Now
Establish the survivor-income requirement
- Confirm the income the spouse would retain.
- Compare full and reduced SBP bases.
- Inventory existing coverage and insurability assumptions.
- Flag tax and estate questions for the CPA or attorney.
A Look Inside the Process
This is what “put it on one map” actually means.
A Mission Map shows the decisions, dependencies, deadlines, missing records, and professional handoffs surrounding military retirement. It shows the order of the work—not just the list of topics.
Why this page exists
Before paying for a planning process, you should be able to see what the process produces. This example is educational and intentionally simplified.
The hypothetical household
Seven facts. Several clocks. One sequence.
O-6 retiring in 14 months
Married, spouse employed
Traditional and Roth TSP
Civilian offer expected during terminal leave
SBP election not yet modeled
Existing term coverage
CPA relationship in place
Hypothetical example — not a client result or recommendation
What happens first changes what becomes possible later.
The point is not to force every decision today. It is to separate what must happen now from what should deliberately wait.
Before retirement paperwork locks
Finish the decisions that cannot wait
- Make the SBP election with spouse concurrence where required.
- Confirm healthcare continuity.
- Update beneficiary and estate-document priorities.
During terminal leave
Hold the decisions that need better facts
- Avoid an automatic TSP rollover while civilian benefits remain unknown.
- Gather the new employer plan, match, vesting, insurance, and healthcare details.
When the civilian offer arrives
Read the whole package beside the military income
- Evaluate base, bonus, equity, benefits, and withholding beside pension and VA income.
- Recheck the first two tax years.
- Decide whether leaving, partially moving, or rolling the TSP deserves further analysis.
First annual review
Reconcile the plan with what actually happened
- Reconcile actual pension, VA, and civilian income.
- Review withholding and estimated taxes.
- Confirm implementation ownership across the household and professionals.
What the map does
It gives the household one shared view.
- Shows which decisions affect the others.
- Separates deadlines from decisions that can wait.
- Identifies missing records and assumptions.
- Assigns questions to the right professional.
What it does not do
- Replace DFAS, VA, TSP, or official plan documents.
- Replace a CPA or attorney.
- Guarantee an election, tax, insurance, or investment outcome.
- Assume moving the TSP is appropriate.
- Turn every open question into an Exponential Advisors service.
One of four deliverables
The Mission Map is only the first page of the assessment.
The $750 Tactical Financial Assessment also includes a Deadline Inventory, Records Readiness Checklist, and Summary Memo. You keep all four documents whether or not you continue with Exponential Advisors.
01Decision Map
02Deadline Inventory
03Records Readiness Checklist
04Summary Memo
The point of the map
The value is not more information. It is knowing what must happen before something else can safely happen.
If your household has enough moving parts that no single page holds the sequence, the Tactical Financial Assessment may be the right next step.
Put My Transition on One Map
Four written deliverables. $750 fixed fee. No obligation to continue.
Still deciding? Talk With Joshua first →Hypothetical example — not a client result or recommendation. The household and sequence are hypothetical and educational. They are not individualized investment, tax, legal, military-benefits, healthcare, or insurance advice, and they do not promise savings or outcomes. Actual analysis depends on the household’s facts, applicable law, plan rules, and engagement scope.