TJ is out of touch. Reagan changed civil service in 1984. All who joined the federal service since then are in the same Social Security retirement system as every other working American. No more retire at an early age with 30 years service and get 60% of your high 3 for the rest of your life.

When I retire I'll be eligible for SS (if it's still around), a small annuity pension both I and the gov't pay into (I guess it's like a SS supplement), and my TSP (Thrift Savings Plan) that's like a limited 401 K. Which is one reason I am still working. The TSP is the bigger part of my retirement, and after the hits it's taken, continuing to work seems like my best plan. The health care plan is probably the best part, since in retirement I will be able to stay in my same plan and pay the employee share, same as while working. State workers can stay in their plan, but have to pay the entire premium.

I encounter retired folks all over, from both public and private sectors, and they all seem to have been in the right place at the right time, with their good pensions, RVs, condos, etc. My buy high, sell low strategy keeps me driving a car that gets decent mileage, pulling a 16' Lund, and camping on gravel bars with grizzly bears when I'm able to fly to a fishing destination, unless it's the tropics. Then I rent a thatched roof hut.