Monthly Archives: November, 2013

Q. I am a federal employee who will be retiring Jan. 3 after 40 years of service at age 58½. I took a necessary loan on my Thrift Savings Plan and will still have a balance on my loan when I retire. I understand I have 90 days to pay back the loan or I will be taxed for the money owed. I do not need my TSP money now. I would like to keep it there or invest somehow, not sure yet. I do not want to pay the money back, which makes no sense to me since I can take…

Q. I am considering retirement at 62 (FERS) but not collecting Social Security until my full retirement age of 66. I know that once you start withdrawing from your Thrift Savings Plan account, you must continue to make withdrawals each year. To bridge the time from 62 to 66, I’m thinking of taking funds from my IRA instead. If I start taking withdrawals at 62, can I stop taking withdrawals from my IRA at 66 when I start Social Security and then resume withdrawals at 70½? A. You’ve got the right idea, and it will work. You may start and…

Q. I turn 70½ in April 2014. My required minimum distribution can be taken anytime during 2014. Is it calculated on the balance in my IRA for 2013 or 2014? If I take it in 2014, the year I turn 70½, will I also have an RMD taken out Dec. 31, 2014, on the balance in my IRA in 2014? Will I have two RMDs in 2014? A. Your RMD amount for each tax year is calculated for each account that is subject to the RMD, and is based on the preceding year’s ending account value.

Q. Are there any advantages and does it make sense to transfer my wife’s 403(b) account into my Thrift Savings Plan account before I retire? I am planning to retire in 2015 at age 55 with 33 years of service (CSRS Offset). Will TSP even allow a spouse’s account to be transferred into the TSP? She will be retiring in 2014. She is not federally employed. A. It makes sense, and there would probably be advantages to doing this. But, alas, it’s not allowed.

Q. I will be 56 this month and have 27 years of federal service. I plan to retire in February. Will I be able to draw an immediate monthly income from my Thrift Savings Plan upon retirement without incurring the 10 percent penalty for early withdrawal? A. Yes.

Q. I am active-duty military and am about to open a TSP account in January. From everything that I’ve read, I understand that I cannot transfer funds from my Roth IRA to my TSP account, but I do not understand why. I Can someone explain to me why this is the case and who made this rule? A. I can’t tell you why it’s the law, but it is the law.

Q. I want to know what you think of two services widely advertised to federal employees. One is the Thrift Savings Plan pilot that claims to help one allocate TSP contributions in good and bad financial times with extraordinary success, and the other is a full service company offering financial and estate planning called Federal Navigator. A. I won’t review the specific services you’ve mentioned, but I will make a couple of general comments: Read the disclaimers for any advisory service you’re considering. A newsletter is for informational purposes only, so the publishers won’t take responsibility for the results their…

Q. I am a 60-year-old FERS employee and have decided to retire in March. With $250,000 in my Thrift Savings Plan, I am being courted by insurance companies to buy into their annuities. I can see some benefit but am worried that the administrative fees will take too much of my money. How can I overcome these anxieties? A. If history has taught us anything, it’s that these “financial services” companies don’t care about you and your interests. They care about profits, which always come at their customers’ expense. They’ll do and say anything they think they can get away with to confiscate your money.…

Thrift Savings Plan participants may be able to avoid the Internal Revenue Service’s 10 percent penalty for withdrawing money from their accounts before they’ve reached age 59½. That’s good news for those interested in retiring before reaching that not-so-old age. If you’re considering leaving federal employment while you’re young, you should understand your options for accessing your TSP account without triggering the early withdrawal penalty. One of the simplest ways to avoid the penalty is to use all or part of your balance to purchase a life annuity, either from the TSP’s provider or from another insurance company you choose.…