💰 Get Paid for the Time You’ve Already Earned

You’ll get a payout for all your Annual Leave in one lump sum. This can be a helpful cash cushion while you figure things out. Sadly, Sick Leave and Time Off Awards don’t get cashed out—so if you still have a job, start using them now if you can.

🩺 Keep Your Health Insurance a Little Longer

You can request a free 31-day extension your current federal health insurance. This gives you a bit of breathing room while sorting out your next steps. After that, consider an Affordable Care Act (ACA) plan, which could offer subsidies if you’re unemployed.

⚕️ COBRA for Emergencies

If you need to keep your exact same federal health insurance, you can go with Temporary Continuation of Coverage (TCC)—which is basically the federal version of COBRA. Heads up: it’s expensive since the government stops covering its portion, and you pay the full price. However, you don’t need to sign up immediately—if a medical emergency happens within 60 days, you can retroactively enroll to avoid a coverage gap.

🛠 Unemployment Benefits

You’ll likely qualify for unemployment, but the process depends on your state for information on how to do this click here.

💸 Accessing Your Retirement Contributions

If you have less than 5 years of federal service, your FERS (pension) contributions can be cashed out since you don’t qualify for a pension yet. If you have5+ years of service, you can still withdraw your FERS contributions—but if you ever return to federal service, you’d have to repay them (with interest) to restore your pension. Over 55? You can withdraw from your TSP under the "Rule of 55" with no early withdrawal penalty (but you’ll still owe taxes).