Retirement Planning for Federal Employees

Transforming your federal benefits into the retirement you’ve envisioned

You've dedicated your career to public service, and the benefits that come with that are worth getting right — for you and for the people you've been building this life with. At JL Smith Holistic Wealth Management, we specialize in helping federal employees and their families make the most of everything their service has provided.

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Why Federal Employees Benefit from Specialized Expertise

Federal retirement benefits are among the most complex financial decisions you'll ever navigate. Your pension structure, Survivor Benefit Plan election, Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) continuation choices, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) growth and withdrawal strategy, Social Security timing and activation strategy, all interact with each other. Many of the decisions you make around them are permanent, too.

The complexity doesn't stop there. Each of those decisions ripples into your taxes, your family's long-term security, and whether your income holds up the way you need it to across decades of retirement. You shouldn’t make any of these decisions in an independent silo, you’d ideally want all these decisions coordinated together. That's why the right advisor for a federal employee isn't just someone who understands federal benefits, it's someone who can build a comprehensive plan around them.

Federal Benefits Expertise You Can Trust

Meet Joseph Voellm, CF2, ChFC, CLU, BPC — Senior Wealth Manager

JL Smith is proud to have Joseph Voellm on our team. Joseph brings something genuinely rare to federal retirement planning: he lived the military life before he advised on it. After eight years on active duty in the Marine Corps, including four deployments across three continents, he built a career focused specifically on helping people with federal and military backgrounds make the most of their retirement benefits. He holds the Certified Financial Fiduciary (CF2), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), and Bucket Plan Certified (BPC) designations.

Who We Work With

We work with federal employees and retirees who are ready to make sense of their benefits and build a plan around them. Whether you're approaching retirement or recently made the transition, we're here to help:

Federal employees within five years of retirement who want to understand their benefit elections and make informed decisions before they're final
Recently retired federal employees who are coordinating their pension, Social Security, TSP distributions, and health coverage into a sustainable income plan
Military veterans in federal civilian roles who need both their military retirement and civilian benefits brought together in one plan
Spouses and families navigating federal retirement decisions alongside their partners

As retirement income specialists who have helped countless federal employees transition their service into lasting security, we know that having specialized expertise in your corner and a plan to piece all the intricate parts of your financial life together can make all the difference.

Schedule a Complimentary Consultation

🗓️ Free Federal Retirement Planning Workshop

Many federal employees start thinking seriously about their benefits when retirement is already close, but by then, some of the most important decisions are already spoken for.

Our free federal retirement workshops, offered in partnership with FedImpact, are designed to help you get ahead of that.

Register for Our Federal Benefits Workshop

The Federal Benefit Areas We Cover

A complete federal retirement plan goes well beyond your pension. We help you understand, evaluate, and coordinate your federal benefits package, including:

CSRS / FERS (Federal Pension Systems): Understanding how your pension is calculated, how your retirement date affects your benefit, and how unused sick leave factors into your credible service
SBP (Survivor Benefit Plan): Evaluating what the election means for your spouse, what it costs over time, how it affects your pension income, and how it fits into your family's broader financial picture
SS (Social Security): Timing your claim in a way that coordinates well with your spouse’s Social Security, your pension, taxes, and overall income strategy
SRS (Special Retirement Supplement): Understanding how this bridge payment works for FERS retirees, how long it lasts, and how the earnings test applies if you plan to work in retirement
FEGLI (Federal Employees Group Life Insurance): Reviewing your current coverage elections and making sure your life insurance strategy still makes sense as you move into retirement
FEHB (Federal Employees Health Benefits): Potentially keeping your coverage into retirement, understanding how premiums change, and figuring out how Medicare fits in
FLTCIP (Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program): Assessing your long-term care risk and exploring what coverage options make sense for your situation
TSP (Thrift Savings Plan): Addressing fund allocation, contribution strategy, the Traditional vs. Roth decision, taxes, and how your withdrawals interact with your other income sources in retirement

Holistic Planning Built Around Your Benefits and Your Life

Using The Bucket Plan® process developed by our founder, Jason L Smith, we build retirement income plans that tie your federal benefits together with your personal savings, tax strategy, and legacy goals so your income is sustainable, your family is protected, and nothing gets left to chance.

We'd love to learn more about you and show you how our expertise with federal benefits and our holistic approach to everything beyond them can help you build the retirement you've been planning for.

Schedule a Complimentary Consultation

Questions? Call us at (844) 557-9181