Q. I am a retired federal employee and intend to work as a real estate agent with plans to establish an LLC for my business. Would this be subject to the earnings test for my annuity supplement? A. Since this is earned income, it will be counted in computing any offset.
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Q. I have been digging through the training materials released by the TSP on the new withdrawal options, but have been unable to find any guidance on when the quarterly and annual withdrawals are paid. If I change from monthly to quarterly or annual for 2020, when will I get the money? A. From the TSP website: “You should allow up to 10 days from the time you submit your completed withdrawal request until the time payment is sent. We will notify you when your payment has been disbursed. You can check My Account or call the ThriftLine to find…
Q. My husband is a retired CSRS annuitant and I’m a retired FERS annuitant. I turn 66 this year, which is my full retirement age for Social Security. I haven’t yet begun to receive SS payments or withdrawn any funds from my TSP, but would like your opinion as to leaving the TSP funds until I need to make Minimum Required Distributions. My feeling is that if I predecease him, he will not receive any of my SS, but will inherit my TSP. Our accountant thinks I should start drawing down the TSP and invest those funds, since we don’t…
Q. My financial adviser in 2014 convinced me to roll my $600,000 403(b) into an annuity. I have paid more than $48,000 in fees over the past years. I want to stop paying high fees. Do you know if it is possible to roll the annuity to my vested TSP account? A. That was a salesperson, not an adviser. The TSP will accept a direct transfer of funds if: the money is coming from an eligible retirement plan account – IRA, 401(k), 403(b), etc. – and the transferred amount contains no tax basis that you wish to claim.
Q. I am a CSRS Offset retiree who is now 62 and eligible for Social Security. I am currently employed as a contractor working in a government agency. The Office of Personnel Management is reducing my annuity by the amount SS reported to them that I am eligible to receive. I don’t dispute the amount and understand that this would happen. However, SS told me that I earn too much money and they will not make up the difference. I was told during the retirement seminar that regardless of the amount I earned, I would get the SS portion because…
Q. I’m a CSRS person. Will my survivor annuity increase as my CSRS pension increases due to COLA? Will this occur if I select less than a full survivor annuity? A. Any survivor benefit you elect will increase for inflation at the same rate as your benefit.
Q. I retired under FERS and receive the supplement. Will the sale of a second home be considered wages, thus reducing my supplement or completely eliminating it? A. Proceeds from the sale of a home are not considered wages for any purpose that I am aware of.
Q. When I retire, if I use the funds from my Roth TSP to buy an annuity, are the monthly proceeds tax free? A. If Roth funds are used to buy a life annuity, and the annuity is designated a Roth IRA annuity, the payments will be tax free.
Q. My husband is a CSRS retiree. His Social Security benefit was reduced due to his receiving a pension. I am at full retirement age and plan to apply for Social Security based on his earnings since I do not have my quarters met. Will my Social Security be based on his benefit before the reduction or will mine be based on his reduced amount? A. This is a question for a Social Security rep, but it is my understanding that your spousal benefit will be calculated based on your husband’s windfall elimination provision-reduced benefit amount.
Q. If I retire from civil service (under FERS) and I return to work as a civil servant at a later date, I know that my annuity will be subtracted from my pay. However, will I be able to contribute to TSP again? If so, can I contribute to my original TSP account or would I have to start over with another account? A. You will allowed to contribute to the TSP for during any period of eligible employment under TSP’s rules: https://www.tsp.gov/PlanParticipation/EligibilityAndContributions/index.html. A new TSP account will be opened for you when your are eligibly employed.