Retirement should be an occasion for enjoying leisure time and engaging in new pursuits, and for those employed in law enforcement, a moment to take stock of one’s accomplishments and take pride in one’s service. Yet those members of the New York City Police Department looking ahead to retirement today face an unclear and confusing landscape, with countless decisions having to be made well in advance of their retirement date, often on an irrevocable basis. The Road to NYPD Retirement: A comprehensive retirement planning resource for active and retired NYPD members is an indispensable guide to navigating the choices facing all retiring and retired members of the NYPD. The Road to NYPD Retirement will equip active, soon-to-retire, and retired NYPD personnel with a working knowledge of retirement planning and an easy-to-follow “roadmap” of key decisions, including determining an optimal retirement date, election of final distribution, New York City Deferred Compensation Plan distributions, rollovers, pension options, union annuity plan distributions, and tax issues. Included in The Road to NYPD Retirement are: • Detailed examples of NYPD pension calculations, based on twenty years of service and beyond; • Analysis of final distribution, exploring advantages and disadvantages and rollover choices for the final distribution; • Tax issues for NYPD members; • IRC 72(t) exception and how it can benefit retired NYPD members; • Strategies for optimizing Social Security; and • Case studies presenting different scenarios and applicable approaches to retirement planning. While The Road to NYPD Retirement is not meant to provide all of the answers to the complex decisions facing active and retired members of the NYPD today, it will unquestionably provide a solid understanding of tax and retirement planning issues specific to NYPD members and help ensure a secure and stable foundation for the years to come.