Federal Retirement Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make | Rayna Reyes

Federal retirement benefits can be incredibly valuable—but one seemingly small election can affect your pension, health insurance, survivor benefits, or what happens to your money after you’re gone. In this episode of Take Pride in Retirement, Josh joins me as I talk with my friend and colleague Rayna Reyes, a federal retirement specialist and co-founder of American Federal Benefits Consultants. Rayna helps federal and postal employees understand how their benefits work and how to prepare for the transition from employee to retiree. In our conversation, we discuss: • Why federal retirement planning can become complicated so quickly • Common planning mistakes made by federal employees and other retirees • How pensions, Social Security, the TSP, health insurance, and life insurance fit together • Why a survivor-benefit election may also affect a spouse’s continued health coverage • What couples should consider when only one partner is a federal employee • Why beneficiary designations are especially important for unmarried LGBTQ+ partners • The roles of wills, powers of attorney, and trusts in protecting the people you love • What to do if you are within five years of retirement and are not completely sure you are ready Rayna also brings her signature humor—and proves there really may be a song for every retirement-planning situation. FEDERAL RETIREMENT RESOURCES American Federal Benefits Consultants: https://americanfederal.org ---- No matter who you are, where you come from or who you love, you deserve a retirement you can take pride in! Licensed fiduciary financial advisor Matt McClure hosts Take Pride in Retirement with these core principles in mind. Listen to Previous Episodes: https://takeprideinretirement.com/   Connect with Matt: https://takeprideinretirement.com/#co...   Subscribe to our YouTube Page:    / @takeprideinretirementshow   Take Pride in Retirement is proud to be named one of the top Pride podcasts on the internet by FeedSpot. For more, go to https://blog.feedspot.com/pride_podcasts   About Take Pride in Retirement: Take Pride in Retirement is a podcast dedicated to retirement planning solutions for the LGBTQ community. Host Matt McClure, a licensed fiduciary financial advisor, shares strategies to protect your hard-earned money while pursuing market-like growth. Matt holds the RSSA® credential as a Registered Social Security Analyst®, helping clients optimize their Social Security filing strategies to potentially increase lifetime income. He’s also a Certified Annuity Specialist® (CAS®), a designation earned through a 135+ hour graduate-level program in fixed-rate and variable annuities from the Institute of Business & Finance. Based in Georgia with his husband and two dogs, Matt spent over a decade in New York City, working with The Wall Street Journal Radio Network, NY1, and WCBS Newsradio 880. A career highlight includes reporting from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, professional singing and acting #lgbtqretirement #finance #moneymotivation #investing #money #retirement #lgbtq #lgbt #gayretirement