Q. I have resigned from my position with the federal government in order to attend graduate school effective in May and will have been employed for a year and 10 months. I realize I need to be employed for three years for TSP vesting requirements, and I will likely forfeit my automatic 1 percent agency contribution in May, but after grad school, I intend to return to work for the federal government. How does this work with vesting in this situation? Would I be returned the 1 percent agency contribution (plus interest?) upon working an additional year and two months…
Monthly Archives: May, 2012
Q. I am a FERS employee. I am interested in rolling over my outside Roth IRAs into the Thrift Savings Plan’s new Roth IRA. Can I do this? If so, how do I go about it? I am paying too much in fees for small amounts. A. Unfortunately, this is not permitted by the TSP.
Q. I have a State of Kansas deferred compensation 457(b) pretax fund from when I worked for the state. Can I roll this into the Thrift Savings Plan without tax consequences? If so, how do I go about the process? If I have to receive a check from the fund directly — not made out to me — I believe I have 60 days in which to get it into another fund. A. If it contains only pretax money, you may transfer it to the TSP. Use Form TSP-60 and follow the instructions.
Q. I will be starting monthly payments from my Thrift Savings Plan account. I’m confused as to this making your payments last for 10 years. Is this really putting me into a better tax situation? You must pay on your taxes at the end of the year. I spoke to someone at TSP, and she was explaining that it is to my benefit. If your payments last 10 years or longer, they only tax you as though you’re married with three dependents. If it’s not lasting for 10 years, they take out 20 percent every month. Isn’t this a wash…
Q. I have an outstanding Thrift Savings Plan loan, and I just turned 59. I plan to continue to work for some time. After age 59½, can I pay off this TSP loan from other personal funds, then immediately withdraw those funds from the TSP without penalty if I need them for other purposes? With no loan balance remaining, would I then be eligible to take out another TSP loan? A. You may repay the loan, take a distribution and then take another loan, but 60 days must elapse between the two loans.
Q. I plan to retire from the federal government in the near future (I will have 32 years). I wish to pay my house off ($74,000) with my Thrift Savings Plan earnings. Is this a good idea? The interest rate on my house is 5.75 percent, and I realize that 20 percent will be taxed when I decide to withdraw from TSP. Should I transfer to an outside facility? I do not wish to have a house payment when I retire. A. It’s impossible to say whether this is a good idea for you without understanding and analysis beyond the…
Q. Do lump-sum Thrift Savings Plan withdrawals (either partial or full) that are made after retiring from FERS or CSRS count as wages for the Social Security earnings test? I found lots and lots of stuff saying TSP does not count as wages, but then also found something on the Social Security website that reads, “a Federal thrift Savings fund is treated as a trust in section 401(a) of the IRC. Therefore, employer contributions to your TSP are not wages, however your elective contributions to the fund are wages.” A. What you’ve read is saying that your TSP payroll deferrals…
Q. I am a CSRS employee who is considering retirement in 2013. I have a Voluntary Contributions account and also contribute to the regular Thrift Savings Plan. If I open a new Roth TSP account, would I be able to roll over my Voluntary Contributions account into the Roth TSP at retirement? A. [The following is a corrected and updated response to the question.] No. The Internal Revenue Code permits designated Roth accounts to accept transfers or rollovers only from another designated Roth account. Roth TSP balances are designated Roth accounts (or are treated like designated Roth accounts). The VCP is…
Q. Can you recommend some funds where a retiree could put his money if he is not a federal worker? A. Except for the G Fund, which is a cash equivalent that can’t be matched outside the Thrift Savings Plan (use a money market fund or equivalent interest bearing security with no risk of loss), the other four TSP funds are based on widely available indices. The C Fund is based on the S&P 500 Index, the S Fund on the Dow Jones U.S. Completion Total Stock Market Index, The I Fund on the Morgan Stanley Capital Europe, Australasia, Far…
Q. I am four years away from retirement at the Postal Service. However I have Parkinson’s disease, and I don’t know if I can hang in there. Any advice on whom I can contact regarding my options and what is best? Disability or trying to hang in there until 2016? A. Continuing to work will produce a better financial result. The real question is whether the financial improvement is worth the suffering, and only you can make that decision. I can show you what the additional work will mean to you in terms of your lifetime standard of living. Visit…