Q. I retired from the Navy last year (I have 20 years in) and am receiving my pension. I took a GS-12 job and am under FERS. I’ll be 39 in a few weeks. If I wanted to retire at age 57, what would be my monthly payout? For how long? I understand that there is a three-tier system using the Thrift Savings Plan and Social Security. Am I allowed to draw on those at age 57, or do I have to wait until age 62? Mike Miles: You may begin drawing from your TSP account immediately and without penalty after…
Monthly Archives: September, 2012
Q. I am a GS employee that is also a member of the Air Guard. I will be leaving on leave without pay to go through military training for roughly five to six months. How will this affect my FERS retirement and my Thrift Savings Plan contributions? Do I have to buy back my military retirement to obtain my FERS retirement contributions during my LWOP? A. Mike Miles: You may not contribute to the TSP while in LWOP status. Reg Jones: You will be on LWOP-US. Therefore, you will have to make a deposit to the retirement system to get…
Q. If I retire after 30 years of federal service at the age of 58, can I start withdrawing my Thrift Savings Plan, or do I have to wait until the age of 59½? I do not have any part of the TSP as a Roth. A. You will be free to withdraw your TSP assets without penalty.
Q. I am considering doing a partial withdrawal from my Thrift Savings Plan account and was wondering what the taxes might be. I am 63 years old, still working, with a FERS status. I wanted to move most of my TSP savings into a mutual fund/IRA and continue to make deposits in TSP. A. If you roll the withdrawal over into an IRA, there will be no tax consequences under current law.
Q. My wife is asking for 93 percent of my total vested account balance. Does total vested account balance mean what was contributed by me over the past 12 years, or the total value of the account which includes Va contribution and growth? A. It includes everything in your account except for Agency Automatic Contributions, which have not yet met the vesting requirement: “A participant is vested in (entitled to keep) the Agency Automatic (1%) Contribution in his or her account after completing 3 years of Federal service (2 years for most FERS employees in Congressional and certain noncareer positions).”