Financial Planning for L3Harris Technologies Employees
Decades of Focused Work Deserve a Retirement Plan That Accounts for All of It
The Retirement Picture at L3Harris Is Often More Layered Than It Looks
A career at L3Harris can build real retirement assets: contributions to the L3Harris Retirement Savings Plan (LRSP), a company match that has historically arrived in L3Harris stock, and for some, a pension benefit that depends on when you were hired and what plan you came from. Each piece has its own rules, timing, and decisions attached.
For a significant share of L3Harris employees, there is also a military chapter in the picture. If you came to L3Harris after a career in uniform, a military pension, a Thrift Savings Plan balance, and VA benefits are already in play. When a defense contractor paycheck lands on top of retired pay, the tax picture changes in ways many officers don't anticipate until after the fact.
At Occidental Asset Management, we've built a specialization around Clients navigating this kind of transition. With offices near L3Harris communities in Florida, California, Colorado, Washington, and Hawaii, and virtual service nationwide, we help you turn what you've built into one clear retirement plan.
What L3Harris Puts on the Table
Here are the features of your L3Harris compensation that may matter most as you approach retirement:
L3Harris Retirement Savings Plan (LRSP) with a 100% company match on the first 6% of eligible pay for most employees, plus pre-tax, Roth, and after-tax contribution options.
Company stock inside your LRSP, where matching contributions have historically been made in L3Harris shares, quietly building a concentrated position over a long career.
A pension benefit for certain legacy employees, with eligibility and structure that varies depending on hire date and legacy plan, and options that may include a lump sum, annuity, or cash balance account.
Mega backdoor Roth potential through after-tax contributions in the LRSP, a strategy that may allow eligible employees to build significantly more tax-free retirement savings than standard limits allow.
Annual incentive awards with eligibility varying by role and business area.
Long-term equity awards for senior leaders, including restricted stock units (RSUs) and performance stock units (PSUs) with multi-year vesting schedules.
Military pension and TSP coordination for those who came to L3Harris after uniformed service, where two retirement systems need to fit together alongside Social Security and the LRSP.
Based on publicly available plan information and tax rates as of 2026. Individual circumstances and outcomes will vary based on income, filing status, residence, plan eligibility, holding period, and other factors.
Where the Complexity Lives
Each benefit has its own timing, tax treatment, and set of rules. Yet they rarely stay separate. For example:
Company stock builds inside your LRSP through the match year after year, often becoming a concentrated position without a deliberate decision to hold it.
A pension election, for those who have one, is a one-time choice between forms of payment that cannot be revisited once made.
If you came to L3Harris after military service, your retired pay and your L3Harris salary may interact in ways that affect your tax bracket and retirement timeline.
Long-term incentive vesting dates may not align with your planned retirement date, and the gap can have consequences.
We believe getting the decisions right means seeing the whole picture, not just each piece on its own terms.
Planning Head to Manage Impact
$14,000+
What a Military Pension Can Add to Your Federal Tax Bill When a Defense Contractor Salary Arrives on Top of It
A retired officer drawing $60,000 in annual military pension who takes an L3Harris role at $120,000 moves from the 22% federal bracket into the 24% bracket on a significant portion of combined income. Depending on withholding elections and deductions, the first tax season after joining a civilian employer can bring a bill that catches many off guard.
Planning ahead, through contribution strategies, withholding adjustments, and income timing, can help manage that impact before it arrives rather than after.
Note: The illustration above is hypothetical and based on 2026 IRS federal income tax brackets applied to a combined income of $180,000 for a single filer. Individual tax outcomes depend on filing status, deductions, state of residence, and other factors. This is for educational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. Consult your CPA or tax advisor regarding your specific situation.
Financial Guidance to Help Make It All Add Up
Here's how we partner with L3Harris employees to build a retirement plan around everything they've accumulated.
Evaluate your LRSP to confirm you're capturing the full company match and identify whether after-tax Roth contributions belong in your strategy.
Assess company stock concentration inside the LRSP and build a deliberate, tax-aware plan for what to hold, what to diversify, and when.
Navigate the pension decision, for those who have one, by modeling the payment options with your full financial picture in view before the election window closes.
Coordinate military benefits alongside your L3Harris plan, including pension income, TSP decisions, and SBP elections that may not have been revisited since the day they were signed.
Map the income sequence across your LRSP, pension, Social Security, and any other sources to help support consistent income and manage taxes throughout retirement.
Align equity and incentive timing with your retirement date so that RSU vesting schedules and incentive awards work with your plan, not against it.
Plan the tax transition from salary to retirement income, working alongside your CPA so the first year after L3Harris does not arrive as a surprise.
Connect retirement to the rest of your life, including estate, insurance, and the goals that define what this chapter looks like.
What a Professional Retirement Plan Can Provide
Working with our team may feel different from what you expect. Our goal is to help you retire with:
A Complete Picture, Not a Partial One
Your LRSP, pension, military benefits, and Social Security timing all belong in the same conversation. We work to bring them all into one place.
Clarity on Your Military & Civilian Decisions
Whether your SBP choices and TSP rollovers are still ahead of you or already behind you, we help you understand what each one means for the plan going forward.
A Plan Designed Around Your Actual Numbers
Your retirement date, benefit structure, and income goals are specific to you. We build around what you actually have, not a template for someone roughly like you.
Where the LRSP Fits in the Bigger Picture
Your L3Harris benefits are one piece of a broader retirement plan. Our services include:
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Sequence your LRSP, pension, Social Security, and other sources to support consistent income throughout retirement.
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Identify contribution strategies, Roth opportunities, and distribution approaches that you may not realize are available.
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Bring pension elections, TSP decisions, SBP analysis, and VA benefits into the same plan as your L3Harris retirement strategy.
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Assess LHX concentration inside your LRSP and build a tax-aware diversification plan based on your timeline.
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Manage the tax impact of the transition from salary to retirement income, including the years when military pension and civilian pay overlap.
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Build a portfolio designed to complement your pension income and support your retirement goals.
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Evaluate insurance, estate planning, and income continuity as part of a comprehensive retirement plan.
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Explore the beliefs and instincts shaping your money decisions, an Occidental specialty for Clients who want to go deeper.
About Your Occidental Team
James Griffin, MBA, CFP®
Our team helps L3Harris employees bring together the moving parts of a long career and build a retirement plan that accounts for them all. From offices near L3Harris communities in Florida, California, Colorado, Washington, and Hawaii, and virtual service nationwide, we work with employees and retirees across the country.
Our work with L3Harris employees is led by James Griffin, MBA, CFP®, Managing Principal in our Altamonte Springs office in the Orlando area, approximately one hour from L3Harris's Melbourne headquarters. James also works with retirees and military officers — coordinating military benefits alongside corporate retirement plans is a central part of his practice.
James is joined by a team whose credentials include the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP®) designation, which reflects expertise across investments, tax, retirement, estate, and risk management. The CFP® certification also requires advisors to act in Clients' best interests at all times. As a fiduciary, fee-only Registered Investment Advisor, Occidental Asset Management is compensated directly by Clients, not by commissions or product sales, reinforcing that commitment at the firm level as well.
Five Questions Every L3Harris Employee Approaching Retirement Should Be Able to Answer
Use this checklist to see where you stand and where a financial professional could help.
1: Do You Know How Much L3Harris Stock You Hold?
How much of your LRSP sits in company stock through the match? Is that concentration part of a deliberate plan, or did it just accumulate over the years?
2: Do You Know What Your Pension Options Are?
If you are a legacy employee with a pension benefit, do you have a current picture of its value and your payment options?
3: Have You Revisited Your Military Elections?
If you served, when did you last look at your SBP election, your TSP balance, and how your military pension interacts with your current income and taxes?
4: Have You Mapped the Income Sequence?
Do you know the order in which you'll draw from your LRSP and pension and when you plan to claim Social Security? Do you know how those decisions interact to affect your taxes across a retirement that could span 30 years?
5: Are All the Pieces in One Plan?
Are your LRSP, pension, military benefits, Social Security timing, and equity awards part of a comprehensive plan, or are they managed in separate conversations?
Every Piece Deserves a Place in the Plan
The complexity is real. So is the opportunity to get it right. Take the first step toward building a plan that brings all your financial pieces together by scheduling an introductory call.
FAQs
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Certain legacy employees may have access to pension and retiree medical benefits, depending on their hire date and the legacy plan they participated in. Pension structure, eligibility, and payment options vary significantly. The L3Harris Retirement Service Center at 1.844.786.6586 is the authoritative source for your specific situation.
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For most eligible employees, L3Harris matches 100% of contributions up to 6% of eligible pay, with vesting after three years of service. Matching contributions have historically been made in L3Harris stock. Some employees may have a different match structure depending on their plan. Confirm current details with your plan documents or the benefits center.
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There is no universal answer. The TSP has low-cost investment options and its own advantages, but whether it belongs where it is depends on your broader financial picture, including your pension income, LRSP strategy, and timeline. We walk through the trade-offs as part of transition planning.
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Military retired pay is taxable income at the federal level. When it stacks on top of an L3Harris salary, the combined income may push you into a higher bracket than either source alone would suggest. Planning ahead through withholding adjustments and contribution strategies may help manage that impact before tax season arrives.
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Fee-only means we are compensated directly by our Clients, not by commissions or product sales. That structure helps remove the conflict of interest that exists when an advisor earns money by recommending certain products. Occidental Asset Management is also a fiduciary, which means we are legally and ethically required to act in your best interest. For L3Harris employees navigating one-time pension elections or company stock decisions, that distinction can matter.
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No. We meet with Clients virtually across the country. Many of our L3Harris relationships are conducted entirely by video and phone. However, we are happy to meet in person at any one of our offices: Altamonte Springs, Florida; Burlingame or San Francisco, California; Boulder, Colorado; Bellevue, Washington; and Lihue, Hawaii. You can get started by scheduling an introductory call with an advisor.