Q. Retirees who remain in the TSP cannot make contributions into the various funds, but they can make interfund transfers (IFT) and redistribute their money into different funds. Are retirees subject to the same TSP rule that no more than two IFTs can be done per month, or are retirees subject to a different rule regarding the number of times they can make such transfers?
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. Conventional wisdom says you should defer taking Social Security until at least your normal full-amount date, or age 70. Does that hold up if you don’t need the age 62 amount and invest it instead? I’m looking at a state municipal bond fund yielding 3.32 percent tax-free or an ETF of preferred stocks yielding at more than 6 percent.
Q. I will be eligible for retirement on July 7, 2017. I will be age 56 and have 30 years in. I came in under FERS. I’ve been told I would fall within the exception, meaning I would not be penalized an additional 10 percent if I take my money from my TSP before age 59½. As you know, when someone gets close to retirement, there are a lot of financial advisers showing up to guide you. The problem I have is they are telling me I can’t take my TSP until age 59½, and I know this is not true. Can…
Q. I am in a position to buy back five years and nine months of service for just fewer than $5,000. At 63 years old, I have 26-plus years of service before the buyback. I wanted to take a TSP withdrawal to pay it back. If I withdraw that amount, do I have to pay it back? Would it make a significant difference for my retirement to buy that time back? What would the trade-off be concerning a withdrawal to the benefits received with the bought-back time?
Q. I want to make my overall TSP more conservative. I am 56, and my TSP is very substantial (20 years’ worth of maxed-out contributions) and so are my other retirement assets. I am not feeling very risk tolerant. Currently I have 85 percent of my TSP in L2030. The other 15 percent is my last 3½ years of contributions (with catch-up) that I put in a 70/15/15 mix of C/S/I. I was thinking of moving the last 15 percent to L2030, or even moving that 15 percent into G or F/G. There was a period in the past 3½ years when I was…
Q. Being too young for retirement, I would like to tap into my retirement money for necessary costs of living during unemployment. After writing the Office of Personnel Management, it and the National Archives and Records Administration have advised me that they are unable to locate my records. Because it will be at least 15 years before I can retire without penalty, and I have records, I don’t care. In the meantime, can I simply request this small loan of my own retirement money from TSP?
Q. I heard that if you have a Roth TSP and make withdrawals before 59½, the exception under the Defending Public Safety Employees’ Retirement Act does not apply to the earnings portion of the Roth TSP. (I know if you transfer money to a an outside Traditional IRA or Roth IRA, you lose exception). I am a federal agent who qualifies as a public safety employee, and I’m retiring at age 56. I have money in both a traditional TSP and Roth TSP. I plan to start withdrawing upon retirement. Will I be penalized for having a Roth TSP?
Q. When I retire in a few years, can I take the balance in my TSP account and transfer it to my IRA without any penalty? If so, what are my options to make a transfer like this?
Q. I’m late out the gate with my TSP account, however I’m excited that the C Fund is on a gaining streak right now. I used to have my 5 percent going to the G Fund, then whatever total amount I had in the G Fund I switched it completely over to the C Fund. I also added another 1 percent, so now I have a total of 6 percent of my paycheck going into the C Fund. I’m only a Grade 7 so finances are a little tight, and I’m sure they are going to be even tighter when it comes time…
Q. I plan on retiring next August at 57 years old. I would like to buy an immediate annuity but do not want to buy the MetLife FERS annuity. Their interest rates for the annuity are extremely low compared to other annuities. When I retire at 57 years old, can I buy another annuity and avoid paying 20 percent upfront tax when buying that annuity? Also, can I get my payments without the 10 percent penalty for not being 59½?