The Firehouse 457(b) Challenge
October is chock full of important observances. Fire Prevention Week. Cybersecurity Awareness Month. And fittingly, one that’s especially close to our hearts as retirement specialists for firefighters: National Retirement Security Month. Speaking of retirement security, unfortunately, most firefighter pensions replace only about 50–70% of your final working income³, and since you likely don’t qualify for […]
Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Lock Down Your Pension, 457(b), and Benefits Portals
Running into burning buildings isn’t the only risk firefighters face. In 2024 alone, Americans lost a record $16.6 billion to online scams, and a staggering 73% of adults have experienced some form of cyber attack or scam in their lifetime. An astounding 68% of Americans get scam calls at least weekly, and 28% get scam […]
Fire Prevention Week for Your Finances
You spend Fire Prevention Week teaching others how to stay safe. In that same spirit, let’s make sure your financial house is just as fireproof. After all, an unexpected expense shouldn’t turn into a five-alarm blaze that burns through your savings. A little prevention can keep a money spark from raging out of control. In […]
Smart DROP Timing: When to Enter and How Long to Stay
Let’s talk about Deferred Retirement Option Plans (DROPs) and timing, a topic as critical to a firefighter’s retirement as having the right gear on a call. Not all states or cities even offer DROP plans¹, but where they do exist, they’ve become incredibly popular. In Philadelphia’s fire department, for example, roughly 80% of eligible firefighters […]
Keeping Pace with Inflation: How Firefighters Can Protect Their Retirement Paychecks
9.1% – That’s how high U.S. inflation soared at one point in 2022, the steepest spike in 40 years1. You’ve hung up your helmet and boots, and now you’re living off your hard-earned pension. But there’s another kind of blaze to watch out for: inflation. Even in “normal” times, a 3% inflation rate means prices […]
Buying Back Your Time: When Purchasing Service Credit Pays Off for Firefighters
How much would you pay to retire a few years earlier? Firefighters in many departments have the option to do exactly that by purchasing “service credit” for the time they spent in the military or in other public service jobs. It sounds tempting; write a check now, add extra years to your pension record, and […]
Retirement Planning for Volunteer Firefighters
Nearly 70% of U.S. firefighters are volunteers, showing up for their neighbors for little or no pay. ¹ Yet only about 1 in 5 volunteer firefighters has any kind of retirement program to fall back on. ² Basically, most volunteers are on their own when it comes to retirement. You’re not in it for the […]
Roth-Only Catch-Ups Deferred: Roth Contributions for 60–63 Year Olds Now Start in 2026
Only about 15% of workers eligible for catch-up contributions actually take advantage of them, even though they can supercharge retirement savings¹. If you’re a firefighter over 50, those extra catch-up contributions let you stash more in your 457(b) or 401(k) each year. And if you’re in your early 60s, Congress even decided to boost your catch-up […]
Big Beautiful Bill: How Firefighters’ Retirements are Affected
By now, you’ve probably heard the buzz around the Big Beautiful Bill. It’s a massive federal law that rolled a bunch of changes into one package, from tax cuts to government reforms. But what does it actually do for firefighters like you? In short, it changes some tax rules and federal pension contributions in ways […]
Five Years Out: Last-Minute Financial Moves Before Firefighter Retirement
The average firefighter hangs up the helmet around age 52 – nearly a decade earlier than many other workers.[1] Yet, the typical firefighter’s pension often replaces only 50–70% of their working income. That means without extra planning, you could face a big income gap. The good news is that if you’re about 5–10 years from […]