Q. My wife is retiring Oct. 26. I hear that it is taking six or more months to finalize your retirement and receive your first retirement check. Can she begin receiving payments from her Thrift Savings Plan account as soon as she retires or does she have to wait until she receives her first retirement check and her retirement is finalized? She would like to start receiving monthly payments in January. A. As soon as her agency notifies TSP that she has separated from service, TSP will process her request for monthly payments.
Q. I left federal service (did not retire) at age 57. If I opt for a lump-sum payout, will I just be taxed 20 percent? I keep seeing the additional 10 percent tax before age 59½. Also, are there additional taxes to be paid if I do not roll over into a traditional IRA? A. You will be exempt from the early withdrawal penalty since you separated from service during or after the calendar year in which you reached age 55. If you do not roll your withdrawal over, it will be taxed as ordinary income when you file your tax return for…
Q. I have been in the service 15 years and plan on being in for at least five to nine more years. I have been putting in 26 percent monthly to the Thrift Savings Plan for the past five years. I have three Roth IRAs, as well. Should I start the Roth TSP, put in $13,000 to $15,000 a year, continue my Roth IRAs and move all my funds from my regular TSP to Roth TSP? A. I can’t tell you what you should do, since I don’t know enough about your situation to do so responsibly. In general, I recommend…
Q. I am a retired CSRS employee, age 62. I am considering converting my Thrift Savings Plan balance of about $205,000 to an IRA with Fidelity. What are the advantages and disadvantages of making this conversion? What considerations should I look at? A. The disadvantages include higher costs, greater complexity and the loss of access to the G Fund. The advantage might be more flexible withdrawal options. I recommend against this move unless, for some reason, you have no choice.
Q. If I retire after 10 years of service, which would make my age 56.4, would I be able to start withdrawing from my Thrift Savings Plan without a penalty? If so, am I allowed to withdraw a larger amount per month and then lower it when I start getting my Social Security benefits at age 62? How often am I allowed to change the amount I withdraw per month? A. If you retire during or after the year in which you reach age 55, your TSP withdrawals will be exempt from the early withdrawal penalty. You may change the…
Q. If I agree to make Substantially Equal Periodic Payments available under Internal Revenue Service code section 72(t) from my TSP, may I do so before I retire and avoid the 10 percent penalty? If it matters, I am a federal law enforcement officer who will have 25 years of service before age 50. A. No, since you’re not allowed to initiate monthly payments before you retire. The 72(t)-compliant distributions will avoid the early withdrawal penalty whenever they are initiated, however.
Q. My husband and I are both federal employees. My husband is 30 and has 10½ years. He contributes to the G Fund and, from what I can tell from our leave and earnings statement, it is 5 percent. I am 28 and have three years. I also have a 5 percent contribution to G Fund per our LES. What fund do you recommend we contribute to? We would like to start now to ensure we have a decent retirement. Do you recommend us investing in the new Roth? A. You should contribute as much as you can afford to…
Q. I know I can move my money in the Thrift Savings Plan to an IRA (I’m retired) and pay no taxes doing so. But can I move my TSP to an IRA outside of the U.S. and still not pay any taxes during the transfer? A. An IRA as established by the U.S. tax code outside the U.S.? I’m not sure how that is even possible.
Q. I’m retiring from the military at age 52 after 30 years of service. As I understand things, I can’t withdraw my Thrift Savings Plan funds without a penalty until age 59½ (except as an annuity or equal payments based on life expectancy). What if I go to work for the government as a civilian until age 55? Then, could I withdraw the whole amount without penalty? Is there a certain length of time I must spend as a civilian federal worker? What if I only worked for the government for three months during the year I turned 55? Is that…
Q. I am looking for some feedback on information received from a financial adviser. I have been in the L2020 fund. The financial adviser is primarily for military and federal employees. He indicated that the L2020 fund currently has 60 percent in stocks (C, S and I funds) and 40 percent in fixed income (G and F funds). He had suggested conducting an interfund transfer to allocate 65 percent to stocks and 35 percent to fixed income. The formula would be 25 percent C, 20 percent S and 20 percent I funds, equaling 65 percent. The second equation would be to put…