Your Turn with Mike Causey

On this episode, Tammy Flanagan covers the basics and then some, to help put more money in your monthly retirement income and reduce costs to you. Your Turn with Mike Causey airs at 10 a.m. EDT on 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C. area and www.federalnewsnetwork.com.

The current bull market is more than a decade old and is long overdue for a major correction. Financial planner Arthur Stein has plenty of federal clients and offers his thoughts on this episode of Your Turn with Mike Causey.

Many people accumulate wealth in a variety of forms: Maybe a house or other property, a car or several, insurance, a 401(k) or Thrift Savings Plan? Maybe they have a survivor annuity that will give their significant other a lifetime stream of income that is designed to keep up with inflation no matter how long he or she lives? On this episode of the Your Turn radio show, Tom O’Rourke talks about what everybody, but especially members of the federal family, needs to know about estate planning.

On this episode of Your Turn, Arthur Stein, a Washington, D.C.-area financial planner with a lot of active and retired federal clients, discusses what people should not be doing with their TSP accounts. Your Turn with Mike Causey airs at 10 a.m. EDT on 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C. area and www.federalnewsnetwork.com.

On this episode, we hear from Federal News Network reporter Nicole Ogrysko, who’s been following the pay raise in Congress. We’ll also be looking at upcoming changes in the Thrift Savings Plan designed to make it easier for participants to withdraw money. Military families and veterans get some advice on financial planning from Mike Meese, executive vice president and secretary of the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association. AAFMAA celebrates 140 years providing survivor benefits.

For decades, job-hunting spouses of mobile military and federal people have hidden, or tried to hide, the fact that they are not “career” material because of the person they married. Many employers are reluctant to hire, train and promote someone who will be relocating in the coming years. But things may be changing thanks to new military spouse preference rules. On this episode of Your Turn, job-expert Kathryn Troutman, president of The Resume Place, answers your questions and offers tips to make your resume stand out. Your Turn with Mike Causey airs at 10 a.m. EDT on 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C. area and www.federalnewsnetwork.com.

When it comes to employer-backed 401k plans, most experts say that the federal Thrift Savings Plan, with its 5% match and super-low administrative fees, is the best deal around. At the end of March, the TSP had 5.6 million participants and was worth $561 billion. Arthur Stein, a Washington area financial planner, spent a day on Capitol Hill last month talking to Senate staffers about their investment options. Most of them were in the TSP, but in some cases, he said they should be investing less. Why? Find out on this episode of the Your Turn radio show. Your Turn with Mike Causey airs at 10 a.m. EDT on 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C. area and www.federalnewsnetwork.com.

If you’re like most people, you probably have, or will, spend more time deciding how, when and where you’ll retire than you did deciding how, when and where you would spend the majority of your career. Knowing what to ask is very important. Knowing the answers is critical. Where to start? Relax, we’ll come to you. Benefits expert Tammy Flanagan is the guest this week. The Your Turn radio show airs at 10 a.m. EDT on 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C. area and www.federalnewsnetwork.com.

So you’ve done well, now what? One of the first things you need to do is recognize your true financial value, living and dead, then have a plan. Having a will alone no longer works for many people. Some need a trust and medical directives. But what kind, and how do you know? Tom O’ Rourke, an estate and tax attorney and former IRS lawyer, answers these questions on this episode of Your Turn with Mike Causey. The Your Turn radio show airs at 10 a.m. EDT on 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C. area and www.federalnewsnetwork.com.

On this episode, Nicole Ogrysko, who covers workforce issues on the Hill, outlines the changes feds and retirees may be facing and talks about what the Democratic take-over of the House might mean for plans to curtail your retirement benefits. The Your Turn radio show airs at 10 a.m. EDT at www.federalnewsnetwork.com and on 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C., area.

After significant declines during the fourth quarter of 2018, TSP funds rebounded during the first three months of this year. Patience has its reward, according to Washington, D.C.-area financial planner Arthur Stein. Many of his clients are retired feds. Several of them are TSP millionaires who did it by long-term investing without reacting to the market’s ups and downs. On this episode, he explains how a "safe" investment could be a higher risk in the long-term. The Your Turn radio show airs at 10 a.m. EST on 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C. area and www.federalnewsnetwork.com.

Benefits expert Tammy Flanagan, who first came up with the best-dates-to-retire concept, says feds under FERS also need to consider Social Security. It will be one of the three legs of their imaginary retirement stool which also includes the FERS benefit plus the TSP. Tammy literally has all the answers. The Your Turn radio show airs at 10 a.m. EDT at www.federalnewsnetwork.com or on 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C., area.

On this episode of the Your Turn radio show, we have two expert guests to discuss the pros and cons of the proposed changes. Tom Burger, executive director of the Professional Managers Association, explains what each one would cost individual workers and retirees. Former federal executive Jeff Neal discusses the need for some prospective reforms in the retirement program to save money and also recognize ever-increasing job mobility in the federal government. Listen to Your Turn live at 10 a.m. EDT on www.federalnewsnetwork.com or 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C. area.

Retirement, is it time for you and if so, are you ready? It’s a timely question because the chaos caused by the shutdown — back pay and retirement claims delayed — has some people questioning how much longer they want to stick around. John Grobe, president of Federal Career Experts discusses how to prepare for retirement on this episode of the Your Turn Radio show. Listen live Wednesday's at 10 a.m. on www.federalnewsnetwork.com or 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C. area.

It’s probably safe to assume that hardly anybody (politicians notwithstanding) joins the government planning to become rich. But you could still be well on the way to millionaire status. On this episode, Mike speaks with tax and estate attorney Tom O’Rourke, a former IRS employee who has spent decades advising Washington-area feds in building, keeping and passing on estates to the people they want to get it. The Your Turn radio show airs at 10 a.m. EST on 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C. area and www.federalnewsnetwork.com.