DALLAS — Rafael Flores will have to decide soon if he wants to retire from a 26-year career with the federal government.

Retirement might have to be put on hold if Flores, an officer with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is called to help process Haitian refugees coming to the United States.

Whenever he decides to pull the trigger, the 60-year-old Richardson, Texas, resident will be entering retirement with a strong financial foundation, certified financial planner Tara Scottino said.

Scottino, senior vice president at Carter Advisory Services in Dallas, gave Flores and his wife, Marielena, 66, a money makeover.

She said the pair are in good shape financially, primarily because "they did a phenomenal job of managing their debt."

"People get their wants and needs crossed," Flores said. "Do you really need that big house? Do you really need another car?"

But a mortgage is different. Flores borrowed $2,000 in 1972 for a down payment on his first home. He and his wife, who works as a teacher's aide, still owe $41,000 on their mortgage.

"To me, that was good debt because I was going to get a house," Flores said. "I knew the house would appreciate."

Flores learned about the value of a dollar in his childhood, when he, his father and five siblings painted a church's large recreation hall in exchange for a tuition-free year at the church's school in Detroit.

He saw his dad struggle financially, but "somehow he managed to put us through private schooling for quite a few years," Flores said.

When he was young, he would walk the alleyways and collect soft drink bottles to cash in. He collected enough to pay for a movie, which cost a quarter then.

All of that has taught him to be frugal. Now, it's time for him to enjoy the fruits of his financial prudence.

"I've been eligible to retire, but it comes down to, can you afford to retire?" Flores said. "How do we make the money last with what I'll be getting?"

Scottino delivered the good news.

"You have enough money coming in so you don't have to liquidate investments," she said. "That's very rare."

If the Floreses continue to manage their expenses as well as they have, they will be able to live off their Social Security benefits and pensions, Scottino said.

It helps that Flores has benefits from the Federal Employees Retirement System, which includes a pension, Social Security and the Thrift Savings Plan, a defined-contribution plan like a 401(k) for workers in private industry.

Some advantages he has as a longtime federal employee:

• The Thrift Savings Plan, which matches employee contributions dollar-for-dollar on the first 3 percent of contributions and then 50 cents for each dollar on the next 2 percent. Flores has contributed the maximum to the Thrift Savings Plan and sings the praises of doing so to younger colleagues.

"I say, 'This is how much I have. You have more possibilities than I ever had, and you can have a lot more, but you have to put in the maximum amount,"' he said.

• A federal pension, which many perceive as more secure than a private corporation's pension.

"The assumption is that they (the government) will never default on a pension obligation, so the risk is essentially zero," said Thomas Murphy, certified financial planner at TEMAA Financial in Dallas.

But that's not the only perk about a federal pension.

"Government pensions are inflation-indexed," Murphy said. "Private pensions are not, with very rare exceptions."

The effect is a federal pension is "far more valuable than many realize since living on a fixed income in an inflationary world is often living in quiet desperation," Murphy said.

In either a government or private pension, enrollees have the option of selecting a higher pension benefit for themselves or a reduced benefit to provide survivor benefits for their spouse.

Flores selected the reduced benefit.

But a federal pension has what is called a "restoration of benefits" feature, which helps the retiree. In the event that the federal retiree's spouse dies first, the pension benefit reverts back to the higher amount.

"In a private plan, it does not revert back to the higher amount," Murphy said.

The Floreses are healthy, which is good, because "the one thing that can blow up the (retirement) plan is medical expenses," Scottino said.

Flores can continue to receive health insurance under the government's plan when he retires, but he'll have to foot the monthly premiums.

To save Flores money, Scottino advised Marielena to come off his health plan, go on Medicare and buy a private Medigap policy to supplement Medicare's coverage.

"This will allow Rafael to continue paying premiums for self-only coverage until he attains age 65" and becomes eligible for Medicare, Scottino said.

He also should purchase a Medigap policy when he turns 65, and the couple should look at purchasing long-term care insurance as soon as possible, as the cost rises with age, she said.

Despite what they have going for them, the Flores need to take some additional steps, Scottino said.

While they have a net worth of $472,356 and investments of about $336,000, they have only $15,000 in cash they can tap for emergencies.

"They don't have a good emergency fund," Scottino said.

The Floreses are selling their current home to buy a smaller one, and Scottino said they should use part of the proceeds to boost their emergency fund.