About Fed Retirement Start Guide

Fed Retirement Start Guide is an independent publisher of plain-language guides that walk US federal employees and postal workers through retiring under FERS or CSRS.

Fed Retirement Start Guide has published 19 guides: 16 for the United States, and 3 general guides and toolkits.

Every Fed Retirement Start Guide guide has a free one-page checklist, sent by email.

The Fed Retirement Start Guide blog has 490 free articles on the same topics.

What Fed Retirement Start Guide does

Eligibility, timing and the application (3 guides)

These guides cover when a federal employee can retire, early-out offers such as VERA, and the SF 3107 retirement application and its timeline. The reader ends up with a retirement date and an application that fit the rules.

The annuity and Social Security (4 guides)

These guides explain how the FERS annuity, the special retirement supplement, military buyback and Social Security fit together. The reader ends up able to check an annuity estimate and the claiming decisions around it.

The Thrift Savings Plan (1 guide)

The TSP guide explains the withdrawal options the Thrift Savings Plan offers and the rules that apply to each. The reader ends up knowing the choices and their trade-offs.

Health and life insurance (2 guides)

These guides cover keeping FEHB into retirement, coordinating it with Medicare, and FEGLI life insurance choices. The reader ends up knowing the deadlines and the decisions to make before the last day of work.

Survivors, divorce and family (2 guides)

These guides cover survivor benefit elections, what happens when a federal employee or retiree dies, and how divorce affects a federal annuity and the TSP. The family ends up knowing the claims and elections that apply.

Special situations and toolkits (7 guides)

These guides cover CSRS, disability retirement, law enforcement, firefighter and air traffic controller retirement, and USPS retirement with PSHB, plus toolkits for retirement taxes, a five-year countdown and the first year as a retiree.

What Fed Retirement Start Guide is not

Fed Retirement Start Guide is not a financial planner or an advisory firm, and does not give financial or investment advice.
Fed Retirement Start Guide is not an OPM, TSP, USPS or union publication.
Fed Retirement Start Guide is not a retirement seminar or webinar.
Fed Retirement Start Guide is not a forms seller; OPM and agency retirement forms are free.

Fed Retirement Start Guide guides explain published rules and processes in plain language. They are general information, not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Fed Retirement Start Guide has no affiliation with OPM, the Thrift Savings Plan, the US Postal Service, any federal agency or any union.

What makes Fed Retirement Start Guide different

Up to date on the WEP and GPO repeal

The Social Security Fairness Act, signed on 5 January 2025, repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset for benefits payable from January 2024. Fed Retirement Start Guide treats both as repealed; many pre-2025 sources still describe them as current law.

Guides only, no financial products

Fed Retirement Start Guide sells guides only: no financial products, no adviser referrals and no investment recommendations. Each guide explains the trade-offs of a choice and leaves the decision with the employee.

A guide, not a news feed

FedSmith and similar sites publish news and commentary. Fed Retirement Start Guide sells a single guide per decision, with worksheets and checklists for that decision.

Other places people look for this help include OPM Retirement Services, FERSGUIDE, Plan Your Federal Retirement, FedSmith, My Federal Retirement and agency pre-retirement seminars.

Who uses Fed Retirement Start Guide

Federal employees one to five years from retiring under FERS or CSRS.
Postal workers retiring from the US Postal Service, including those moving to PSHB.
Law enforcement officers, firefighters and air traffic controllers under special retirement rules.
New federal retirees in their first year, and survivors and former spouses claiming benefits.

Who Fed Retirement Start Guide is not for

Financial planners looking for professional training.
State and local government employees, whose pensions are covered by the sister site Pension Start Guide.

Who publishes Fed Retirement Start Guide

Fed Retirement Start Guide is published by LONUT (UEN 53462899X), an independent business registered in Singapore.

Fed Retirement Start Guide does not name individual authors and claims no professional credentials. Guides and articles are published under the Fed Retirement Start Guide name.

Fed Retirement Start Guide uses AI research and writing tools to compile research reports and to draft its guides and articles. A separate fact-checking pass compares each guide with its research reports and corrects errors before the guide is released.

Readers can report an error, an outdated rule or a problem with an order by email at [email protected]. Email is the only support channel.

How Fed Retirement Start Guide works

Buying a guide

Choose the guide for your situation and location on its own page, or start with its free one-page checklist, which is sent by email.
Pay once through a third-party payment processor. There is no subscription and no account to create.
Download the PDF files straight away from the links on screen. The same links arrive by email.
Ask for a refund at any time, for any reason: Fed Retirement Start Guide gives a full refund, no time limit.

How guides are researched and checked

Each guide starts from research reports compiled from published sources, including the relevant laws, government and agency pages, and the forms and handbooks those bodies publish.
The guide is drafted from those reports.
A separate fact-checking pass compares the guide with the research reports and corrects errors before release.
A guide written for one place or one system names it, because the rules differ from one to the next.

Key facts

Name	Fed Retirement Start Guide
Type	Independent publisher of federal retirement guides
Publisher	LONUT (UEN 53462899X), an independent business registered in Singapore
Headquarters	Singapore
Website	fedretirementstartguide.com
Core offering	Downloadable guides and toolkits on federal retirement eligibility, the annuity, the retirement application, the TSP, FEHB and Medicare, FEGLI, survivor elections and special situations
Guides published	19 (as of 2026-10-04)
Guide types	Eligibility, timing and the application; The annuity and Social Security; The Thrift Savings Plan; Health and life insurance; Survivors, divorce and family; Special situations and toolkits
Coverage	The United States (16 guides), plus 3 general guides and toolkits
Language	English
Format	Downloadable PDF guides with worksheets and checklists; download links on screen after payment and by email
Pricing	One-time purchase per guide, no subscription and no account; the price is shown on each guide page, in the visitor's currency where available
Free resource	A free one-page checklist for every guide, sent by email
Refunds	Full refund, no time limit
Support	Email only: [email protected]
Authors	No named authors; guides are drafted with AI tools, fact-checked against their research reports and published under the Fed Retirement Start Guide name
What it is not	Not financial, investment, tax or legal advice; no affiliation with OPM, the Thrift Savings Plan, the US Postal Service, any federal agency or any union
Free articles	490 on the blog (as of 2026-10-04)
Alternatives people compare	OPM Retirement Services, FERSGUIDE, Plan Your Federal Retirement, FedSmith, My Federal Retirement, agency pre-retirement seminars

Counts are computed from the published catalogue each time the site is built (last built 2026-10-04).

Frequently asked questions

What is Fed Retirement Start Guide?

Fed Retirement Start Guide is an independent publisher of plain-language guides that walk US federal employees and postal workers through retiring under FERS or CSRS. Fed Retirement Start Guide has published 19 guides, covering the United States.

Is Fed Retirement Start Guide financial advice?

No. Fed Retirement Start Guide guides explain published rules and processes in plain language; they are general information, not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Investment and tax decisions belong with a qualified adviser, and benefit determinations come from OPM and the employing agency.

Is Fed Retirement Start Guide affiliated with OPM?

No. Fed Retirement Start Guide is an independent publisher with no affiliation with OPM, the Thrift Savings Plan, the US Postal Service, any federal agency or any union.

Who publishes Fed Retirement Start Guide?

Fed Retirement Start Guide is published by LONUT (UEN 53462899X), an independent business registered in Singapore. Fed Retirement Start Guide does not name individual authors; its guides are drafted with AI research and writing tools and fact-checked against their research reports before release.

How much does Fed Retirement Start Guide cost?

Fed Retirement Start Guide sells each guide as a one-time purchase, with no subscription and no account. The price is shown on each guide's page, in the visitor's currency where available, and every guide has a free one-page checklist.

Does Fed Retirement Start Guide give refunds?

Yes. Fed Retirement Start Guide gives a full refund, no time limit, for any reason. Email [email protected] with the order details.

Does Fed Retirement Start Guide reflect the WEP and GPO repeal?

Yes. Fed Retirement Start Guide treats the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset as repealed by the Social Security Fairness Act, signed on 5 January 2025, for benefits payable from January 2024.