Managing Your Finances in Uncertain Times: Resources for Federal Government Employees

Federal government employees are facing unprecedented uncertainty about their careers. Having the information and confidence to make smart money decisions is more important than ever. CFP Board and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals are here to help.  

Join us on Thursday, March 27, 2025, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm ET, for a webinar designed to provide federal workers with tools to make the best financial decisions when separating from service and to manage financial uncertainty while remaining in their current roles.

After an introduction by Washington Post personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary, former CFP Board Chair Karen P. Schaeffer, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional specializing in holistic financial planning for federal government employees, and benefits pro and Government Executive author Tammy Flanagan will provide attendees with critical information, including: 

• Techniques for surviving without a paycheck.
• The appropriate use of debt.
• The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), including the pros and cons of withdrawals.
• What happens to your health insurance, life insurance and other benefits if you lose your job or retire.
• Who should say “yes” to Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA).
• How to avoid missteps with retirement decisions, including claiming Social Security.
• Issues related to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), including the difference between reductions and withholdings from the FERS benefit, cost-of-living adjustments, deferred vs. “postponed” retirement and the FERS Supplement.
• Resources for personalized advice. 

Register now

Panelists

Michelle Singletary is a personal finance columnist for The Washington Post. Her award-winning column, "The Color of Money," is syndicated by The Washington Post News Service and Syndicate and appears twice weekly in newspapers nationwide. Singletary is the author of four books: “What To Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits: A Survival Guide;” “The 21 Day Financial Fast: Your Path to Financial Peace and Freedom,” a perennial Amazon bestseller; “Spend Well, Live Rich: How to Live Well With the Money You Have;” and “Your Money and Your Man: How You and Prince Charming Can Spend Well and Live Rich.” She frequently appears on national TV, including NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN and NPR. For two years, she hosted her own national television program, “Singletary Says,” on TV One.

Karen P. Schaeffer, CFP® is a former CFP Board Chair and the managing member and co-founder of Schaeffer Financial, a premier financial planning firm in the Washington, D.C., area. With over 40 years of experience, she has built a specialized practice serving federal employees across nearly every federal department and agency, helping them navigate the complexities of federal pension and benefit programs. As a trusted advisor, Schaeffer provides comprehensive financial planning and readiness strategies, ensuring that federal employees make informed decisions about their retirement, benefits and long-term financial security.

Tammy Flanagan is the Founder of and Principal Retirement Specialist at Retire Federal. She has been providing retirement planning assistance to federal employees since 1985, when she first began her work as a retirement benefits specialist at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Her extensive knowledge of the federal benefits systems and her ability to explain difficult concepts in an easy-to-understand manner make her a sought-after speaker and presenter at pre-retirement seminars, training conferences and online training events. Throughout her career, she has also enjoyed assisting individual employees by providing guidance and pre-retirement benefits counseling. Flanagan is the Senior Benefits Director for the National Institute of Transition Planning, Inc., which has been conducting pre-retirement seminars and workshops throughout the Washington, D.C. area and beyond since 1987. Since 2006, Flanagan has authored the popular weekly “Retirement Planning” column for Government Executive online magazine. More than 250,000 subscribers have learned how to prepare for a smooth transition to retirement through this regular feature. 

Questions? Please email Erin Koeppel, Managing Director, Government Relations and Public Policy Counsel or Guneev Sharma, Senior Manager, Government Relations and Public Policy.