans Mill, N.Y. They are linked to two bases in Iraq. The service is available through July 6. That will cover the Mothers Day, Memorial Day, Fathers Day and Independence Day holidays. For more detail you can check out the press release by clicking here.

The centers are made possible by Cisco, Verizon Business Private Network, Skyport Global Communications and the USO (United Services Organization).

Nearly Useless Factoid

The dot over the letter “i” is called a tittle.

To reach me: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com