Q. I am retiring in the next couple of months. Should take out money from my TSP and reinvest it, or should I leave it in?
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. For a typical retiree (or near retiree), we utilize the TSP funds as well as outside investments. Do you have a rule of thumb regarding how many funds to own for diversification, i.e., how many is too many? Also, what are the best asset allocation calculators to use (free, of course)? Lastly, for the G Fund, in an asset calculator, since that is unique to the TSP, what proxy ticker should I use to represent the G Fund in overall asset allocation evaluations?
Q. I hope to retire at the end of this year. I have 33 years in the U.S. Postal Service and will be 56. I understand there is no early penalty for TSP withdrawals for USPS employees. I live in New York. Is there a rule about withdrawing money from the TSP without an early penalty before 59½ years old?
Q. I am a FERS employee and plan to retire next year when I turn 58 (with 33 years of service). I have a healthy TSP balance (approximately $1 million). I am married, and my husband will be in the workforce for at least eight more years. Upon retirement, I may withdraw 100 percent of the TSP funds and pay tax on it all next year. I would like to use the balance to pay off a mortgage on two rental homes I own with my husband ($330,000) and put aside another $100,000 in liquid cash for education for my…
Q. I just attended a retirement seminar at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division. It showed me just how complicated preparing for retirement can be. How can I locate a financial adviser who is familiar with all the complications of federal retirement? I am in the Philadelphia area.
Q. I’ll be eligible to retire in September 2021 when i reach age 56 years and 2 months, and have 34 years of service. I’ve been investing money in my TSP since I started working for the federal government, and I switched all of my TSP funds into the L2020 as suggested when the life cycle funds began. I never really thought about it until this year, so I probably won’t retire when i’m eligible since I’ll only be 56. At least that’s what I’m thinking now because I’ll have two kids in college. I know that in 2020, they’re…
Q. I have an outstanding balance of $24,000, and I’m retiring Sept 30. I’m told I will have to repay the loan within 90 days, or it will be treated as a disbursement. Will I have the option of asking it to be declared, say, Nov. 1? I want to keep it in this tax year and make estimated tax payments now.
Q. All of my TSP funds are in the traditional TSP. Can I transfer the balance in my Roth IRA to a Roth TSP account (either now or after I retire), even though I have never contributed to the Roth TSP?
Q. A newsletter I received states there are several TSP millionaires. What is the general characteristics of a TSP millionaire? Are they in management? Upper G-level ratings? Is it the amount that is allocated and the way in which it is invested? I have invested the total amount that I can, plus investing the total amount to catch up after 50 for 31 years, and I am not close to being millionaire.
Q. Do you have an opinion on subscribing to TSP Advisors? When you subscribe, they are supposed to assist in managing TSP funds. Are TSP financial advisers more beneficial?