The FEDZONE contains all articles written by Ed Zurndorfer:
A former career Federal employee, Ed has published a staggering 1,200+ separate articles on Federal Benefits and Retirement!
Just “Google” his name, and you are likely to find a plethora of sites that contain his writings. Drawn to its mission to reach, teach
and serve Feds, Serving Those Who Serve is the only financial planning practice with which Ed has chosen to affiliate in over
20 years teaching. In addition to conducting Federal Benefits seminars for Serving Those Who Serve, you can find Ed’s
writings here on our blog in the FedZone, and on Fed-Soup, MyFederalRetirement, FederalNews Radio and NITP. He is a
member of the Maryland Society of Accountants, the National Association of Enrolled Agents, the International Society of
Certified Employee Benefits Specialists, the Financial Planning Association, the National Association of Health Underwriters,
and the Society of Financial Service Professionals. Since 1999, Ed has taught many thousands of Federal employees about
their benefits, in person and at Federal agencies all over the country. Ed is a true national treasure.
Since 2004, September has been designated as “life insurance awareness month” by the nonprofit organization Life Happens (https://lifehappens.org/). Life Happens is dedicated to helping consumers take personal financial responsibility through…
A recent FEDZONE column discussed the RMD rules for a spousal TSP beneficiary participant. This FEDZONE column discusses the beneficiary participant withdrawal rules when a non-spouse is designated as the…
A Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) participant is strongly advised to designate a TSP account beneficiary. By designating a TSP account beneficiary, a TSP participant has control and flexibility who will…
A Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) participant who has separated from federal service (either left federal service or retired from federal service) must begin to take TSP required minimum distributions (RMDs)…
In this episode, Dan and Ed explain what QCDs are and how they work with RMDs from traditional IRAs. They also discuss which retirement accounts allow QCDs, the timing considerations…
One of the provisions coming out of the recently passed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” of 2025 (OBBBA) has resulted in enhanced tax savings for some charitable donors, lowered tax…
Over the past five years, many federal employees and retirees have inherited IRAs from relatives and friends. But as a result of the passage of the original SECURE Act in…
In this episode, Dan and Ed explain the upcoming 2026 change requiring high-earning federal employees to make TSP “catch-up” contributions only to the Roth TSP. They also discuss how the…
By law, a Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) participant’s spouse has certain rights to the participant’s TSP account. These rules apply to withdrawals even if the TSP participant is separated from…
This is the third of four FEDZONE columns discussing the withdrawal options that are available to separated Thrift Savings Plan TSP) participants. In these columns, a “separated” participant means a…