Retirement Planning

Social Security’s retirement trust fund is now projected to be depleted by late 2032. Without Congressional action, benefits would be automatically reduced by roughly 23–24% across the board — but they wouldn’t disappear. Ongoing payroll taxes would still fund about 76–77% of promised benefits. For Maryland’s 1.05 million Social Security recipients, the right response isn’t to claim early or panic, but to stress-test the plan against a reduced-benefit scenario and consider Roth conversions, withdrawal sequencing, and diversified income now.

Most pre-retirees ask “how much do I need to retire?” and expect a single number. The honest answer depends on three things: your essential expenses, your Social Security and pension income, and your withdrawal strategy. A common starting point is 25 times your annual spending gap, but dynamic withdrawal strategies using guardrails often allow higher sustainable income than the traditional 4% rule, while adjusting to market conditions and longevity risk.

Are you a federal employee wondering if you should accept the government’s Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) offer? While early retirement sounds appealing, it’s a decision with long-term financial and lifestyle implications.

If you’re retired or approaching retirement, you’ve probably seen headlines asking whether President Trump will cut Social Security benefits, raise the retirement age, or eliminate taxes on benefits.

Spousal benefits exist so that a husband or wife who earned less over their career—or who spent years out of the workforce raising children or caring for family—still has access to meaningful retirement income. At their maximum, spousal benefits can equal up to 50% of the higher-earning spouse’s benefit at full retirement age. That’s a significant addition to a household’s retirement income.

Losing a spouse is one of life’s most difficult transitions—emotionally, practically, and financially. In the middle of grief, surviving spouses are often confronted with urgent decisions about income, benefits, and taxes that can shape their financial security for decades.

If you’re retired or approaching retirement in the next few years, the headlines coming out of the Middle East are hard to ignore. U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran, retaliatory missile attacks across the Gulf, oil prices surging past $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022, and major stock indexes dropping sharply—it’s the kind of news cycle that makes anyone with a retirement portfolio pay attention.

If you’re retired—or planning to retire soon—you’ve probably seen the headlines about the 2026 Social Security COLA and the Medicare Part B premium increase. You might even be trying to figure out what your real monthly increase will look like after everything is deducted.

If you’re planning for retirement, you’ve almost certainly encountered the 4% rule—the widely cited guideline suggesting you can safely withdraw 4% of your portfolio in your first year of retirement, adjust for inflation each year after, and expect your money to last 30 years. It’s simple. It’s memorable. And for many retirees today, it’s unnecessarily restrictive—or worse, potentially risky.

What is FERS? Understanding the Federal Employees Retirement System If you’re a federal employee hired after December 31, 1983, you’re likely covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)—a comprehensive retirement plan designed to provide financial security through three integrated components. Unlike the older Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), FERS combines a modest pension with…