Retirement for Federal Agents – Having options in retirement means you need to monitor this score!
When you retire from a life of service, we want you to have options. Optionality opens the door to many beautiful things like giving, doing work you love, volunteering, traveling, and supporting loved ones to name but a few. As a human being, you may never be as fulfilled as you will be when you’re standing on the precipice of entering a world full of personal options. Retirement for Federal Agents always means giving yourself options. Saving enough into retirement accounts is a simple formula for getting you to Financial Independence. To paraphrase the great financial writer Morgan Housel, the highest dividend that you’ll receive from money is an ability to do what you want, when you want, with who you want for as long as you want.
Why is Qualified Term (Qt) so critically important?
Qualified Term is a measure we use to bring your future self into the here and now. The Qt score indicates the number of years you could live on your current qualified retirement assets. This means living at your current lifestyle. It’s a simplified methodology that allows you to get oriented to where your retirement assets are today. You can then start to see whether or not you are putting enough money toward retirement accounts. Or you can see if you need to level-up your game and save more. We also need to be sure you are putting your retirement money into the right accounts.
Qt is another key indicator of your current financial wellness. It’s valuable to know this score right now, but it’s also important to monitor over time so that you get an idea of which financial behaviors affect your Qualified Term (Qt) score for the long run.
For example, putting an extra $100 per pay period into your Thrift Savings Plan will certainly drive up your Qt score instantly. Your Scorecard will change in front of your eyes and you’ll visually see the effects of your positive financial behavior (i.e., saving more to a qualified account). This is super motivating and can keep you moving in a great financial direction.
Examples of what counts toward Qualified Term (Qt)
We include accounts that will have the potential for a tax penalty upon an early or non-qualified withdrawal. These accounts include:
- Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) – Roth & Traditional
- Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) – Roth & Traditional
- Minor IRAs – Roth & Traditional
- 401(k) Plans – Roth & Traditional
- 403(b) & 457 Plans
- Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
- 529 Education Plans (a piece of your retirement puzzle)
- Defined Benefit Plans (your Federal Pension!)
It all counts toward your Qt score! If you are contributing to even one of the above then you are doing a great job. It means you’ve already taken up the fight for your Financial Independence. If you feel like you want to do a little better in the area of saving, then today is the day! You are resilient, strong and a leader for you and yours – make today the day you learn more about each of these investment accounts that are available to you.
Understanding your Qualified Term (Qt) score is key to understanding whether or not you are saving enough for retirement. For us, it’s one of the key elements in building Financial Scorecards for our clients.
Charles Michael Financial serves Federal Agents. It’s the ONLY registered financial planning firm in the nation built specifically for that purpose. We are customized to you. Our cutting edge software captures all the items that go into a Qt score. This is a huge win for our Federal Agent financial planning clients. We even use this software in our MoneyArmor™ Membership coaching platform.
What do you use to calculate your Qualified Term (Qt)? Advanced financial software or the back of a bar napkin? Either way, get an accurate Qt score so you can get better oriented to your money!
Click below and get a peek inside the Qualified Term Report for Wyatt & Josephine! You must start to believe that you are UNSTOPPABLE in the Battle for Financial Independence!
Be the Hero for You and Yours!
