Q. I am a CSRS retiree from the Department of the Army. My Social Security benefits are set at $40 a month and will not get any higher. My husband retired with New York state benefits. I am told I cannot receive half of his Social Security benefits if he passes away. Is that still true? If so, why?
Browsing: survivor benefit
Q. My husband and I are both FERS with law enforcement coverage. He is 52 years old but will be retiring soon because of terminal illness. He has a total of 31 years of federal time. I am 45 years old and just completed my 25th year of federal LEO coverage. I have no plans of retiring anytime soon. My husband will most likely dip into his TSP upon retirement. He has made me his beneficiary of his TSP. Whatever money is left in his TSP after he passes, how does that affect my beneficiary status? Does his TSP remain…
Q. Let’s suppose I have a TSP account balance of $300,000, and when I die I leave the $300,000 to my spouse in a beneficiary participant account (BPA). She then sets it up so the two children we have are beneficiaries in equal shares. When she passes, my understanding according to TSP rules is the children cannot transfer the money into an inherited IRA to minimize their tax consequences. The money will have to be paid out in equal shares to the children and be fully taxable. I was told that in this case the spouse should transfer the money out of…
Q. As a CSRS employee, while still working, does the GPO penalty still apply if I collect a Social Security spousal benefit?
Q. I’m a FERS employee planning to leave my Thrift Saving Plan in place after I retire and draw an allotment for my remaining years. I’ve done some research, but I’m still unsure what happens to my TSP balance (in the event there is one) when I die. Assuming I have correctly designated beneficiaries, do they have access to the remaining balance in a lump sum? Are the rules different for a surviving spouse for whom I have designated no survivor benefit than they would be for say, an adult offspring or other designated beneficiary? Finally, this is pre-tax…
Q. I am 64 years old, retired under CSRS and receive a pension of $3,954 dollars monthly. I paid enough to be eligible for Medicare, but I don’t have enough quarters to receive Social Security benefits on my own. My wife is currently receiving a Social Security pension of $1,359.90 monthly. Am I eligible for a Social Security Spousal benefits?
Q. Suppose a TSP participant passes away and listed on their TSP-3 beneficiary form that there are allocations of 34 percent to the spouse, 33 percent to the daughter, and 33 percent to the son. Does the spouse have a beneficiary participant account (BPA) with the 34 percent allocation in the age appropriate L Fund, and do the children each receive a lump-sum payment of 33 percent?
Q. My aunt passed away recently and bequeathed me approximately $50,000 from a rollover IRA. Upon receipt, may I deposit these funds into my TSP account? Are you aware of any tax implications if I do?
Q. I have retired under FERS from the U.S. Postal Service. I was single when I retired; now I am married. When I decide to withdraw monthly payments from my TSP account, will my wife have to sign anything?
Q. I am a 54-year-old federal worker with a sizeable TSP account balance. My 26-year-old daughter, also a federal worker, invests regularly in the TSP. If I leave my daughter my TSP after I die, is she allowed to transfer the inherited portion of the TSP into her own TSP account? If so, is the inherited TSP money treated the same as her TSP contributions? If not, how so?