Many military spouses work as teachers. And in some states, they don't pay into Social Security. If that applies to you or you work in another government job where you don't or didn't pay into Social Security, you need to understand how the Government Pension Offset (GPO) could affect your Social Security spousal and survivor benefits.
Many retired military officers want to contribute to a Roth IRA while working. The problem is that often their income is too high to contribute to a Roth. There is a work around, but if you have a Traditional IRA or if you roll TSP to an IRA, it doesn't work like you may think.
If you served in the military between 1957 and 2001 your Social Security benefits may be "beefed up". In most cases the adjustment will be automatic. But just like in your military career, Trust but Verify.
If you have employer stock in your 401(k) you have options on how you take it out. A lot of defense contractors do offer company stock in a 401(k). If you're a retired military officer that has company stock in your 401(k), you need to understand Net Unrealized Appreciation.
Whether you're a junior officer covered by the Blended Retirement System (BRS) and contributing to TSP or a retired officer participating in a 401(k), you should understand how different types of retirement plans affect each other.
During your military career it is likely that you contributed to an IRA or maybe TSP. If you did, some of the rules affecting how you take money out from your or an inherited account are likely to change.
Disclaimer
Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by C.L. Sheldon & Company, LLC ), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this blog will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this blog serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from C.L. Sheldon & Company, LLC . To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing. C.L. Sheldon & Company, LLC is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the blog content should be construed as legal or accounting advice. A copy of the C.L. Sheldon & Company, LLC ’s current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available for review upon request. DISCLAIMER OF TAX ADVICE: Any discussion contained herein cannot be considered to be tax advice. Actual tax advice would require a detailed and careful analysis of the facts and applicable law, which we expect would be time consuming and costly. We have not made and have not been asked to make that type of analysis in connection with any advice given in this blog post. As a result, we are required to advise you that any Federal tax advice rendered in this blog is not intended or written to be used and cannot be used for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by the IRS. In the event you would like us to perform the type of analysis that is necessary for us to provide an opinion, that does not require the above disclaimer, as always, please feel free to contact us.