Wealth Management for Federal EmployeesRetirement Planning for Maryland Federal Employees
Turn your FERS pension, TSP and federal benefits into one clear retirement plan — built by a CFP® professional in Howard County.
You have spent a career serving the public. Now you have a retirement system with its own rules: a FERS annuity, a Thrift Savings Plan, FEHB, FEGLI, Social Security timing and, for some, an early-out offer with a deadline. Adair & Associates helps Maryland federal employees see how those pieces fit together, in plain English, so you can decide when you can retire and what your income will look like when you do.
Prefer to talk now? Call (443) 609-7727
CFP® professional · Securities and advisory services through LPL Financial · Serving Howard, Baltimore, Carroll and Anne Arundel Counties from Marriottsville, MD
Why Maryland Federal Employees Choose Adair & Associates
Federal retirement is not a 401(k) with a different name. It has its own eligibility rules, its own deadlines and its own tax treatment. Here is how we approach it.
We start with your benefits, not a product
Your first meeting is about your FERS eligibility date, your TSP balance and allocation, your FEHB and FEGLI elections and your Social Security timing. Recommendations come after we understand the whole picture.
A CFP® professional leads every plan
Hunter Adair, CFP®, RICP®, ChFC®, has worked in financial planning since 2002 and personally leads each client relationship. You will not be handed off to a call center.
Plain-English answers to the questions that matter
Can I retire at my MRA? What happens to my FEHB if I leave early? Should my TSP stay put or roll over? We answer in language you can repeat to your spouse at dinner.
Local, independent and here after you retire
We are based in Marriottsville, minutes from Fort Meade, Columbia, Ellicott City and the Baltimore beltway. Our process continues into retirement with ongoing reviews, distribution planning and tax-aware investing.
Facing a Retirement or Early-Out Decision?
Many Maryland federal employees are being asked to make big decisions on short timelines: a Voluntary Early Retirement (VERA) window, a buyout (VSIP) offer, a reorganization, or simply reaching their Minimum Retirement Age and wondering whether the numbers work. These offers can be a real opportunity or an expensive mistake, and the difference usually comes down to details that are easy to miss — when the FERS supplement actually starts, whether you keep FEHB, and how a TSP withdrawal before age 55 is taxed.
We help you run the numbers before the deadline, not after.
Questions we answer in your first meeting
- Am I eligible to retire now, at my MRA, or under an early-out — and what does each option pay?
- Will I qualify for the FERS Special Retirement Supplement, and when would it start and stop?
- Do I meet the five-year rule to carry FEHB into retirement?
- Should my TSP stay in the plan, roll to an IRA, or split — and what does that mean for penalties before 55?
- Is FEGLI still the right life insurance as premiums rise with age?
- How do my FERS annuity, TSP and Social Security combine into monthly income, and how is that taxed in Maryland?
Adair & Associates and LPL Financial are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, or any federal government agency. Federal benefit rules are subject to change; confirm eligibility and elections with your agency’s human resources office and OPM.
Maryland Federal Employees We’re Proud to Work WithMaryland is home to more than 160,000 federal civilian jobs, and about 269,000 Marylanders work for the federal government. Whatever your agency, your retirement usually falls into one of these situations.
Career federal civilians within 10 years of retirement
GS and wage-grade employees at agencies such as the Social Security Administration, NIH, FDA, CMS, NSA/Fort Meade, NIST, NOAA, NASA Goddard and Aberdeen Proving Ground who want to know their real retirement date and what their FERS annuity, supplement and TSP will pay.
How we help: a retirement income projection that puts your FERS, TSP and Social Security on one page.
Federal employees weighing an early-out, buyout or career change
Employees offered VERA or VSIP, facing reorganization, or considering a move to the private sector or a contractor role before their planned date, who need to know what leaving early does to their pension, health coverage and TSP access.
How we help: a side-by-side comparison of leaving now versus staying, before your deadline.
Federal retirees, survivors and dual-income federal households
Recent retirees managing TSP withdrawals and required distributions, spouses coordinating two federal pensions, military-to-civilian employees with a service-credit deposit decision, and survivors sorting out annuity elections.
How we help: ongoing distribution, tax and estate planning so retirement income lasts.
Federal contractors and mission partners
Employees of the defense, intelligence and health contractors clustered around Fort Meade, Columbia and the I-270 corridor who have 401(k)s instead of FERS but face the same clearance-driven career and retirement timing questions.
How we help: coordinated planning across a 401(k), equity or bonus pay and a spouse’s federal benefits.
How We Help Maryland Federal EmployeesFour services, one coordinated plan. Everything is built around the benefits you already have.
Federal Benefits & Retirement Income Planning
We map your FERS annuity, the Special Retirement Supplement, Social Security timing and TSP withdrawals into a month-by-month income plan, including survivor benefit elections and what changes at 62 and again when required distributions begin. If you are on CSRS or CSRS Offset, we plan for those rules instead.
TSP & Investment Management
We review your TSP fund mix and Lifecycle fund choice against your retirement date, then help you decide whether to keep the TSP, roll to an IRA, or use both. Outside the TSP we manage portfolios through LPL Financial with tax-sensitive allocation, regular reviews and a diversification strategy matched to your risk tolerance.
Tax Planning for Federal Retirees
Federal retirement income is taxed differently at every layer. We coordinate withholding on your annuity, the timing of TSP and Roth conversions, and Maryland’s pension exclusion for qualifying retirement income once you reach 65 — and we work alongside your CPA.
Estate Planning & Insurance Review
We review your FEGLI coverage against private alternatives as premiums rise with age, coordinate TSP and annuity beneficiary designations with your will and trusts, and review long-term care options so your plan protects the people who depend on you.
How It WorksA structured process, so nothing about your federal benefits gets missed.
4. Setting Off, Then the Ongoing Journey
Once you choose a path, we implement it — investment allocation, TSP and rollover paperwork, withholding and beneficiary updates — and stay with you through retirement with regular reviews, distribution planning and tax-aware adjustments as rules and markets change.
Meet Hunter Adair, CFP®
Wealth Management Advisor and Partner, Adair & Associates · CFP®, RICP®, ChFC®, CASL®
Hunter Adair has worked in financial planning since 2002 and leads every client relationship at Adair & Associates personally. A lifelong Ellicott City resident, he has spent more than two decades helping Howard County families — many of them federal employees, contractors and dual-federal households — answer the question that matters most: when can I retire, and what will my income look like when I do?
Hunter holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and Retirement Income Certified Professional® designations, which focus specifically on turning savings and pensions into reliable retirement income. He is a graduate of West Virginia University and lives in Ellicott City with his wife, Chrissy, and their three children. Outside the office you will usually find him outdoors, often near the Chesapeake Bay.
Hunter is supported by a team with more than 45 years of combined industry experience, including Audrey Snyder, Director of Operations and Client Service, who has worked alongside Hunter since 2007 and is the person who will make sure your paperwork, transfers and questions never fall through the cracks.
“We’ve gained clarity concerning our entire financial picture, and confidence.” — Bob & Mary Lee Rose, clients
These statements are testimonials by clients of the financial professional as of 07/23/2023. The client has not been paid or received any other compensation for making these statements. These views may not be representative of the views of other clients and are not indicative of future performance or success.
Why a Maryland-Based Team Matters for Federal Retirement
Maryland has one of the largest federal workforces in the country. Federal employment touches every county in the state, from the NSA and Fort Meade campus in Anne Arundel County to the Social Security Administration and CMS in Baltimore County, NIH, FDA and NIST along the I-270 corridor, NASA Goddard in Prince George’s County and Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County. Howard County, in the middle of all of it, is where many of those employees live.
That matters for three reasons:
- We know the local retirement picture. Maryland does not tax Social Security benefits and offers a pension exclusion on qualifying retirement income at 65, but county income tax still applies and IRA withdrawals are treated differently from pension and TSP income. Those details change what “keep the TSP or roll it over” really costs a Maryland retiree.
- We have seen the local career paths. Federal-to-contractor moves, spouses at two different agencies, military service credit deposits, clearance-driven job changes — these are everyday situations in Howard, Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Carroll Counties, not edge cases.
- We are a short drive, not a call center. Our Marriottsville office is minutes from Columbia, Ellicott City, Clarksville, Eldersburg and Sykesville, roughly 20 minutes from Woodlawn and 30 minutes from Fort Meade. Meet in person or by video — your choice.
Serving federal employees across Howard County, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Anne Arundel County and Central Maryland, including Columbia, Ellicott City, Clarksville, Marriottsville, Eldersburg, Sykesville, Catonsville, Laurel, Odenton and Severn.
Find Out When You Can Retire
One 15-minute call is all it takes to start. Bring your questions — we will bring the plain-English answers.
Prefer to talk now? Call (443) 609-7727
No obligation. No sales pitch. Just a clear picture of your federal retirement.
Do you work with FERS and CSRS employees?
Yes. Most Maryland federal employees we meet are under FERS, but we plan for CSRS and CSRS Offset retirements as well.
Can you help me decide whether to take an early-out or buyout?
Yes. We compare leaving now versus staying — annuity, supplement, FEHB, TSP access and taxes — so you can decide before your deadline.
Should I move my TSP to an IRA?
It depends on your age, your withdrawal needs, Maryland tax treatment and the investment options you want. We walk through both sides; we do not assume a rollover is the answer.
Are you affiliated with OPM or my agency?
No. Adair & Associates and LPL Financial are independent of the federal government and are not endorsed by OPM or any agency.
Where are you located?
Marriottsville, MD, in Howard County, serving federal employees across Central Maryland in person or by video.
Video meetings are available for federal employees who cannot leave the office during the day.
Adair & Associates and LPL Financial are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, or any federal government agency. Federal benefit rules are subject to change; confirm eligibility and elections with your agency’s human resources office and OPM.
Visit Our Office
Address
Adair & Associates
2205 Warwick Way, Suite 300
Marriottsville, MD 21104
Phone
Fax
(443) 327-4485
Office Hours
Monday – Friday
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET