When considering work in the public or private sectors, there is a traditional tradeoff: Working for the government might offer a little more stability, while private employment typically offers more potential earnings.
That applies to members of the military, as well—and it means financial challenges can be distinct from those in the civilian population.
State and local government workers account for more than 20 million people as of 2025, according to the Census Bureau, with the federal government employing another three million, along with 1.3 million active military members.
Whether it's crafting a successful retirement despite earnings limitations, or maximizing benefits menus, or dealing with career disruptions like frequent relocation and transition to the private workforce, it all makes for a higher degree of difficulty in one's financial life.
Some questions to consider with your financial planner:
Can I still save for a comfortable retirement?
There are pluses and minuses involved in being a public-sector worker. One plus is that pensions frequently still exist in this arena, whereas they have mostly disappeared in the private sector.
That will definitely help your financial future, assuming those pensions are adequately funded for decades to come (which is not always guaranteed). But beyond that, government workers typically take advantage of what's called the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). The current average of such accounts is $217,300 (although the median is much lower, since the average is pulled up by high earners).
Combined with other sources like defined-benefit plans and Social Security, that three-pronged solution should give your retirement a fighting chance.
How can I maximize benefits?
One of the attractions of government work is that the suite of employee benefits tends to be more generous. For example, 38.3% of total compensation for public workers is from benefits, compared to 30% in the private sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Break that down into an hourly wage, and your benefits are essentially worth $25.19 out of a $65.68 hourly total.
That's a lot of money that you don't want to be leaving on the table. As a result, you want to make sure you do your due diligence and are taking full advantage of what's available to you.
Some examples of especially valuable benefits: Matching funds for TSP contributions; health coverage, which can sometimes extend into retirement; and Public Service Loan Forgiveness, a program that could wipe away tens of thousands of student debt.
How can I manage career disruptions?
While public-sector careers can offer a little more stability, they can also require extreme mobility.
Diplomatic workers might be posted around the world, for instance, and military members could expect changes of station every 2-4 years. That makes the management of common personal finance issues like housing, or spousal employment, or kids' schooling, extremely challenging.
The military has developed a number of resources specifically for this problem (click here), covering everything from moving expenses to housing options to counseling.
And in this era in particular, the civil service is seeing more layoffs than usual. Since the start of the second Trump administration, that workforce has been reduced by 300,000. That means government workers should likely expect more turbulence in the coming years and should shore up their finances in order to be ready for any career disruption that comes their way.