About Warrior Retirement

What this is

Warrior Retirement is education-first guidance for federal employees and uniformed service members planning for — and living through — retirement, at every stage of the journey. Whether you’re a brand-new hire setting up your first TSP contribution, mid-career and trying to optimize, within sight of your retirement date, or already retired and managing the income, the choices you make about the FERS pension, the TSP, Social Security, FEHB and Medicare, survivor benefits, and taxes compound across an entire career.

We translate that genuinely complicated machinery into plain English, backed by sourced numbers and built around tools you can actually use on your own situation. No jargon for its own sake, no sales pitch, no upsell at the end — just clear explanations of how the systems work, what the decisions cost, and where the traps are.

Retirement planning isn’t only for the almost-retired

The single biggest advantage in federal retirement is time, and the people with the most of it are the ones just starting out. A new hire who understands the TSP match, Roth-vs-traditional, and how FERS is earned will retire in a different position than one who figures it out at 55. That’s why this site is written for the whole arc — not just the final years — even though the destination is always the same: a secure, well-understood retirement.

Who it’s for

• New and recently hired employees setting up benefits and starting the TSP on the right foot.
• Mid-career employees optimizing contributions, allocations, and long-range strategy.
• Those approaching retirement running the numbers on dates, annuities, survivor elections, and withdrawals.
• Current retirees managing income, taxes, RMDs, Medicare, and the spending years.

Federal civilian or uniformed service, FERS or military retirement — if your future runs through these systems, it’s built for you.

How we’re different

• From direct, hands-on experience. This isn’t repackaged generic advice. It comes from living inside these systems — federal service and the uniform — and learning the rules the way you do: by having to use them.
• Sourced, not guessed. The numbers — contribution limits, brackets, COLAs, eligibility thresholds, premiums — are verified against OPM, the IRS, the SSA, the VA, and other primary sources at the time of writing, with links so you can check them yourself.
• Tools, not just text. Most articles include an interactive calculator or visual so you can run your own situation instead of reading about someone else’s.
• Built to be readable. Tight, high-contrast, accessible design with no dark patterns — the same care in the layout as in the words.

Part of the Warrior Network

Warrior Retirement is one of three connected sites that, together, cover every stage of a federal and uniformed-service career — written from direct, hands-on experience at each one:

• Federal Warrior — the working years. For recently hired and new employees, mid-career federal employees, and really anyone trying to understand their workplace benefits: career, pay, benefits, and professional development.
• Warrior Retirement — this site. Planning for and living the retirement years, across all retirement types and every stage that leads up to them.
• Warrior Disability — disability benefits across every system: VA disability, federal employee disability retirement, Social Security Disability (SSDI), and other disability programs.

Together they’re meant to follow you from your first federal paycheck — or first day in uniform — all the way through a secure retirement.

Who writes it

Warrior Retirement is written and edited by Anshul Meena, a veteran with a federal background and firsthand experience navigating these benefit systems from the inside. Every article carries a byline because accountability matters: real analysis, written by a real person who has had to use these rules, that you can hold to a standard.

Our independence

Warrior Retirement is independently operated. We are not affiliated with any government agency, retirement vendor, financial-services firm, insurance company, or political organization, and nothing here is endorsed by OPM, the SSA, the VA, the TSP, or any federal entity. The site is not currently monetized through advertising or affiliate links; if that changes, we’ll disclose any affiliate relationships clearly, and editorial content will never be steered by them.

One important note

Everything here is educational, not personalized advice. We are not your financial advisor, tax preparer, attorney, or benefits counselor, and federal retirement decisions are often irreversible. For consequential or one-time choices, please verify with the relevant agency and talk to a qualified professional. See our full disclaimer for details.

Get in touch

Questions, corrections, or feedback are genuinely welcome — head to the contact page. If you’d like the latest dispatches in your inbox, you can subscribe to the newsletter.