Many people consider Michelangelo’s statue of David to be the most perfect sculpture ever. It was done in the early 1500s and stands 10 feet tall. Pretty impressive. Yet a friend of mine, Bill B, claims that his brother in-law, who has seen it in the flesh, thinks the masterpiece is overrated. After studying it for a few minutes, he concluded that virtually anybody could have done it. “All you have to do,” brother-in-law-said, “is get a really good piece of marble, then chip away all the pieces that don’t look like David.” Of course he’s right. Up to a point! But he’s leaving out some importan ..read more

Listen to the final Your Turn with Mike Causey show. It’s a special tribute to Mike, who passed away in late September 2022, hosted by Federal Drive anchor Tom Temin and executive editor Jason Miller. Current and former Federal News Network colleagues and long-time guests of Your Turn will join this hour-long, commercial-free discussion about Mike’s impact on the federal community, share stories and memories of a man who impacted all of us with his wit, his knowledge and his desire to share and explain the intricacies of the federal world. Guests include: FNN General Manager Joel Oxley WTOP Pr ..read more

In many ways, the way you handle your final affairs will determine how your family and friends remember you. So it’s important to get it right. Years ago, my uncle died and left his large, 700-plus acre farm (for comparison, New York’s Central Park is about 840 acres) to his daughter. Not his wife. On purpose. Or so he thought! He knew exactly what he was doing! That is, he thought he knew what he was doing. But instead of making a postmortem point, he messed up. Big time. It was not his first will. Nor (maybe) his last. That’s because he wrote wills all the time. Sometimes to punish some indi ..read more

Have you got what it takes to make the final cut, and maybe become a contestant on the popular TV show Jeopardy? Maybe become a millionaire? Interested? Take this test. If you dare… What weighs 990 million pounds, is worth $743 billion and has 6.6 million units found in every country of the world, every U.S. state, as well as Greenland and Antarctica. Oh, also in outer space. Correct answer: What is the federal Thrift Savings Plan, Uncle Sam’s in-house 401k for active and retired civil servants and government officials, and members of the military? The TSPs’ governing body, the Federal Retirem ..read more

After one of the best, longest bull market runs in history, the continuing downhill trajectory of the stock market has lots of investors wondering what — if anything — they could and should be doing. At a time of an evolving pandemic, an expanding European war and major climate concerns, at first glance the answer is: probably not much! For many investors, the Thrift Savings Plan will provide anywhere from one-third to half their income in retirement. Assuming, of course, there is income! So what should you do, or not do? We’ll find out today on our Your Turn show with guest host Arthur Stein ..read more

If an IRS agent calls you at home or office and asks you to send him or her a gift card, don’t do it! Even if you owe money, that is not the correct (or legal) way to get back in Uncle Sam’s good graces! By the same token if someone from a nature fund or a save-the-kittens group asks for a donation, check them out BEFORE you send a check. When a company advertises it can reduce your tax bill by tens of thousands of dollars put a cold cloth on your head and lie down until the urge to respond is gone. All of the above, plus some things you wouldn’t dream up, are part of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen lis ..read more

If you are working, retired, building a nest egg or living off one, these are tough emotional times. If you want good news, you’ve learned to avoid the financial news or stock market reports. Also national news, international news and, if you are a baseball fan in certain cities like Washington, D.C., you avoid the sporting news, too. Hopefully you have a good cable package and a personality that lets you sort and live with the good news vs. the not-so-good-news. Which is the purpose of today’s Your Turn radio show: It’s a double-header on the good, the bad and the ugly. We are going to try to ..read more

When is the last time you and your significant other took a romantic weekend to rekindle the fire? And spent most of the time, at the beach or in the mountains, talking about the pros and cons of an irrevocable trust? Wild guess: How about … never? Although vitally important in some cases, irrevocable trusts are sort of like heel spurs or picking kitchen paint colors as a topic of extended conversation. And yet … There may come a time in your family’s life when having the should-I-have-a-trust conversation is critical. Whether you did it, or especially if you didn’t do it but should have! All ..read more

When Social Security was launched in 1935, the average life expectancy for men was 59.9 years and 63.9 for women. Full benefits started at 65, so do the math! It sounded almost like a safe, government-guaranteed Ponzi Scheme, minus the scheme part. But times have changed. The bad news, from an actuarial basis, is that we are living longer. A lot longer. A growing number of people are and will spend more time in retirement, getting Social Security, than they did working and paying into it. Again, do the math! Optimists predict Congress will fix it. Maybe make millionaires pay Social Security ta ..read more

Retirement benefits for career feds and military personnel will be based on their length of service and salary. Unlike the vast majority of private pension plans, the federal-military programs are protected from inflation. Benefits will come from three sources: The federal/military annuity or retired pay, Social Security and the TSP. Which makes it so important to everybody. The TSP could supply one-third or more of the spending money retirees will have. So far, so good! But every top has a bottom, right? Arthur Stein, a D.C.-area financial planner, has been tracking the TSP for clients for de ..read more