Federal retirement, weekly.
This week.
The 2027 COLA Estimate Cooled — Here’s What Changed
Spring projections pushed the 2027 COLA toward 3.9%. They have since reversed: June CPI-W came in at 3.5%, and one forecaster cut a full point off her estimate. Here’s what changed, and what each retirement system would actually receive.
June CPI-W Came In at 3.5%. Where the 2027 COLA Count Actually Stands.
June CPI-W rose 3.5% over 12 months to an index level of 327.075 — but it doesn’t count toward the 2027 COLA. Here’s how the calculation really works, which three readings decide it, and the release dates that matter between now and October.
OPM Retirement Backlog Update: Inventory Down, Waits Up
OPM’s retirement claim inventory fell to its lowest level all year in June — while average processing time jumped 30 days to 108. Both are true at once. Here’s why, what the real timeline looks like, and how big a cash cushion you actually need.
Your 2026 COLA, After the Medicare Bite: CSRS, FERS & Social Security
The 2026 COLA is 2.8% for CSRS and Social Security, 2.0% for FERS — but a $17.90 Part B increase eats into it. What actually lands in your check, with a net-raise calculator.
Tapping Home Equity: HELOC, Reverse, or Downsize
Your home is your biggest asset and the most illiquid. The real costs, risks, and age rules behind HELOCs, reverse mortgages, and downsizing — with a home-equity access estimator.
Gray Divorce and the FERS Pension
Divorce after 50 is rising, and a FERS pension is among the hardest assets to split. Why only a COAP divides it, how the marital share works, and the survivor and FEHB traps — with a marital-share estimator.
The Skill That Fades First: Aging and Your Finances
Financial decision-making is often the first skill cognitive aging touches, while confidence stays high. How to build resilient finances and trusted help while you’re in control — with a resilience checklist.
The Longevity Mistake: Planning to the Wrong Age
Most plans end at 85 — the average. But half live longer, and a 65-year-old couple has a 50%+ chance one reaches 90. Why planning to average builds in shortfall risk — with a longevity-probability estimator.
The Costliest Myth: Medicare and Long-Term Care
Medicare won’t cover long-term custodial care, FEHB doesn’t either, and FLTCIP is closed. The gap that blindsides retirees, and how to plan for it — with a long-term-care cost and coverage-gap estimator.
Year One Costs More Than You Think (Especially for Feds)
The first year of retirement is often the most expensive and cash-flow-awkward. Interim pay covers 60–80%, the TSP lags weeks, and the leave payout is taxable — with a year-one cash-flow estimator.
The Saver’s Trap: When You Can’t Spend What You Saved
Most retirees underspend out of fear of running out. Why guaranteed income unlocks 42% more spending — and how federal retirees can use their pension floor as permission — with a permission-to-spend estimator.
Go-Go, Slow-Go, No-Go: Why Spending Isn’t Flat
Retirement spending follows a smile, not a flat line: high in the go-go years, lower in slow-go, rising late for healthcare. Why flat-spending plans over-save — with a spending-smile projector.
Your Roth Conversion Window Is Smaller Than You Think
The low-bracket years between retiring and RMDs are the Roth conversion window — and it’s shorter than most realize. How to size conversions to a bracket without tripping IRMAA — with a bracket-headroom estimator.
The Widow’s Penalty: Why Taxes Rise When Income Falls
When one spouse dies, income drops but taxes often rise — the survivor flips to single brackets and a smaller standard deduction. The widow’s penalty, and how to plan for it — with an MFJ-vs-single estimator.
The Tax Torpedo: How RMDs Quietly Spike Your Bracket
RMDs can drag more Social Security into taxation and trip IRMAA — a torpedo that pushes your effective rate well above your bracket. How it works and how to defuse it — with an RMD and provisional-income estimator.
The FERS Diet COLA: Why Your Pension Quietly Shrinks
FERS retirees get a diet COLA — capped below inflation when it runs high. Why that quietly erodes your pension’s buying power over decades, and how to plan around it — with a COLA-erosion projector.
The FERS Supplement Earnings Test That Claws It Back
The FERS supplement bridges you to 62 — but earn over the limit and it’s clawed back. How the earnings test works, who it hits, and how to manage it — with a FERS supplement earnings-test calculator.
The FERS Survivor Annuity Election You Can’t Take Back
At retirement you choose a survivor annuity for your spouse — a largely irrevocable election that’s also the key to their FEHB. The full, lasting cost of the choice, and how to weigh it — with a survivor-benefit calculator.
You Were Counting on Rental Income. Then It Fell Apart.
Rental income looks passive until you count the costs. Why gross rent was never the number, how the 50% rule works, and the illiquidity risk that hits retirees hardest — with a rental reality calculator.
Retired, But Still the Family’s Safety Net
You planned a retirement for two. Then the adult kids, the grandkids, and the quiet monthly help arrived. Why family support is uniquely dangerous on a fixed income — and how to help anyway.
You Were Counting on Downsizing. Now It Doesn’t Add Up.
Downsizing looks like free money — sell big, buy small, pocket the gap. But transaction costs, a compressed price gap, and taxes drain most of it. The real math, with a downsizing reality calculator.
You Saved for Retirement. Now Comes the Hard Part.
Saving was the easy part — it was automatic. Drawing the money down over 30 years without running out is the hard part, and sequence-of-returns risk is the danger few plan for — with a drawdown estimator.
The 2026 Election and Federal Retirement
The November midterms shape FERS, FEHB, and TSP in 2027 and after. What’s on the table, what already happened in 2025, and how to plan around it without trying to predict the outcome.
The 2027 Medicare Part B Premium Projection: $218.60
The Trustees Report projects $218.60/month — a 7.7% jump over 2026 and 18.2% over the 2025 baseline. The math, the IRMAA picture, and the federal retiree budget impact.
WEP/GPO Repeal: 17 Months Later, What Federal Retirees Should Know
SSA has paid $17 billion to 3.1 million recipients under the Social Security Fairness Act — five months ahead of schedule. But a retroactivity dispute is still unresolved, and a meaningful number of federal retirees haven’t claimed what they’re owed.
The MSPB Backlog Hit 20,335 Appeals. What It Means If You’re Near Retirement.
The Merit Systems Protection Board received 20,335 appeals in FY 2025 — four times normal. For federal employees weighing appeal vs retirement, the wait now matters more than the case. The cost-of-the-wait math has shifted.
Cutting FEHB Drug Costs: What Retirees Are Missing
Federal retirees overpay for prescriptions, assuming FEHB always has the lowest price. It doesn’t. Four small moves cut FEHB drug costs by hundreds a year — plus the Part D option many annuitants miss.
HHS Is Reclassifying Jobs to At-Will. Your Retirement.
HHS has begun reclassifying hundreds of jobs to at-will status, the first wave of a change that could reach 50,000 federal positions. For your retirement specifically, the picture is more reassuring than the headline suggests.
TSP or Fidelity and Vanguard? A $1 Million Case Study
Should you roll your TSP to Fidelity or Vanguard at retirement? A $1 million case study shows the honest answer isn’t about fees — it’s about control and the G Fund.
The OPM Retirement Backlog: What It Means If You Retire Soon
The OPM retirement backlog peaked at 65,000 cases this winter and is still the second-highest April backlog on record. The gap between your last paycheck and your first full annuity check is wider than you think — and it’s plannable.
VERA and VSIP Look Like Golden Tickets. The Real Cost.
A VERA or VSIP buyout offer can look like a golden ticket. Here’s the permanent cost to your pension, FERS supplement, and Social Security before you sign — sometimes six figures of forgone retirement income.
Federal Tax Delinquency Is Rising: A Retiree’s Guide
A Treasury audit shows more than 571,000 federal employees and retirees owe $6.3 billion in unpaid taxes. For retirees, the cause is rarely deliberate — it’s a withholding problem, and it’s fixable.
Why the Bucket Strategy May Backfire Inside Your TSP
The bucket strategy is one of the most popular retirement income ideas. Inside the TSP, a single mechanical rule — pro-rata withdrawals — quietly breaks it.
Your FERS Supplement Earnings Survey: Fill It Out Right
If you’re a FERS retiree under 62 receiving the annuity supplement, an OPM survey is hitting your mailbox right now. The rules about what counts as “earnings” are where retirees lose money they didn’t have to.
Facing a RIF? The Retirement Moves to Make Before You Go
Reduction-in-force notices are landing across federal agencies again. The decisions you make in the weeks before you separate — about retirement type, severance, and your TSP — can change your outcome by tens of thousands of dollars.
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Federal Warrior ↑The full federal retirement picture
The Dispatch is one layer of the site. The TSP pillar covers contribution limits, fund choices, and withdrawals. The Tax Strategy pillar covers how each retirement income stream is taxed, IRMAA, RMDs, and Roth conversions. Deeper pillars on FERS & CSRS, Social Security, FEHB & Medicare, and military retirement are in build.
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