Q. I plan to retire at my MRA, which is 57 with 30 years of service. I plan to start withdrawals of my TSP to supplement my FERS retirement and FERS supplement at that time. Will my TSP withdrawals be subject to an earnings test and impact the amount I receive for my FERS supplement?
Author Mike Miles
Mike Miles
Mike Miles is a Certified Financial Planner licensee and principal adviser for Variplan LLC, an independent fiduciary in Vienna, Virginia. Email your financial questions to fedexperts@federaltimes.com and view his blog at money.federaltimes.com.
Q. I am 66 years old and am retired. I have around $400,000 in my TSP. I am not planning to withdrawal until 2022. Currently, I have G Fund, C Fund, I Fund, etc. I am not sure if I should move all to G Fund or L2020.
Q. I had all my funds in the L Fund most closely related to my retiring date until this afternoon. After learning that my overall value dropped by $5,000, I got worried and moved everything to the G Fund. Then I spoke to a friend who explained to me the $5,000 loss was really only a decrease in value, and not real money. Now that I better understand I would like to move back to the L Fund. Will I be penalized or will my funds be significantly effected because i did this switch?
Q. I’m currently 31 and have 8 ½ years of government service. I’d like to retire as soon as possible, so what is the most practical course of action if you were in my shoes? Working to MRA of 57 (37 years of service), assuming the annuity is enough to support me in retirement, or waiting until 59 ½ to be able to collect the annuity and TSP payments? Or resigning at an earlier age?
Q. I will have 25 years of law enforcement officer service and can retire at 48 years old. Will I be penalized for drawing my money from my TSP account before I turn 50? Can you explain the consequences, if any, and any alternatives if I face the penalty?
Q. If I borrowed money in 2018 but retired in 2019, to what year would the taxable distribution be allocated to? If this money will eventually be taxed anyway, what’s the difference with getting taxed now at the 20 percent or later at a similar rate?
Q. I am a federal employee under CSRS, eligible to retire with max benefits in 2024 (41 years and 11 months) at the age of 60. My TSP distribution is 50 percent L 2020, 15 percent C fund, 15 percent S and 15 percent I funds. At the close of 2018 my balance was $340,295, which reflects a loss of $47,753. Should I move everything to the L Fund?
Q. Currently I have 90 percent in the S fund and 10 percent in the G Fund. Obviously, I’ve lost a lot of the gains we made $57,000 to be exact.I know we are due for a correction, but I have no idea what to do. Move to the L Fund? Move 50 percent to C? If I do those now, do I lose? I retire in 6 years 10 months.
Q. I worked for the U.S. Postal Service as a letter carrier from December 1984 to April 1990. I don’t think I withdrew any of my money from retirement, and now I want to. Also, I participated in the Thrift Savings Plan and I want to withdraw my money from it, too. How do I do this?
Q. My TSP is in the G, F, C, S and I Funds. Would it be a bad time to move it to the L2020 fund, considering the loss that has occurred during this month?