Q. I will be 55 this month and plan to retire in November with 33 years of service under CSRS. Do I have to wait until I am 59½ to withdraw from my Thrift Savings Plan? A. Not if you wait until you’re retired to request the withdrawal.
Yearly Archives: 2014
Q. Will the Thrift Savings Plan allow for in-plan Roth rollovers? If so, how will they work and who will benefit from these rollovers? A. No.
Q. I have seen various information online that the Voluntary Contributions Program conversion to Roth IRA was still available in 2013. Does anyone know whether this is still the case in 2014? A. As far as I know, it is still allowed. You should check with your tax preparer before you proceed, however.
Q. My first required minimum distribution at age 70½ was made in August, when I took the total RMD required for both my IRA and Thrift Savings Plan accounts from one IRA fund. However, I have just received my notice from TSP stating I must make a withdrawal by April 1 from the TSP account to avoid dire circumstances. I am not clear on whether what I have already done meets my obligations for the first withdrawal, based on two of your answers concerning this matter. Q: “Also, I thought if I have other IRAs, I could take the RMD…
Q. I just retired from government service under CSRS and have left my Thrift Savings Plan alone. My financial adviser, whom I consider a friend, is telling me I need to roll my TSP over into a tax-deferred variable annuity that guarantees a 5 percent return on investment each year even when the market does poorly. He says because of this “guarantee,” I can choose a very aggressive growth portfolio, while not having to worry about the results. He claims my TSP is not protected against losses. I knew that already, of course. It’s with a highly rated company. Fees…
Q. I retired under FERS two years ago, and I haven’t needed to touch my Thrift Savings Plan account so far. I am receiving Office of Personnel Management, Social Security and military retirements. I am 68½ years old. I just received a 100 percent Veterans Affairs Department disability award, which will change my taxable military retirement to a nontaxable VA retirement. I don’t think this will have any effect on my long-term life expectancy. I have determined that I do not want to elect an annuity on withdrawing from my TSP. I am considering immediately starting a monthly TSP withdrawal…
Q. I have been using a Vanguard Roth IRA Target Fund for my retirement account. Now that I work for the federal government, I have a Thrift Savings Plan standard account and contribute the additional 5 percent to take full advantage of employee matching. I’m 37 and plan on working until at least 67. I believe my best bet is to just keep maxing out my Vanguard Roth IRA, taking full advantage of my employee matching and putting away anything extra I can into my Vanguard Roth IRA. Do you think that is my best bet, or should I stop…
Q. I retired Jan. 31, 2013. I have more than four years left on my mortgage. I owe about $25,000 on my loan. I was thinking of taking a lump sum from my Thrift Savings Plan for about $20,000 and use my tax refund to make up the difference I would owe. I have about $120,000 in my TSP. I’ve had it in the C Fund, which is doing very well. Do you think it’s a good idea to take a lump-sum withdrawal to pay off my mortgage? It would save me $900 per month, which is what I’m paying…
Q. It seems everywhere a person reads, the “expert” advice is to get out of bonds. It’s likely that interest rates will climb soon (they certainly will not go lower), the world is awash in debt etc. Your advice is to substitute a portion of other funds in place of F. Given the predicted bond climate, why not reduce F Fund allocation to near zero? Is there some reason I’m missing for maintaining an allocation in F above low single digit percentages or perhaps no F fund allocation at all? In other words, if the F Fund is about to…
Q. I am a 56-year-old federal employee with six years of service. I have traditional and Roth Thrift Savings Plans. I also have a traditional IRA with TIAA-CREF. Since my budget is too tight to take advantage of the full federal matching amount, can I use my TIAA-CREF IRA funds to maximize my federal match? If I roll over TIAA-CREF funds into my traditional TSP, will these funds receive federal matching? Also, I understand early withdrawal of traditional TSP funds is subject to income tax, but if I roll over TIAA-CREF funds into my traditional TSP, are withdrawals at age…