Your Turn with Mike Causey

There are lots of ways to become a millionaire. Some of them are even legal. You can invent something, like fire, Scrabble or potatoes, although those have been taken. Or you can write a book, then buy TV airtime, then teach seminars telling other people how they can make a million in the market. If enough people buy it, you will become a millionaire without taking all that time and effort investing. But the keys are long-term investing and doing what the proven winners have already done. Like Abraham Grungold. He’s a long-time fed who has found a good financial coach: himself. He’s been practicing what he preached to some others. And its worked. He’s our guest today on Your Turn. He’s going to talk about his “simple” 5-step recipe for becoming a TSP millionaire. This is one you can’t afford to miss. Tell a friend.

If you belong to a book club, whether Oprah’s or one in the neighborhood, chances are “Bleak House,” by Charles Dickens, will never be on your reading list. Ever. As in never! For one thing, “Bleak House” is really old. Written in the 1850s. For another there is lots of legal stuff. It takes readers through a horrified version of settling an estate through probate. Some experts (people who have actually read Dickens rather than just seen him on PBS) believe it was inspired by a contested will case of that time period. The case, Thellusson v. Woodford, lasted from 1797 to 1859. That’s longer than most people lasted in those days. To be fair, most probate actions don’t take 50-plus years. But if one is triggered by your death, your family might have to wait six months to two years before your estate is settled. Unless you leave an estate plan which clearly spells out your wishes. It’s a grim subject, but one most of us should deal with because the day will come whether you are prepared or not. In addition to

The good news about the federal retirement programs — FERS or CSRS — is that they have many moving parts. The downside is you need to do some homework — preferably starting from day one on the payroll — to get the most out of your service. Both in starting annuity and maximum annuity. Again, not rocket science, but also not a walk in the park. Not something you can delay (if you want to get the most) by waiting until the gang at the office is planning your final work sendoff. So what to do? A good start is right here. We talk with lots of experts (including current and former feds) to find the best deal or deals for you. Like benefits expert Tammy Flanagan. When her husband retired in 2015, they moved to Florida and Tammy started her own consulting business to help active and retired federal employees called Retire Federal. He’s a retired LEO (law enforcement officer). She knows the retirement pathway and is a full-time consultant for feds planning to retire. Or those who’ve pulled the plug but still need he

Today’s Your Turn show is about the kind of thing he could be very good at: Taking care of his family. Hopefully it will help you in important ways, like taxes and investments. Subject that are not fun, but are very important when someone else settles your affairs. My guest is Tom O’Rourke. He’s a Washington-area tax and estate attorney, and a former IRS lawyer too. Been there, done that! He knows the kind of advice you need and should be getting. Today his topic will be taxes and your TSP.

So today we’ve got a double-header for you on Your Turn. My lead off guest is financial planner Arthur Stein, who specializes in managing finances of active and retired feds. Today he’s going to talk about the pros and cons of playing it “safe” with your TSP and the definition of just what “safe” is. In the second half of the show, I’ll do a year-in-review interview with colleague Nicole Ogrysko, our pay and benefits experts, with a surprise twist at the end.

If you work for Uncle Sam there’s a 50/50 chance you do. That is, your agency has pre-paid so you can shop from home, office or home/office using the popular Checkbook’s Guide to Federal Health Plans. Many people use it to find several best-buys for them. Editor Walton Francis says most people can save lots of money — up to $2000 next year — if they pick the best deal from the dizzying array of health plans available to 4-million-plus federal workers, retired civil servants and their survivors. Many of them have been in the same health plan for decades, And over time, as they get older and more dependent on health care, the plan has simply become too expensive (in premiums) based on what they get in benefits and services. Walt Francis will be my guest today on Your Turn.

Federal workers, retirees and their surviving spouses are fortunate in many ways. They have a large number of health plans to choose from. The government will pay much if not most of the premium. No one can be turned down for any reason. Full coverage continues in retirement, which is not the case in most private plans. While the choice of 20 to nearly 40 health plans and options is bewildering, it is an effort everybody should make. Many federal agencies have made it easier for people to shop at work, on the clock, by subscribing to Checkbook’s Guide to Health Plans For Federal Employees. The online guide makes it easy for people to check out plans, benefits, networks, catastrophic coverage and, of course, premiums. The good news, for you and me, is that Walton Francis is my guest today on Your Turn. Remember, the countdown clock is ticking and you’ve got skin — literally and in money — in this open season. Francis is the long time editor of the Checkbook Guide, which, if your agency hasn’t subscribed for

Tired of shelling out thousands of dollars each year for your federal health plan? Confused, irritated or both by the multiple-choices available under the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) Program? Why not consider picking a health plan that pays you? Thousands of federal and postal workers have done it. Joined a high deductible health plan that has allowed them to amass accounts — their very own money — worth $10,000 to $50,000. Welcome to the federal benefits open season, which runs through Dec. 13. Other things to think about include how to save on taxes when paying your medical bills, and a half dozen items you probably hadn’t thought of but should consider. Which is why today’s Your Turn episode with Walt Francis is a must-listen. It could be the most productive 40 minutes of your year. For you and your family.

Before you answer, your first question might be “what’s a Joe Namath?” or “what’s this Medicare Advantage thing?” If you are of a certain age, and like (or hate) professional football, you will know that Joe was a very famous, successful college and professional quarterback. Now he is best known for TV commercials telling seniors how to get the most out of Medicare. And he is not alone. The FEHB open season runs through Dec. 13. so there is still plenty of time to compare plans, in addition to your current carrier, and compare their premiums, benefits, drug coverage and physician network. For folks trying to navigate the world of Medicare and FEHB benefits, it is even more complicated. Unless you have an expert at hand which, if you are reading this, you do. Spoiler alert: I am not the expert. Not even close. But I know who is. That would be Walton Francis, long-time editor of Checkbook’s Guide to Federal Health Plans. And he’s going to be my guest today on Your Turn.

Federal workers and retirees have little time to miss another deadline and lose, as in overpay up to $2,000, on next year’s health premiums. All they have to do to ensure loser status for insurance premiums is nothing. Ignore open season (which runs through Dec. 13). Stay in the same health plan you’ve belonged to since the Carter administration. Don’t even consider leaving the high or standard option of your favorite plan since Friends or the Fresh Prince of Belair topped the TV charts. Most private sector companies offer minimum choices, minimum premium sharing and zero help to workers during their open seasons. Not Uncle Sam. When it comes to a helping health plan hand, the federal government can’t be beat. The Office of Personnel Management offers an excellent website which helps workers navigate the various plans, options and premiums. Most agencies now offer (free to employees) the Consumer Checkbook guide to federal health plans. Its long-time editor Walton Francis sorts out the best deal for workers,

Despite the life-altering impact of COVID-19, international tensions and unprecedented political divisions in the country, the stock market keeps on going up and up. The experts give us lots of after-the-fact explanations. But, how often are they right? For many long-term investors — like folks in the Thrift Savings Plan — the question is simple. What, if anything, should I be doing with my portfolio? More stocks or sell high and seek the “safety” of the Treasury securities G fund while the going is good? In some, maybe many cases, the answer to the what-should-I-do question is simple. Nothing. And certainly don’t act out of greed, fear, a feeling or what your favorite cable guru says. The reality is that nobody knows the real answer. Not the wise guy in your carpool, not your tarot card reader and not even your financial planner. Nobody. To help walk us through it, we’ve got Arthur Stein, a financial planner, as our guest today on Your Turn. He was an economist with Congress and most of his clients are a

With a 4.9% cost of living adjustment (COLA) set for Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) retirees, and a 2.7% pay raise on track for January, many working feds and retirees have got to be breathing a sigh of relief. This is a real take-it-to-the-bank silver lining during a time of worldwide pandemic when so much has changed. It will make trips to the store and gas station less painful. The problem, as always, for working folks and retirees is what's next? There are also lots of things to consider, including picking the best health plan for you and yours to get you through 2022. So I called in the cavalry in the form of Tammy Flanagan. She’s a well-known, popular federal benefits expert. And she is our a guest on our Your Turn. Tammy was a fed for many years and now does consulting with feds and retirees.

With good pay, maybe a house, insurance, a retirement plan, and a Thrift Savings Plan, many feds are better off than they thought. And they may need to readjust their thinking about things like do-I-have-an-estate and if so, what’s the plan. Download a will off the internet and forget about it. Or do nothing and let the courts – eventually — decide. Meantime your surviving spouse and children may be at each other’s throats because they know what you really intended! So we asked D.C. area attorney Tom O’Rourke to join us today on our Your Turn radio show.

Have your career plans changed some, a lot or completely since the COVID pandemic? Has the retirement tsunami, first predicted in the 1990s, actually started? What if another recession is just around the corner? Lots of work-related questions for lots of people. If ordered to return to the office full or even part time, will you do it or retire? Many surveys show that up to 40% of people who have been working from home don’t want to come back to the office. Ever! The same studies show many people can’t wait to get back to the office, to interact with coworkers and work with the discipline of the office. Lots of questions — and we may have some or all of the answers. That’s because my guest today on Your Turn is benefits expert Tammy Flanagan. She is going to talk about the impact of a big COLA in 2022, the likely federal pay raise and what retirees who are 65-plus should be doing to prep for the federal health insurance open season. It begins Nov. 8 and will run through Dec. 13. The good news is that all of

During the Great Recession of 2008-2009, the S&P 500 index lost 50% of its value. The C fund of the federal Thrift Savings Plan tracks the S&P 500. The Great Recession (which was a brief 17 months as recessions go) followed the boom years of 2002 through 2007. What goes up also goes down. At least so far. All of which is why federal investors, who have grown more sophisticated over the years, need to be careful. How they behave prudently or panic during a downturn can determine how much they will have in their retirement nest egg when they leave government. The number of TSP millionaires has gone over 95,000 at last count. Most of them are long-time investors who continued to buy shares in the TSP’s three stock index funds (C, S and I) during the recession, even as millions of other investors fled to the “safety” of the treasury securities G fund. So what’s an investor do? Plan ahead and don’t panic is what most of the pros say. But knowing what you should do during the next stock market crash and

Even if you’re young and have only been with Uncle Sam for a short time, odds are you already have an estate. If you have been around for awhile, it may be a sizable one. Maybe worth millions because of property, insurance and your growing Thrift Savings Plan. That’s the good news. The not so good news is that you may have an adult child with a drug or drinking problem. Maybe your son or daughter is married to a loser who doesn’t deserve to have control over money you may leave behind. How about an ex-spouse? Or two? Or more? How’s that gonna work out when you are no longer in control or here? Whatever the reason, whether your life is a bed of roses or a getting-worse-nightmare, there are things you can do now to insure what you leave will go to who you want. And when. And in what portion or portions. Tom O’Rourke is a Washington area attorney who specialized in tax and estate law. Many of his clients are current or former feds. Several are TSP millionaires. Others are on track to become one soon — fingers

Financial planner Arthur Stein believes that millions of active and retired feds — anyone with money in the treasury securities G fund, or F (bond) fund — are not investors in the true sense. They are, in a sense, putting (or parking) their money in funds that don’t move like the stock market. People in the C fund, S fund and I fund, however, are investing in stocks (large, small cap and an international stock index). And while the C fund, S fund and I funds do go up and down — sometimes big time — over the long haul they have outperformed the treasury and bond funds. By a lot. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! Or is there? So what’s the difference between a true investor and a parker? We’re gonna find out today. Art Stein will be my guest on our Your Turn.

Do you know the difference between a will and a trust? And what different types of trusts do? Are you up on tax law changes involving estates? Are you familiar with the relatively new SECURE Act, which probably covers your estate? And what’s an estate anyhow? Having a plan — leaving clear-cut instructions — is critical. Equally important is having a list explaining your wishes and preparations in the hands of someone — your estate attorney — you can trust. So what’s in the ultimate list? The last one (with occasional updates) you need to make? We checked in with Tom O’Rourke. He’s a tax/estate attorney in the DC area, and a regular guest on our Your Turn. He’s a former IRS attorney, and most of his clients are current or former feds. Today’s show is about planning, understanding and managing your estate. And what should be in that all-important list.

Investors in the TSPs stock index funds (C, S and I) have done very, very well for a long time. The market has had its ups and downs (but mostly ups) since the end of the Great Recession in mid-2009. Most people didn’t see that one coming and few knew how or when it would end. Until after the fact, when investing your retirement nest egg is not real helpful. The market hit an all time high in June. Since then it has been up and down as investors wait to see what (if anything) the Federal Reserve will do, and what the newest COVID mutation will do to our mostly unvaccinated fellow earthlings. In places like Africa. Or India. Or, closer to home, in Missouri and LA County. Most of the TSP’s 98,000 plus millionaires hit the 7-digit mark by investing for the long haul (an average of 29-plus years), and investing largely in the C, S and I funds. And by staying in stocks and continuing to buy during bad patches, like the Great Recession. For a full picture of the TSP’s makeup as of June 30, click here. But as th

It is possible to work for Uncle Sam long enough to get and qualify for benefits and an annuity, but still leave government earlier. Benefits expert Tammy Flanagan thinks that may be about to happen.