As a fiduciary financial advisor in Charleston, Holland Capital helps federal employees who are five to ten years from retirement choose a target year, build the TSP and fit the rest of the household savings into one plan while there is still time to adjust. We work with clients in Charleston by video and phone, and meet in person by appointment at the Regus center on Meeting Street.
Your federal retirement starts years before your last day at work.
The 2020 to 2024 Census estimates put Charleston at about 154,000 people. Joint Base Charleston and the Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic are among the area’s large employers.
If your pension will come from FERS, the Federal Employees Retirement System, and retirement is still several years off, most of the big choices are still open. How much you put in the TSP, whether you use the Roth TSP and which year you leave all shape what you will have.
Before you take advice on any of it, ask whether the advisor must put your interest first.
Picking a Target Year
Your FERS retirement date depends on your age and years of service. Your minimum retirement age (MRA) ranges from 55 to 57 by birth year.
The pension formula generally uses 1% of your high-3 average salary for each year of service. If you retire at 62 or later with at least 20 years, the rate generally rises to 1.1%. Because the benefit can change with your age and service, we compare two or three target years side by side. For more on how the system works, see FERS retirement planning.
Building the TSP
Your agency puts in 1% of your pay automatically and matches your own contributions up to another 4%. Contributing at least 5% of your pay captures the full agency match.
Past the match, the question is how much more to save and in what form. Roth TSP contributions are taxed now. Qualified withdrawals can be tax-free later. Traditional contributions lower your taxes today and are taxed when you withdraw them.
We compare your tax rate today with the rate you expect in retirement before choosing between them.
If You Served in the Military
Some federal employees with earlier active duty can make a deposit so that service counts toward the FERS pension.
If you receive military retired pay, the decision is more involved. We run the numbers for your situation before you decide.
The Rest of the Household Plan
The TSP is usually one part of the picture. A spouse’s 401(k), your IRAs, a brokerage account and the house all belong in the same plan.
With investment management, Holland Capital manages your savings outside the TSP and advises on your TSP fund mix.
How We Work with Clients in Charleston
Holland Capital Management is an independent registered investment adviser and a fiduciary. M. Chad Holland, CFA, CFP® works directly with clients and is responsible for the planning and advice.
Bring your latest leave and earnings statement, your TSP statement, any annuity estimate you have run, your Social Security statement and last year’s tax return. If you served in the military, bring your DD-214.
You leave with a written plan showing two or three target years, a TSP savings plan for each and the income each year would support.
The first conversation is free. If there is work worth doing after that, we will define the scope and cost before you decide whether to move forward.
Our offices are in Charlotte, North Carolina and Winter Park, Florida. We work with clients in Charleston primarily by video or phone. When an in-person meeting makes sense, we meet by appointment at the Regus center at 170 Meeting Street in downtown Charleston.
For clients whose investments we manage, accounts are held directly at Charles Schwab in the client’s own name. Holland Capital manages the investments but does not take custody of client assets. If a client ever needs in-person assistance from Schwab, the closest branch is in Mount Pleasant at 962 Houston Northcutt Boulevard.
We work with clients throughout South Carolina. You can see the other South Carolina communities we serve here.
Our what we do page explains how a planning engagement works.
RETIREMENT ENGINEERING™
The Order Matters
Five retirement decisions and why timing matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Is Holland Capital Paid?
We offer financial planning on a fixed-fee basis, subject to the scope of the engagement. Investment management is offered on a fee basis, generally calculated as a percentage of the assets we manage. When providing financial planning and investment advisory services, we act as a fiduciary. Holland Capital Management may also receive commissions when clients buy insurance through the firm. Those commissions create a conflict of interest, which we disclose in our Form ADV.
Why Plan Early with a Fiduciary on Your Side?
Holland Capital acts as a fiduciary when providing financial planning and investment advice. For a FERS employee, that covers the target year, the TSP and the savings outside it together.
If a recommendation would raise what we earn, such as rolling TSP money into an account we manage, you hear that from us first.
Where Can We Meet in Charleston?
At the Regus center at 170 Meeting Street downtown, by appointment.
Shorter questions can be handled by video or phone.
Photo: Something Original / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.
