We break down another lesson learned from football that is applicable to federal retirement planning.
Hello readers. Welcome back to my series, “Don’t Miss These Three Federal Retirement Lessons from… Football?” Today we will dive into lesson #2: Discipline in the Face of Adversity Pays Off.”
The great Jerry Rice said, “Today I will do what others won’t so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.” That’s a great quote that almost begs for images of one more rep or an extra hour studying film. While such activities frequently contribute to enhanced output, I will chide you to also consider images that include forgoing some activities or behaviors in favor of a better outcome. I will pass on watching a movie in favor of going to bed early, for example.
I ALWAYS say that playing college football was one of the best things that happened for me. Discipline was instilled into my daily routine. Rise and shine for morning lift, then head off to classes for the day. Feeling a little draggy in the afternoon? No worries, it’s time for practice from 3-5:30pm. Add to that, four days a week for film, followed by homework (remember, it’s STUDENT athletes). Thank goodness for weekends, right? Well, then came gameday and Sunday walkthrough. That’s a pretty full schedule but it was also filled with synergistic behavior that helped us succeed.
Did we WANT to do all those things? Heck no! Did we do them anyway? Yes!
Do you have anxiety about financial stresses or your retirement? Good news, you have the tools to change that. Some are obvious activities, like increasing your TSP contribution as your income rises. Other examples include resisting the temptation to make emotionally based TSP allocation changes. Financial outcomes can be influenced by emotion, but wrangling our emotions can lead to better outcomes.
Let’s take a look from a different perspective. Discipline in the face of adversity can also mean staying the course with your federal career. We meet folks regularly who began their job with every intention of a long and productive career, but now are in the mode of, “How soon can I retire?” Adversity can also mean difficult bosses, budget cuts, hostile administrations, and false public perceptions.
Federal service can feel pretty unappreciated sometimes. Do not let that get in the way of your retirement plan and financial goals. For example, if your original plan was to retire at 62 or 65, and now you are exploring MRA, your retirement lifestyle may suffer. I’m not saying don’t retire at MRA. I am saying make that your plan (early), work toward it, and do not let external factors bump you off track.
Did I enjoy running sprints? (No, I was a defensive lineman.) Did I like being behind at halftime and the other team would be getting the ball first ?(NOOOOOO!) But did we have plans and strategies that we would follow to get through difficult times? You bet.
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If you have at least 20 years of service and you retire at age 62 or later, you will get a 10% bump to your pension for life. Don’t let work frustrations lead you to stop before you get that bump. Likewise, don’t let Fed rate increases or regional bank failures knock you out of your asset allocation and funding strategy for TSP. Stay with the plan and trust the process.
Solutions like this are simple, but not always easy. I get it.
Frustrated with that state of your Federal career? Maybe it’s time to grow. Perhaps adding a master’s degree to leverage mental capital. Difficult supervisor? Can you apply for a different position? Can you build a relationship with that manager? Find a way without compromising your integrity or work. More remote work, or part time perhaps, to get to 62.
If all else fails, have a plan for an early exit that preserves your options and maximizes your situation as you transition to a new employer.
Let’s wrap up with a well-known and much discussed adversity - market conditions. I believe that it is firmly part of the human condition to try to understand, control, or predict life and life events. And here’s where it gets very tricky, and the result can be very damaging. Sometimes we guess right. Yes, I said we guess right. The market, Congress, and the Fed do exactly what we predicted. Even worse, many times this behavior is combined with an investment or portfolio change that results in a good financial outcome. Again, that’s right, I’m categorizing guessing right, and having a positive financial outcome, as a bad thing.
Why? Because this type of behavior followed by a good outcome can embolden us. We may feel that “we are on to something.” This can lead to us making bigger “bets” based upon what we feel or even believe will happen. This raises the stakes to the point where our losses are outsized when we inevitably guess wrong. There is more empirical data today than ever before the shows that jumping in and out of the market, or making sharp portfolio changes because of short term volatility or conditions, will lead to lower returns over time.
I believe that the singularly most damaging element of market risk is human behavior. So, let’s understand that and have a plan to manage it.
Do the homework (or consult a CFP® or Fiduciary Advisor) to craft the correct allocation within your TSP (and outside accounts) based upon your ability to tolerate risk. Then stay with it. If you feel the need to do something, then rebalance.
What do I mean by this?
For illustrative purposes, let’s say your proper allocation consists of 40% C Fund, 20% S Fund, 10% G fund, 10% F Fund and 20% I Fund (NOTE: I am NOT making a recommendation here!!!!), and after a year, it now sits at 38% C Fund, 22% S Fund, 11% G fund, 8% F Fund and 21% I Fund. What do you do? Get out of F because it went down? No. Bring your percentages back to the original mix.
Modern Portfolio Theory posits that 95% of an investment portfolio’s returns come from getting the allocation right and maintaining it over time. Yet, the vast majority of people obsess over the factors that contribute to the mere 5% remainder. These may include perfect timing, hot tips, new offerings, etc.
My final thought for you is this: Unlike a football game with a final whistle, it is (almost) never too late to choose to adopt a better financial gameplan.
I hope you have found this second installment interesting and helpful. I’ll be back next time to wrap up with the third lesson. Additional investment makes all the difference.
Until then.
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