Q. I am 38 years old with 15 years of government service as a GS-14. I hope to work no more than 20-22 more years, assuming age 60 will give me the maximum benefit. My TSP allocations are where my concerns lie. I am blindly diversifying my account as follows: G Fund at 10 percent; F Fund at 0 percent; C Fund at 50 percent; S Fund at 30 percent; I Fund at 10 percent. I have no allocations in the L Fund. I am contemplating having future earnings go into the L2040 fund. Would you recommend this, and how much…
Browsing: TSP contribution
Q. I am a FERS employee with 28 years in government service and about five years away from retirement. I evaluate my TSP portfolio allocation based on risk comfort, life expectancy, etc. in isolation from what I expect to receive from Social Security and my FERS pension. My allocation is roughly 60 percent stocks, 40 percent bonds (mostly G Fund). Recently, I have been told that because I will have a guaranteed income stream from my FERS pension, I can afford to take more risk in my TSP and I should move money from the G Fund to the stock side of the portfolio.…
Q. In 2016, I contributed $17,900 to my TSP and an additional $6,000 to my catch-up TSP. I had intended to contribute $18,000 to my primary TSP and $6,000 to my catch-up to max out my TSP, but I miscalculated. Will TSP/Employee Benefit Information System automatically transfer $100 from my catch-up contributions to meet the $18,000 requirement before catch-up contributions are made? Or do I have a tax problem to face?
Q. I retired last April 2016 as a FERS U.S. Postal Service employee with 32 years at 56 (my minimum retirement age) years old with the special retirement supplement. Am I subject to the Social Security earnings limit of $16,920 in 2017 until age 62? I will not be working through full retirement age (66) for Social Security purposes. Will my Social Security benefit become less than what it is projected to be now since I am not putting money into Social Security? If a start monthly TSP payments, should I elect fewer than or more than 10 years? I realize there is…
Q. I plan to retire at 62 and claim the (higher) 50 percent on my husband’s Social Security. My husband is 72 and plans to continue working. We file jointly. Since he is older than 72, his earnings are not affected, but because I plan to retire at 62, what is considered the “annual limit” before we are penalized by having $1 deducted for each $2 earned? Should I continue working with a gross income of approximately $50,000; and max out my TSP contributions, including catch-up, plus max out my health savings account (my net salary would be approximately $12,000 after Medicare taxes, etc.)?…
Q. I am currently serving in the Army. I have completed five years of service and have been contributing 5 percent into my traditional TSP account. One-hundred percent of my contributions are going into the G Fund. What fund or percentage of funds would you recommend? I am already a staff sergeant and will serve at least 20 years. I am also aware of the changes to TSP matching for military members and the reduction to retirement percentage that will happen if I elect to defer my legacy plan.
Q. I will turn 50 on March 8. I wanted to ensure that I did the catch-up contributions, so when I called ABC center to confirm that I did everything right, the representative asked me if I saw a box in which I could contribute and a submit button. I replied: “Yes.” He said I could enter the info for the contribution that day (this was Dec, 21, 2016) and the contribution would be effective on Dec. 25, 2016. I explained to the gentleman that I didn’t turn 50 until the year 2017. He said the pay period included 2017. Will I…
Q. I retired in 2011 under the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA). I had 25 years of service and was 53 years old. I worked in the U.S. Postal Service’s sales and business development department. I was in an acting level 21 position at $83,000 a year. My normal level was 19 with $72,000 a year. It has been 5½ years. I am 59 and have been getting the supplement with my pension for 3 years. If I went back to my level 19 position at $72,000, what happens to my TSP?
Q. I am a current employee with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security) with 13 years of service. I am considering transitioning to a part-time (20 hours) position with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Will I still be able to contribute to TSP? Can I contribute the maximum? Are there matching funds when you work part time? How will my part-time service reduce my retirement calculation? I am trying to gain more work-life balance and want to understand the financial ramifications before I make any decisions.
Q. I am currently investing in the TSP L Fund 2020 but still have money I previously invested sitting in C, F and G funds. Should I be transferring the individual funds into my current L Fund 2020 where I am now allocating 100 percent of my funds?