Q. I owe $24,000 to my Thrift Savings Plan from a loan I made. If I take the early retirement, how much will I owe in taxes to the government? I live in Florida. A. The amount you’ll owe on the unpaid loan balance can only be determined by completing your tax return for the year. If you’re not prepared to make the estimates by running a pro-forma return, then you should consult a tax adviser who is.
Monthly Archives: March, 2012
Q. I’m a 50-year-old postal clerk (FERS) with 23½ years of service, and I want to get out. I want to move from Florida back to my home state 1,000 miles away. I think I only have four options, and I’m looking for advice on what would be best for me. 1. Retire with 50/20 and either pay the penalties or defer or postpone annuities? If I do that, what will the penalties be? 2. Stick it out for another year and a half until I have 25 years of service and retire. If I do that, will there be…
Q. I am 41 and due to unemployment for two years following my active-duty retirement, I need to withdrawal all my Thrift Savings Plan funds. When the 20 percent is withheld from my payment, does that then get applied to my tax liability for this year? I understand that I owe 20 percent in taxes on the money, so is it set aside like federal taxes withheld in a regular paycheck? In addition, there will be a 10 percent penalty due to my age? Is the penalty automatically taken out if I elect for a total withdrawal, or must I set this aside when filing 2012 taxes? A. The…
Q. I know that I can’t put my wife’s Individual Retirement Account into the Thrift Savings Plan, so we would like to invest it into an F Fund equivalent. Can you identify such a fund that we can roll her IRA into? A. Any fund that is based on the Barclay’s Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index should do — the lower the cost, the better. Try AGG from iShares.
Q. I deposited a little money into my Thrift Savings Plan, tax free, about five years ago, when I was in the military serving in Iraq. Since this money is in effect post tax, would it be possible to transfer it from my traditional TSP account to a Roth TSP account, thus allowing it to accrue tax-free interest? A. It is possible. Consult a competent tax adviser for advice about if, when and how you should do it.
Q. I am planning on rolling over my voluntary contributions account in the very near future. Can I roll my contributions to the new Roth Thrift Savings Plan once it is operational? I understand that any earnings I have from my VC account can roll over to my regular TSP account. A. Based on the guidance provided by the TSP so far, this should be possible. We’ll have to see how things develop to be sure.
Q. Will retirees be able to roll over funds from the Roth TSP option into a Roth IRA, even if we exceed the income limits for a Roth IRA? A. Yes, you will.
Q. I worked for DoDDS schools from 1987 to 1990. At that time, vesting was five years with FERS. When I resigned, I believe I had to forfeit my retirement and was made to withdraw my Thrift Savings Plan. Would this have been correct for that time period with FERS? And DoDDS? I came back to work for DoDEA in January 2001. I called to make certain that I was going to get credit for those three years. I wanted to redeposit my TSP money but was not allowed to, and was told there was no provision for repayment. It…
Q. Is there any way of structuring an annuity purchased through the Thrift Savings Plan into a qualified longevity annuity contract? A. Since, under the proposed regulation, this would require the purchase of a deferred annuity contract and the TSP does not offer such a contract, this is not possible.
Q. I have worked for the Postal Service for 24 years as postmaster. I would be able to take an early-out offer. I want to borrow on my Thrift Savings Plan for a residential loan. If I do a 10-year loan from my part of the TSP next month and then they offer early retirement and I take it, will I still have to continue making the payments? Also, when I retire, will I be able to pull out all my savings in TSP? A. If you retire, your outstanding TSP loan will become due. If you don’t repay it…