The Foreign Service Journal, April 2023

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2023 47 John K. Naland is the AFSA retiree vice president. He is a former director of the Office of Retirement at the Depart- ment of State. RETIREMENT SUPPLEMENT R etirement planning does not end when you turn in your diplomatic passport and agency ID card. Below are a dozen topics that Foreign Service retirees should review from time to time to determine if course corrections are needed in their retirement plans. 1. Review Investment Allocations. If you depend on the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), Individual Retirement Accounts, and/or other financial investments to fund a portion of your retirement spend- ing, then you should occasionally review the risk-versus-reward balance of those investments. A key factor is your time horizon. If you or your survivor’s life expectancy makes it likely that 20 or more years from now one or both of you may depend on TSP A helpful list of things to do to make sure your retirement plan stays on track, even after you turn in your diplomatic passport. BY JOHN K . NALAND Reviewing Your Retirement Plan 12 Things to Do more stocks in your TSP portfolio. 2. Keep Informed. What you don’t know can hurt you when it comes to rules, procedures, and deadlines for fed- eral retirement benefits. So exercise due diligence by staying informed. Be sure to review the Department of State’s Foreign Service Annual Annuitant Newsletter posted online at https://RNet. state.gov under the “What’s New?” tab. An updated version is posted each November. AFSA, of course, offers a wealth of benefits guidance. Check out the Retire- ment Services web page at https://afsa. org/retirement, the first 25 pages of the AFSA Directory of Retired Mem- bers mailed to retirees each December, and occasional emails including the bimonthly AFSA Retirement Newsletter. See the text box on page 52 for a list of essential references. 3. Use Online Services. While logging in can be a challenge due to the recent change in procedures to defend against hackers, you can save yourself time if you maintain access to your Annuitant Employee Express account instead of having to call or email to request infor- income to live on, then investing mostly in stocks will protect the funds’ purchas- ing power from erosion by inflation. But if your time horizon is shorter, and you are currently drawing down those funds to live on, then holding a good portion in bonds will protect that nest egg in the event of a major stock market decline. As you weigh the best balance, keep in mind that you already have a func- tional equivalent of a large bond in the form of your federal pension that gener- ates continuing payments like a bond does. Monthly Social Security checks do the same thing. That guaranteed base of income gives you the option of including ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/NUTHAWUTSOMSUK