Q. I began federal civil service 10/22/1983 and retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture 5/13/2013 on an “early out” offer. For my nearly 30 years of service, I never left CSRS, paid Social Security, and qualified fully for CSRS Benefits at my retirement. I did, however, participate in the employee-only [no match from my agency] paid deduction that was an “option” for CSRS to build a THRIFT Saving Program that currently has an approximate current value of $235,000. I retired early and have been receiving monthly retirement benefits since 5/13/2013 [and thus a substantially reduced monthly benefit, but at my…
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Q. I am a CSRS retiree. Is a lump sum withdrawal from my TSP considered as earned income? Will it effect my Medicare premium amount for the next year?
Q. Do you know what the federal withholding tax percentage is these days? I’ve heard it used to be 25 percent, but with the tax cuts in 2018 is it now lower? I’m retiring on 12/31/18 and trying to guesstimate how much will be taken out of my annual leave lump sum payment, which will be for 388 hours of leave. Is the withholding percentage determined independently by each federal agency?
Q. I am 59 and retired in 2015 at 57 from a federal law enforcement position. I started a consulting LLC in Texas in 2018 and do not take regular draws from the company account. I am currently receiving Social Security supplement along with my pension. Do the gross earnings of my LLC count toward the earnings test even when I do not take a draw equal to or greater than the earnings limit set for the current year 2018? Or, if I take a draw and maintain that amount under the limit, would any remaining funds in the LLC…
Q. I am a federal employee with a TSP (Traditional). In addition, I currently own a Traditional IRA and a Roth IRA, while my wife owns a Roth IRA. This year, it looks like our combined income (MAGI) will likely exceed the threshold for the standard approach to contribute to our Roth IRAs. I have seen strategies to use the backdoor approach, but it will require smartly transferring my traditional IRA to TSP to avoid a large conversion taxes. My traditional IRA has a nondeductible basis of $12,000 and $78,000 of earnings. As I understand from research, I could transfer the $78,000…
Q. Can you withdraw your TSP funds if you leave the federal government on disability retirement?
Q. I just read an article on IRS 72(t) and SEPP regarding withdrawal of funds from 401(k) (TSP) and IRA prior to age 59.5. I’ve never heard of this and haven’t seen it mentioned in your column either. Is there a specific amount of withdrawal I should be taking monthly according to IRS rules and calculations in order to avoid penalties? I retired at age 55 from the U.S. Postal Service on a VERA retirement (FERS) in March. I started withdrawal of TSP in May. Does this IRS 72(t) and SEPP apply to my situation? Will I be slapped with…
Q. If a employer held taxes out before depositing money into an employee IRA account at retirement, does the employee have to pay taxes on that money again at of withdraw?
Q. I am planning to retire in Jan 31, 2020. At that time I will be 56 years old with 33 years of service. I am planning to take a lump-sum payment and monthly withdrawals from my TSP account. Will I be penalized for withdrawing my TSP? If so, how much? How much tax do I have to pay? How long do I have to wait to receive a lump-sum payment from the TSP?
Q. I’m a Department of Homeland Security FERS employee (age 45, 25 years of service) under special category (law enforcement) for early retirement. I would love to retire this year, but do not want to get locked in until 59 ½ if I choose to withdraw TSP funds under 72(t). Is there another way for me to withdraw from my TSP without incurring a penalty? My suspicion is that I will have to wait another four years until I’m 50 with 30 years of service.