"There’s No Excuse: Understand Your Benefits & Retire Happy" is an educational session designed to help federal employees avoid the most common—and expensive—mistakes made with benefits and retirement planning. Presented by a national SDFM corporate partner, this session walks attendees through the “Top 10 Mistakes Made by Federal Employees,” covering areas such as FEGLI costs, Thrift Savings Plan optimization, retirement income planning, survivor benefit elections, military service credit, and the importance of personalized benefits reviews. Learning Objectives: 1. Identify common and costly mistakes in federal benefits and retirement planning. Recognize the top errors federal employees frequently make—such as overpaying for FEGLI, failing to maximize the TSP match, and misunderstanding retirement distribution and survivor benefit options. 2. Understand how to better optimize key federal benefits programs Provide foundational knowledge on how FEGLI, TSP, pension planning, military service buy-backs, and survivor benefits work together, enabling them to make more informed decisions throughout their careers—not just at retirement. 3. Recognize the value of proactive planning and personalized benefits reviews Participants will learn why early planning, regular education, and personalized benefits and retirement analysis focus on increasing the likelihood of replacing desired income levels in retirement.