Q. I am the account holder of my late husband’s TSP account. I’m receiving required minimum distributions due to age. My adult daughter is disabled. What is the best tax-efficient way to pass the TSP funds to her at my death? I would like for her to receive a yearly amount of $5,000 to $6,000 since that is my RMD now.
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. If you have only worked as a federal employee, are you entitled to receive a Social Security check and Medicare Part A/B?
Q. I am a CSRS employee, and I plan on retiring in 2016. I currently have 37 years of service. If I elect to contribute money (up to 10 percent of my lifetime earnings) to the Voluntary Contribution Program, I understand one option is to receive an annuity that will pay a yearly amount of approximately 9 percent of my contribution amount. I will be 65 in December of 2016.
Q. I am retiring at age 50 as a federal law enforcement official at the end of the year. I would like to make penalty free withdrawals from my TSP starting next year. Can I make monthly withdrawals from my TSP account in the amount of my choosing without incurring the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty? I would not change the amount of the TSP monthly distributions until sometime after age 59. The TSP computed payments based on my life expectancy were too low of a figure.
Q. I am under FERS and 43 years old. I have been working for the government for the last six years at the GS-13 level and plan to retire after age 71 after 34 years of service. I currently contribute the maximum to traditional TSP and have $370,000 in TSP (about 90 percent invested in C, S and I funds, and 10 percent invested in F and G funds). Even if I switch to a Roth TSP, I can still contribute the maximum allowed each year including the maximum catch-up contributions allowed. Under these circumstances, wouldn’t it be beneficial to switch to Roth TSP? I…
Q. I’m a federal employee within about 5 years of retirement and am wondering about whether to revise the distribution of funds in the L 2020 fund in which I’m now invested ($127,000 balance). I was just told the rate of return in the G fund (to which the L 2020 fund currently allocates 44 percent) is quite poor and that I should consider reallocating funds out of the G fund — perhaps concentrating on the C, S and I funds. However, I’m aware of the need to invest conservatively with this short time horizon. Under these circumstances, would you advise…
Q. I am 53 years old with over 25 years of federal service (FERS). I am taking a discontinued service retirement. When can I access my TSP without penalty?
Q. I retired as an air traffic controller at age 50 in 2008. In order to take money from TSP, I had to do it based on life expectancy. Now at 57 I want to make a one-time withdrawal. I’m being told I will not be able to do this for some reason (which is not clearly stated anywhere). Why is this? Where is it stated I cannot make a withdrawal? What are my options now?
Q. My spouse and I are FERS employees and are considering retirement in the second half of 2016. I have 30+ years and meet age requirements. My spouse meets the MRA +10 requirement. In anticipation of retirement and to take advantage of tax considerations, we are considering applying 100 percent of our wages, starting with the first pay period 2016, until we reach 2016 maximum TSP and TSP catch-up limits. During this time we can live off our cash reserves. Is there a down side to using this approach from the perspective of the government matching our TSP contributions? And should we use this…
Q. I understand that TSP is waiving the 10 percent penalty for LEOs who retire and are at least 50. This means that they can take an income or access their money from TSP without penalty. What if a LEO rolled/transferred their TSP to their own IRA after separation via a TSP-70 form and then began to access the funds from the new account? Would they be covered under this new rule since the funds originally came from TSP? Or would they be subject to regular IRA rules?