The Index

As many of us do this time of year, I'm cleaning house. I thought that a good thing to do in my first column of 2008 would be to organize the past two years of Retirement Planning columns in a useful way. After reviewing the questions that readers post each week in the comments section, I know that many answers can be found in a previous column.Pick an old favorite or a topic that you wish to learn more about from the list below and -- as my mother used to say at the end of one of her favorite recipes -- "Enjoy!"Best Date to Retire

• Retirement Dates: Q&A Aug. 3, 2007
• Best Dates to Retire 2008 July 27, 2007
• When to Retire July 20, 2007
• Best Dates to Retire 2007 Nov. 3, 2006
• A Great Date to Retire Feb. 3, 2006

• A Little Lower Oct. 12, 2007
• Going Private Oct. 5, 2007
• Public or Private? Sept. 14, 2007
• Laboring Another Day Aug. 31, 2007
• Retiring Women June 15, 2007
• Should I Stay or Should I Go? Feb. 23, 2007
• The Early Way Out May 26, 2006
• Leaving Early May 19, 2006
• Really, You Can Retire! March 17, 2006
• You Can Afford To Retire! March 3, 2006

• Last-Minute Tips Dec. 14, 2007
• The Retirement Process June 22, 2007
• Retirement Checklist June 8, 2007
• Getting Ready Jan. 5, 2007
• Are You Ready? July 14, 2006
• Smoothing the Transition June 23, 2006

• Taking Your (Sick) Leave Feb. 9, 2007
• Taking Your Lumps Jan. 19, 2007

• Catch-62 Sept. 21, 2007
• A Whole Different Kind of Service June 1, 2007
• Crediting Volunteer Service May 25, 2007
• Computing Your Service May 18, 2007
• Service Interruption March 16, 2007
• Part-Time Rules, Part Two March 9, 2007
• Part-Time Rules, Part One March 2, 2007
• Mixing Civilian and Military Retirement June 30, 2006
• Military Service Payback Feb. 24, 2006
• Redepositing CSRS Refunds Feb. 17, 2006
• Buying Retirement Credit Feb. 10, 2006
• Getting Credit Jan. 27, 2006

• 'Survivor:' Federal Edition Jan. 12, 2007
• Federal Couples July 7, 2006
• Who's Your Beneficiary? May 12, 2006
• Spousal Benefits March 10, 2006

• Feeling Special: Q&A Aug. 17, 2007
• Feeling Special Aug. 10, 2007

• Eligibility: Facts and Myths July 6, 2007
• Deferred vs. Postponed June 29, 2007
• Retirement Estimate: The Details May 11, 2007
• Basic Retirement Computations May 4, 2007
• Estimating Your Benefits April 27, 2007
• Supplementary Information Feb. 2, 2007
• Supplementing FERS Jan. 26, 2007

• D-I-V-O-R-C-E Aug. 24, 2007
• Short-Term Benefits Feb. 16, 2007
• Looking Ahead Dec. 22, 2006
• Single Concerns July 21, 2006
• A Thoroughly Modern Retirement System June 2, 2006
• Voluntary Benefits May 5, 2006
• Best of Both Worlds April 14, 2006
• CSRS vs. FERS: The Reaction April 7, 2006
• CSRS vs. FERS March 31, 2006

• Back to Work, Again March 30, 2007
• Back to Work March 23, 2007

• Ensuring a Healthy Retirement June 16, 2006

• Part B Or Not Part B? Sept. 28, 2007
• More on Medicare April 28, 2006
• Medicare ABCs April 21, 2006

• Life Insurance Options, Part Two Sept. 22, 2006
• Life Insurance Options, Part One Sept. 15, 2006

• The Long Haul: Part Three Aug. 11, 2006
• The Long Haul: Part Two Aug. 4, 2006
• The Long Haul: Part One July 28, 2006

• Gone With the Windfall Sept. 1, 2006
• Offsetting Penalty June 9, 2006

• The TSP's Future -- and Yours July 13, 2007
• Honey Pot April 20, 2007
• TSP Withdrawal Quiz April 13, 2007
• Life Expectancy vs. Life Annuity April 6, 2007
• Withdrawal Options March 24, 2006

• Counting COLAs Oct. 20, 2006
• COLA Wars Sept. 8, 2006

• Tax Changes: Part Two Aug. 25, 2006
• Tax Changes: Part One Aug. 18, 2006