By profession

Retirement planning by profession

Some professions have retirement rules that change the standard conventional-wisdom math by a lot — public-school teachers facing WEP/GPO Social Security offsets, federal employees with the FERS three-leg stool, military with the BRS-vs-legacy decision, self-employed weighing Solo 401(k) vs SEP-IRA. These ten guides cover the profession-specific levers + a calculator preset that uses median-salary defaults for each.

Teacher
State pensions, 403(b), WEP/GPO offsets — the SS picture varies wildly by state.
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Registered nurse
Hospital 403(b) or 401(k), HSAs, the math of picking up extra shifts.
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Military service member
Blended Retirement System, TSP, SBP decision, VA disability.
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Federal employee
FERS three-leg stool: pension + Social Security + TSP. MRA + 10 retirements.
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Firefighter
457(b) early-withdrawal advantage, 20-year retirement, DROP plans, PSO tax exclusion.
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Police officer
Defined-benefit pension, 457(b), WEP/GPO impact in non-covered states.
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Self-employed
Solo 401(k) vs SEP-IRA, double SS tax, variable-income contribution discipline.
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Physician
Late start from training, cash-balance plans, backdoor Roth, 403(b) + 457(b) double dip.
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Real estate agent
1099 income discipline, Solo 401(k), the rental-properties question.
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Truck driver
Central States Pension status, owner-operator Solo 401(k), 62-to-Medicare bridge.
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