Insights

For federal employees, the FERS survivor benefit election is about more than choosing between a higher pension today and a lower pension with survivor protection. It can affect your spouse’s lifetime income and health insurance coverage after your death. Take a closer look at the decision and why evaluating the numbers alone may not tell the whole story.

Federal employees have access to one of the best retirement packages in the country. Between a guaranteed pension, generous TSP matching, lifelong health coverage, and Social Security, it's an enviable foundation. And yet, a surprising number of federal employees arrive at retirement with less security than they could have had, not because of bad luck, but because of avoidable mistakes made years or decades earlier.