Q. I have a Roth IRA and Roth TSP, and I am not eligible for catch-up contributions at this time due to my age. What is the maximum I can contribute to both for FY13? A. There is not a combined maximum, and the limits apply to calendar years, not fiscal years. The most that you can contribute to the Roth TSP for 2014 without catch-up is $17,500. The limit for Roth IRA contributions for 2014 is $5,500, but this might be reduced for you based on your tax filing status and income for the year. You should consult IRS…
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Q. Could you clarify for me the following: I wish to withdraw funds from my Thrift Savings Plan account (by submitting Form TSP 70, as I am told). To get monthly payments, in section IV, I fill No. 23c: 100% for monthly payments, fixed amount (greater than my RMD). Suppose two years from now, I want to withdraw the remainder of my TSP funds in one lump sum. Am I allowed to do so? How? By submitting another TSP70? A. Yes, you may terminate the monthly payments and request a final distribution using Form TSP-79.
Q. I retired from civil service in January 2012 with 25 years contributing to CSRS and FERS. I will be 59½ in April. I plan to make a partial withdrawal and have the balance as monthly payments when I turn 60. Will I incur an additional 10 percent early withdrawal penalty before age 59½ since I retired or do I need to wait until 59½? Do I need to wait until 60 to begin receiving monthly payments, or can that start any time? A. Since you retired after the calendar year in which you reached age 55, your Thrift Savings…
Q. I received a 1099R from the Internal Revenue Service. They do not differentiate the annuity income from the supplement income. I’ve read the IRS Publication 721 tax guide to U.S. Civil Service Retirement benefits. There is no mention of the special retirement supplement. I called the IRS; they said they never heard of the supplement being treated like Social Security. They also advised me to report the income on the 1099R as is (do not separate the supplement from the regular annuity). If it is indeed to be reported like Social Security, how do I go about it without…
Q. The following question/answer was recently posted. Where can I find the full information to support the answer? Are there penalties involved? Q. I will be 55 this month and plan to retire in November with 33 years of service under CSRS. Do I have to wait until I am 59½ to withdraw from my Thrift Savings Plan? A. Not if you wait until you’re retired to request the withdrawal. A. Check Page 7 of this notice: https://www.tsp.gov/PDF/formspubs/tsp-536.pdf.
Q. I will turn 70½ after Feb. 19, and will retire from my full-time position at the end of the month. I have notified Social Security, the state retirement funds in two states where I worked, and my fund in a private approved pension fund with accounts from two other universities of my intention to retire at the end of February and to start receiving distributions in March 2014. Is there anything else that I need to do to avoid being hit with that horrid 50 percent penalty? I received an unsavory email from the Wisconsin Employee Trust Fund scolding…
Q. I have 14 years of federal service and have always been in the C Fund 100 percent, currently with $230,000. For the past few years, I’ve contributed at 15 percent. I was not very attentive to my Thrift Savings Plan and, after 2008, was leery of moving after the big losses and getting into L2030. In 2013, the C Fund was amazing, but 2014 has been way down so far. How do I know the right time to transfer the whole thing to an L Fund, and is that the right thing? I will probably retire by 2035. A.…
Q. I’m a little unclear on the Roth IRA vs. Roth TSP differences. I’ve been told that I can’t contribute to a Roth IRA since my adjusted gross income (married, filing jointly) is too high. Does that same rule apply to the Roth TSP? It seems to me, if I can go with the Roth TSP and max it out at the 2014 maximum of $17,500, I can also max out the Veterans Affairs Department contribution (which goes to my traditional TSP). A. The Roth IRA contribution limits do not apply to Roth TSP contributions. Separate and distinct rules apply…
Q. I retired in July 2013 and have $500,000 in my Thrift Savings Plan. I need more money to support retirement and would like to take a lump sum of $30,000 out of TSP. I was thinking about taking the rest of the money as an allotment. Does this make sense? I have delayed my Social Security until I am 66 (I’m 64 now). My wife is taking her Social Security. A. Waiting to claim Social Security is probably a good idea unless you have a shorter than average life expectancy and are single. If your only other source of…
Q. I did a partial withdrawal from my Thrift Savings Plan last year at age 60. How do I report the income on my tax return? Is it strictly income? Are there no capital gains to report? If there are gains, how do I determine what the gains were? A. You will receive a 1099 reporting the distribution, which will be taxed entirely as ordinary income.