Q. What happens to a DOD civilian’s contribution to the retirement system if the person dies before collecting the contributed vested amount in his annuity?
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. Can you confirm if a TSP rollover does, in fact, eliminate any pre-existing IRA basis?
Q. I’m about to retire from the government. All of the financial advisers I talk to say that my spouse and I should buy long-term care insurance, but the monthly cost is so high I can’t afford it. Is the long-term care insurance offered through the federal government (FLTCIP) worth buying for my wife and I? Note – I don’t expect to have an enormous amount of monthly income at retirement and insurance is eating up my projected monthly budget.
Q. I am on CSRS,over 59 1/2 years old, and thinking of withdrawing my TSP and putting it in a personal account. If, for example, I have $50,000 to withdraw, and there is a 20% tax penalty, as I understand it, this means I receive $40,000. Now, is $50,000 added to my income for tax purposes, or is $40,000 added to it? If it is $50,000, can I include the 20 percent penalty as tax deducted from my income on my tax return?
Q. I am 55 years old and will have 30 years service in the USPS as of February 2016. I’d like to continue to work, but take an in-service withdrawal now to purchase an investment property. My total TSP is about $175,000. Can I do this?
Q. I’m planning to retire from federal service at age 59 with 26 of federal service. Will I be eligible for the SRS at this time, or would I have to wait until I’m 60 years old?
Q. I’ve been a federal employee for nearly five years now. My previous employer had a Money Purchase Plan and Retirement Savings Plan (401k) that has now totaled nearly $100k via Vanguard. What should I do with those plans since I have not touched them in 5 years? Should I roll them over somehow into the TSP or even an IRA?
Q. I am 59-years-old with 10 years of FERS service. Can I make a one-time, lump-sum withdrawal now and then make withdrawals monthly when I retire at 62?
Q. I turned 70 ½ this past April. I want to withdraw the minimum required before the end of this year to avoid getting taxed more next year. How do I request this?
Q. I became a federal employee in August 2012. Until recently, I was only contributing three percent of my income, but I was recently promoted and am able to contribute five percent. I have approximately $10,000 in my TSP and would like to retire in about 27 years (at which point, I will be 67). I’ve been contributing 95 percent to the 2040 plan and an additional five percent to the G Fund. Is this too conservative? The TSP is the only retirement account I have. Given the current market climate, what should my fund allocations be? My current salary is $63,722. I hope…