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The Federal Benefits Blueprint
Benefits don't create great retirements. The right decisions do.
Your FERS pension, TSP, Social Security, health coverage, survivor benefits, taxes and retirement income do not work separately. A decision about one can affect several others—and ultimately determine how much dependable, after-tax income you have available in retirement.
The Federal Benefits Blueprint provides the plain-English education you need to see how the pieces connect, ask better questions and make informed decisions that can serve one clear, coordinated retirement plan.
KNOWING THE NUMBERS IS NOT ENOUGH
Information Is Not a Retirement Plan.
You may know your pension estimate, TSP balance and Social Security benefit. But those numbers alone cannot tell you how much dependable, after-tax income you may have available, how long your savings may need to last or how one decision could affect the rest of your retirement.
A clear retirement plan begins when you see how the pieces work together—and recognize the decisions that connect them.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Put Your Federal Benefits to Work. Not Individually. Together.
The Federal Benefits Blueprint moves beyond a list of rules and benefit descriptions. It shows you where the most important decisions arise, how those decisions may affect one another and what to consider before choosing a direction.
KEEP MORE OF WHAT YOU EARN
See how benefit elections, taxes and payroll decisions may affect your take-home pay—both now and in retirement.
BUILD A STRONGER RETIREMENT
Learn how your FERS pension, TSP, Social Security and personal savings can work together to provide dependable income while supporting long-term growth.
PROTECT THE PEOPLE WHO DEPEND ON YOU
Consider how health coverage, life insurance and survivor-benefit decisions may affect your spouse and family during retirement and after your death.
MAKE INFORMED, COORDINATED DECISIONS
Recognize the questions that deserve attention, avoid decisions made in isolation and begin bringing the pieces together into one clear retirement plan.
WHY THIS BOOK EXISTS
Federal Employees Receive Rules. They Rarely Receive a Roadmap.
Federal employees have access to a valuable collection of retirement and insurance benefits. Yet those benefits are usually explained separately rather than as parts of one connected system.
You can know the individual rules without seeing how your benefits affect one another—or what a decision in one area may cause elsewhere.
After years of working with federal employees, John Mashburn saw the same gap again and again: no one had shown them how their benefits work together or how the decisions they make throughout their careers may shape their financial futures.
The Federal Benefits Blueprint was written to close that gap. It brings the major pieces into one plain-English resource so federal employees can ask better questions, make more informed decisions and begin building a retirement plan designed to support the life they want to live.
MEET THE AUTHOR
The Experience Behind the Book
About The Author
John L. Mashburn is a Federal Retirement Consultant (FRC℠), author of The Federal Benefits Blueprint, founder of Federal Benefit Experts and an owner of Maranatha Wealth Management.
For more than 20 years, John has worked in retirement and benefits education, including the past decade focused specifically on federal employees. His work has given him a firsthand view of the questions federal employees ask, the decisions they struggle with and the costly disconnects that can occur when benefits and financial decisions are not coordinated.
John wrote The Federal Benefits Blueprint to give federal employees the practical education he believes they should receive before making important decisions about their benefits and retirement.
His approach is built around one guiding principle:
Benefits don't create great retirements. The right decisions do.
John lives in Little River, South Carolina, with his wife, six children and a dog named Fenway.
CONTINUE THE JOURNEY
Three Resources. One Clear Path Forward.
The Federal Benefits Blueprint, Federal Benefit Experts and Maranatha Wealth Management share one guiding belief: better financial outcomes begin with better-informed decisions.
START WITH THE BOOK
The Federal Benefits Blueprint gives you the educational foundation to see how your benefits connect, recognize the decisions that matter and begin thinking about retirement as one coordinated plan.
CONTINUE YOUR EDUCATION
The Federal Benefit Experts website and YouTube channel provide plain-English videos, articles and educational resources covering federal benefits, retirement income, healthcare, taxes and the decisions that connect them.
Explore how the general information may apply to your specific situation through a personalized review of your benefits, retirement timeline, goals and questions.
APPLY IT TO A COMPLETE FINANCIAL PLAN
For individuals and families who want one plan that puts everything together and addresses the retirement challenges they face, Maranatha Wealth Management provides comprehensive financial planning and advisory services.
Reach Out Directly
© Federal Benefit Experts. All rights reserved.
Federal Benefit Experts provides educational information for federal employees and is not endorsed by or affiliated with OPM, the TSP or any federal government agency. Financial planning and advisory services are provided separately through Maranatha Wealth Management. Information on this website is general in nature and should not be considered individualized financial, tax or legal advice.