Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.
Welcome to Reyna Retirement. Reyna Reyes has dedicated her career to helping people make smarter financial decisions. Reyna Retirement is all about breaking down complex financial concepts into language you can actually understand. Now here's the co founder of American Federal Benefits Consultants, Reyna Reyes.
[00:00:40] Speaker B: What's the word of the day? Vera. What's the other word of the day? Vsip. What's the other word of the day? Retirement. And what's the other word of the day? How old are you and how many years of service are you? Yes, that's a lot of words. But here's the thing. Many people are looking at these options coming down the pike for their agency. Have we been scheduled for a vera? Yes. Are we being offered a vsip? Yes. Is it worth it for me? Maybe. I don't know. Let's do the numbers. First of all, if you haven't scheduled with me or my team, you need to do that like yesterday because we can help you do those numbers first of all objectively, because we don't have a dog in this fight other than we want what's best for you and we want to see all sides of this.
Second, if you're doing the math on your own, you very well could have it right, but you very well could be barking up the wrong number tree. So again, that's why having a meeting can be worth it, right? So I've had some people through different channels say to me, oh, but if I take the Vera, I'm gonna have a reduction. Well first of all, remember a Vera protects you from a reduction. So if you're eligible for the vera at age 50 with 20 years of service or more, or any age with 25 years of service, then you're eligible for a voluntary early retirement authority offer, which means ain't got no reduction, they're not going to reduce your money. So if you have 28 years of service, you're going to get 28% of your high 3 salary. Yay. There's your math. Shabam. What do we have for her? Johnny? No, I'm kidding. So that's leg one and the pension will not be reduced at all, but leg two. Remember like I've said, if you are under your minimum retirement age, you will not get a supplement until you reach it, you will not get a supplement until you reach it. So I keep seeing comments and responses and people telling me I'm going to get a reduction. We need to use the same terminology. You're not getting a reduction. That's the point of Avera. But they're saying, oh no, no, no, no. I'm comparing to if I kept working until my MRA or until age 60 or until, good grief, 65 or 67. So let's just set a precedent right now. Absolutely. If you just kept working, your pension is going to be higher. Of course, anytime you stop working, you're stopping your pension from growing. Just like Social Security. When you turn on Social Security, it's not going to be bigger next year based on a drc, which is a delayed retirement credit, it's not going to get bigger. Now, obviously a COLA Cost of living adjustment, it'll increase by that. But once you turn it on, it is what it is, or as the Spanish say, socks. So that's something you want to consider because by turning it on, yes, you've locked in what that number is going to be, but you've also got a locked in pension that most of us Joe Schmoes don't get. And this is not to say, look how good you got it. I already did that video. But leg one pension with a Vera, it's not going to be reduced, it's less than if you kept working, clearly. But no reduction. So that's definitely something to consider. Now I even had a gentleman I spoke with literally yesterday and for the past week because he's 82 and finally retiring because his supervisor says you can't do your job anymore. Well, you're 82 right now. 82 year olds can do all kinds of things. I used to surf in pensacola with an 82 year old who served still then way better than me. So 82 year olds can do great things, but this guy wants to keep working, wants to keep working. So it's the same thing as, oh, if I kept working, my pension's bigger. He wants to keep working to make his pension bigger. He's been receiving Social Security for a decade. So I'm telling you, there's always going to be the greener grass. If you keep working, there's always going to be more money. But then you got to teeter the totter and let me turn into my retirement therapist, let me pull the couch out, lay down. How does that make you feel? And say, okay, you can teeter the totter. Quality of life, quantity of money. And you don't want to sacrifice one for the other because the longer you keep working, of course, the bigger your pension is. But then you want to live to enjoy it. So you didn't ask for all of that, but you got it. If you need to do some numbers for the VERA or the VSIP or retirement or pension or Social Security or TSP planning, reach out to me and my team. Let's get scheduled, let's talk, let's make a plan, and let's have fun doing it. We'll talk to you soon.
[00:05:24] Speaker A: Thanks for listening to Reyna Retirement. With a strong commitment to ethical standards, Reyna works hard to find the right solution for each individual or family who reaches out for advice. To contact Reyna directly, call 850-450-6500. That's 850450 6500. Or to reach the team at American Federal Benefits Consultants, call 1-800-872-8857. That's 1-800-872- 8857. You can also go online to americanfederal.org not affiliated with the United States Government. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. These opinions are not intended as investment advice, nor do they predict future performance of any product. All information provided is believed to be from reliable sources. However, we make no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of any statement. The information is intended to be educational in nature and does not provide a guarantee or specific result. All copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. American Federal Benefits Consultants is an independent organization, not a government agency or affiliated with the Federal Government or any state government. The terms CSRs, FERs, FELI, and FEHB are all registered trademarks of the U.S. office of Personnel Management. American Federal Benefits Consultants, agents, consultants, or any independent contractors do not provide tax, legal or investment advice and do not engage in the solicitation or sale of securities. Consult with your tax advisor or attorney regarding specific situations.
