Q. I am really confused over the Roth IRA and Roth TSP. I have an individual Roth IRA through Vanguard. I have a Thrift Savings Plan account that I max every year, and because I’m over 50, I also max my TSP catch-up contribution. I’m thinking of changing the catch-up contribution from the regular TSP to the Roth TSP. If I contribute the max to a Roth TSP, can I still contribute the max to my Vanguard Roth IRA ($6,500 to Vanguard and $6,500 to Roth TSP for a total of $13,000). Or do I need to choose just one…
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Q. I have reverted back to a more conservative Thrift Savings Plan allocation: 67 percent G Fund/33 percent C Fund. I put in the maximum, including the maximum catch-up and, with match, it’s nearly $30,000 per year. My balance at 60 when I retire in five years should be between $500,000 and $600,000 depending on the return. I am estimating a 4 percent return. I am wondering about keeping this asset allocation and taking monthly payments starting near 4 percent or slightly higher at age 60. Is a distribution with 70/30 as indicated above a bad idea? I like the conservative allocation and…
Q. I plan to retire next year with 35 years of federal service (FERS) at age 56, and eligible to receive a Thrift Savings Plan supplement of about $18,000 per year. Once I retire, I plan to work to earn approximately $38,000 per year. Of the earned income, I plan to contribute $17,500 to my 401(k) plan and an additional $5,500 toward the catch-up contribution. The remaining $15,000 will be reported as an earned income on my W-2 and Form 1040. I plan to earn $38,000 for the year, so that my supplemental income will not be deducted $1 from my…
Q. I am the 401(k) specialist for our tribal government. We have a former employee who wants to roll over his 401(k) into making a deposit in CSRS. Is this possible? A transfer from CSRS into a 401(k) is not allowed, so should his attempted rollover be allowed? A. This is not allowed. CSRS deposits are made with after-tax money.
Q. I understand that a federal civilian employee under FERS can make $52,000 a year to the Thrift Savings Plan. I know that the $17,500 regular contribution and the $5,500 catch-up contribution totaling $23,000 can be put into the Roth TSP. How much of the overall $52,000 limit can be put into the Roth TSP, and how would one contribute to the Roth TSP above the $17,500 and $5,500 limits? A. You misunderstand the limits. The $17,500 and $5,500 limits are the total deferral limits to either the regular or Roth TSP.
Q. I am in FERS (age 57 with 30 years). I have been offered the buyout and will have to be off the roll Jan. 31. How should I go about having a portion of my lump-sum annual leave payment go directly into my Thrift Savings Plan account? A. This is not allowed.
Q. How long does one have to maintain a traditional IRA before rolling it over into the Thrift Savings Plan? A. You may not transfer Roth IRA assets into the TSP.
Are you planning to retire soon? If so, you’ll need to figure out whether you’re financially able to make it work in the near and the distant future. Because there are few, if any, truly reliable financial guarantees, this can be a difficult thing to determine. The essential question is this: “Will I have the resources — usually cash — available when I need it to support my desired standard of living for the rest of my life?” If someone else is depending upon you for all or part of their financial support, your retirement decision will affect them, as…
It’s easy to make mistakes when you are planning to retire. Some of the biggest mistakes apply to all employees; a few apply only to CSRS or FERS retirees. All can be costly. Here they are and what you can do to avoid them: Retiring on the spur of the moment. It can be disastrous, for two reasons. First, if you hand in your retirement application at the last minute, it may contain errors that delay processing or even cause it to be rejected. Second, decisions made in haste often come back to bite you. Once committed to a course…
Q. I am a longtime CSRS employee with a pretty good Thrift Savings Plan balance. I plan to retire in two years and move to another city when I retire. My spouse is planning to retire in eight months, and we are planning to buy a house in the new city. We would like to buy the new house and begin the transition to the new city without selling our existing home until I retire. We are looking at a number of ways to finance the purchase of the new home and afford a mortgage payment on that house, a…