You can create personal action plans with step-by-step guides provided by
Debbie Mason, a Certified Financial Planner™ professional
No need for seminars with this Federal financial, retirement, and benefits eLearning. Courses are self-paced and need not be taken all at one time.
Choose Your eLearning Course
Prepare for a Sudden
Job and Life Change
Will you retire early or lose your job in a Reduction in Force (RIF)?
- Plan for cash flow and income changes if you retire early or lose your job in a Reduction in Force (RIF).
- Learn different options for Federal retirement and benefits.
- Make a plan to adjust your spending, build an emergency fund, increase savings, and pay off debt.
- Plan for income changes: define goals, costs, and savings.
- Learn how to avoid losses as you plan ways to replace lost income.
- Learn ways to create side income as you plan for a life change.
Be Money Smart
Develop an action plan to have money for the life you choose.
- Improve money management.
- Plan steps to manage expenses.
- Manage credit and debt.
- Manage risk with insurance.
- Evaluate assets and liabilities.
- Create an emergency fund.
- Build savings with tax-smart retirement savings accounts: Federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) and IRAs
- Improve financial records.
- Make your plan with a step-by-step guide by Debbie Mason, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional.
Grow Savings
Learn to invest with TSP, Retirement, and Financial Planning.
- Make your financial/retirement plan with a step-by-step guide by Debbie Mason, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional.
- Identify goals and savings needed.
- Compare tax-smart saving — TSP, Roth TSP, IRAs, Roth IRAs.
- Estimate income needs and savings growth.
- Learn about your retirement system and benefits
- Estimate Federal and other retirement income.
- Learn how to invest for short-, intermediate-, and long-term goals.
- Plan for college, long-term care, and estate transfers.
- For Late-Career, plan tax-efficient income — TSP, Roth TSP, other.
- Customized for
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Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)
Employees in FERS were hired after January 1, 1987 OR switched from Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) to FERS.FERS Special Retirement System
FERS Special includes FERS employees that are Firefighters, Law Enforcement Officers, Air Traffic Controllers, Military Reserve Technicians, members of Congress, and Congressional employees.Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS)
CSRS employees were hired before January 1, 1987.CSRS Special Retirement System
CSRS Special includes CSRS employees that are Firefighters and Law Enforcement Officers. - Choose Your Course
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Choose the course that fits you.
Early-Career (over 25 years to retirement)
Start now to control your financial future. Time is on your side if you start now — small investments have time to grow. Establish sound money management skills. Build an emergency fund. Invest early to put money and time to work.
106 — FERS
107 — FERS Special
Mid-Career (10 to 25 years to retirement)
Learn more than at a mid-career retirement seminar. Don’t procrastinate — it will be hard to catch up. Expand priorities to meet changing family needs. Learn how to manage for short-term goals and invest with a long-term strategy. Maximize contributions to your retirement savings so they can grow before you need them.
109 — FERS
110 — FERS Special
Late-Career (within 10 years of retirement)
Learn more than at a pre-retirement seminar. Maximize contributions to your retirement savings before you retire. Eliminate remaining debt. Estimate retirement income needs. Learn how to invest for inflation-adjusted lifetime income. Evaluate withdrawal options and potential income from savings.
101 — CSRS
102 — CSRS Special
103 — FERS
104 — FERS Special
Plan Retirement
Ready to Retire? Tax-Smart Investment and Cash Flow Planning
- Create a tax-smart retirement cash flow plan.
- Learn ways to have more after-tax money to spend.
- Learn how to avoid stealth taxes.
- Learn ways to transfer assets efficiently to heirs.
- Determine retirement income needed from savings.
- Plan tax-smart withdrawals from employer-sponsored retirement savings plans and other investments: TSP and non-federal such as 401(k)s and IRAs.
- Determine a safe spending rate.
- Determine if Roth conversions would benefit you.
- Learn how to invest for inflation-adjusted lifetime income.
- Learn how to invest and allocate for retirement goals.
- Make your financial/retirement plan with a step-by-step guide.
Plan Your TSP Strategy
This short course helps you compare and choose tax-smart savings.
- Identify financial goals and costs.
- Identify expected retirement income.
- Choose to use TSP, Roth TSP, IRA, Roth IRA.
- Learn TSP and IRA contribution limits.
- For TSP and Roth TSP, calculate:
- Tax savings for contributions and withdrawals
- Potential savings growth
- Potential withdrawals — monthly payments (after taxes)
- Plan a TSP savings strategy with a step-by-step guide.
Note: the material in this course is included in the TSP, Retirement, and Financial Planning courses.
Build Your Rainy Day Fund
Be prepared for life’s unexpected disasters.
- Set emergency fund savings goal.
- Learn how to set spending priorities.
- Evaluate saving, spending, debt.
- Choose where to put your emergency fund savings.
- Learn savings options to use to invest for safety.
- Describe when you would use your emergency fund.
- Choose which savings to use first if need to withdraw funds.
- Plan how to withdraw without loss.
New Employee Orientation
Learn Federal Benefits to Make Timely Choices
- Learn federal benefits to make timely choices.
- Understand beneficiary designations.
- Evaluate and choose the best Federal insurance.
- Evaluate and choose Health Savings or Flexible Spending Accounts.
- Choose to use TSP, Roth TSP, or both.
- Choose investments for TSP and other savings.
- AND, begin a financial plan to use Federal benefits for your goals with a step-by-step guide by Debbie Mason, a
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional.
- Choose your Course
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Choose the course that fits you.
Federal Employees Retirement (FERS)
Employees in FERS were hired after January 1, 1987 OR switched from Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) to FERS.FERS Special Retirement
Employees in FERS Special include Firefighters, Law Enforcement Officers, Air Traffic Controllers, Military Reserve Technicians, members of Congress, and Congressional employees.
Sustainable — always current
for tax laws, returns, plan rules
Self-paced accessible elearning anytime
— no need for seminars