Before you start
Your review takes about an hour, on Zoom, Teams, or by phone. The documents below let Mary work from your real numbers instead of estimates.
If you cannot find something, come anyway. A missing document is not a reason to wait.
Print this checklistThe checklist
Why these documents matter
Your pay stub
It shows your salary, what you put into the TSP each pay period, your health plan, and your life insurance coverage. One page answers a lot.
Your SF-50
It records your service dates and the retirement system you are under. Both shape your pension, so it is worth checking that they are right well before you retire.
Your TSP statement
It shows your balance and how it is split between traditional and Roth money, which are taxed differently when you take them out.
Your Social Security statement
It shows your earnings record and estimates of your benefit at different ages. You can download it from ssa.gov.
Your beneficiary forms
Your TSP, your FEGLI life insurance, and your pension each have their own beneficiary form, and they can say different things from your will. Life changes, such as a marriage, a divorce, or a loss, are easy to miss on these forms.
Bring your spouse
Many decisions in federal retirement affect your spouse for the rest of their life, the survivor benefit most of all. If you are married, invite your spouse to your review. It is free for both of you.
This checklist is general. Your agency, your plan, and your history may call for other documents, and Mary will tell you if she needs anything else.