Your Spouse Understands FERS, TSP, and NIH Benefits. Do You?

For decades, your spouse managed the federal retirement accounts. The TSP contributions. The FERS pension calculations. The NIH benefits and contractor stock options.

Now you're expected to negotiate a settlement that will determine what you live on for the rest of your life. You're supposed to understand survivor benefit elections, coverture fractions, and the difference between FERS and CSRS — in 6 months. While you're still in shock.

The spouse who controlled the federal benefits has every advantage. They know the TSP balance, the pension multiplier, the SES bonuses. They can make a terrible offer sound reasonable to someone who's never seen an SF-50.

Women over 50 face a 45% drop in standard of living after divorce. The gap between men (21% drop) and women isn't random — it's what happens when one spouse knows the money and the other doesn't.

You don't need to become a federal benefits expert overnight. You need someone in your corner who already is one — someone whose only job is making sure you understand what you're signing and what you'll actually live on.

Before You Agree to Anything — $97