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<\/a><\/p>\n Tom Temin<\/a>@tteminWFED<\/a><\/p>\n \n May 18, 2026 3:55 pm <\/p>\n 5 min read<\/p>\n Untold number of federal employees have retired during the second Trump administration. I say \u201cuntold\u201d because the AI-generated estimates fall over the map. But it\u2019s way north of 100,000. Many simply went ahead with planned retirement. Too many were forced out. It\u2019s all been well documented.<\/p>\n Having just passed one year of retirement, I\u2019m finding \u201cretirement\u201d itself is a really vague word. At one extreme is someone I know, whom I won\u2019t identify further. This person essentially walks the old dog and goes to the supermarket.<\/p>\n A better word for what I\u2019m doing, and what I see a lot of federal retirees doing: post full-time, part-time employment. Ungainly, but accurate. You might call it phased retirement.<\/p>\n I\u2019m still part-time at Federal News Network. That plus a few steady 1099 gigs means I\u2019m having a schedule that\u2019s actually a bit more crowded than I wish.<\/p>\n ]]><\/p>\n By schedule, therefore, I don\u2019t mean having lunch with other old men or going to the gym at 11 when it\u2019s less crowded. My lunch today is with the president of a major association. I don\u2019t waste time going to gyms and dealing with schlepping and parking. Anyway, isn\u2019t everyone else in a gym obnoxious? A pandemic-era splurge on a Peloton bike plus a nice row of dumbbells and a big TV form our 24-hour home gym right downstairs.<\/p>\n Plus, I\u2019m president of a tiny non-profit I\u2019m hoping to grow.<\/p>\n Ironically, I\u2019ve been commissioned writing a series of pieces on federal retirement and disability planning. Substitute the Thrift Savings Plan with an IRA and the Office of Personnel Management with SAG-AFTRA, and I\u2019ve got a lot in common with retired feds.<\/p>\n A few things I\u2019ve learned in the year since I stepped away from hosting\u00a0The Federal Drive:<\/p>\n When you read about retirement planning, pay attention. You must have a plan for retirement. Most feds I\u2019ve encountered, unless they have a severe disability or urgent family needs, want to do something professionally-related after they retire from the government. Your plans won\u2019t gel precisely the way you want. Rather, by being mindful about it, you\u2019ll end up in a good place, even if not to the letter of what you planned. The point of retirement is to have more freedom than you had working fulltime for a single employer. Expect your perspective, your psyche, to change.<\/p>\n Embrace it. Reaching 65, 70 or beyond, you\u2019ll find your experience contains that of the young. They don\u2019t know what they don\u2019t know. In fact, mentoring or advising young people can be quite rewarding. Just don\u2019t be smug about it. The Gen Zers are smart, talented and committed, no less than any other generation. Some of them even have a sense of humor. They\u2019re a blast to be around, and they\u2019re also open to learning from you. Just don\u2019t preach, pontificate or patronize.<\/p>\n A few other thoughts:<\/p>\n ]]><\/p>\n If you liked what you did, expect to miss it and the people you worked with. I miss the WTOP\/FNN newsroom and its denizens. That doesn\u2019t make me regret the choice to retire, not at all. It\u2019s an \u201cand,\u201d not a \u201cbut,\u201d situation. Copyright
\nIf you choose to phase into retirement, as I did, stop saying, \u201cI\u2019m bad at retirement,\u201d or \u201cI failed at retirement.\u201d People get tired of that weirdly boastful expression, as they are of people professing to be \u201cType A.\u201d What you mean is, \u201cI made choices that fulfill my need to remain connected, active and using my skills. Even if not working fulltime.\u201d Retirement comes in many flavors.
\nHave a financial plan. If you are younger than 73, you likely will want to do paid things if only to put off withdrawals from your TSP until you are legally required to.
\nOPM is notoriously slow at processing annuities. So have your paperwork in order three months before you plan to retire. I didn\u2019t deal with OPM, but I did deal with SAG-AFTRA, the union of which I\u2019m still a member and from which I receive an annuity. Such organizations are well meaning, but they\u2019re bureaucratic and compliance-oriented. So these things take time. Plan for it. You need to ensure the income streams of retirement begin flowing when you want them.
\nPay attention to habits \u2014 sleep, food, exercise, drinking, those sorts of things. By retirement age, your health and fitness need regular attention. In my house, the television is never on before evening. We take turns in the home gym pretty much every morning. Live your own life, but do it intentionally.<\/p>\n
\nEven in phased retirement, don\u2019t be a monk. Or a bore. Enjoy things. Try something new, or rekindle something for which the fire has gone out. My interest in photography has revived. I bought a digital camera the intricacies of which I am learning. I may even take up film again. It\u2019s having a revival, sort of like vinyl records.
\nEvery day is not Saturday, as people commonly say. But its great being able to have dinner parties or go do evening events any night of the week without having to worry about tomorrow morning. One of the best things about semi-retirement: Going to restaurants on Tuesday or Wednesday night and pretending it\u2019s a pre-retirement Saturday.
\nDon\u2019t avoid necessary concessions to age. For instance, I got hearing aids. Notwithstanding they are practically invisible nowadays, I tell people what a gamechanger they are. I\u2019d no idea how dull my hearing had become. My ENT said, \u201cDo it for your brain.\u201d Turns out hearing loss is a big factor in loss of balance, slower movement and dementia. So I did it for my brain before any of that happens. You earned that gray, those wrinkles. Embrace them.<\/p>\n
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