Q. I am considering doing a partial withdrawal from my Thrift Savings Plan account and was wondering what the taxes might be. I am 63 years old, still working, with a FERS status. I wanted to move most of my TSP savings into a mutual fund/IRA and continue to make deposits in TSP. A. If you roll the withdrawal over into an IRA, there will be no tax consequences under current law.
Q. My wife is asking for 93 percent of my total vested account balance. Does total vested account balance mean what was contributed by me over the past 12 years, or the total value of the account which includes Va contribution and growth? A. It includes everything in your account except for Agency Automatic Contributions, which have not yet met the vesting requirement: “A participant is vested in (entitled to keep) the Agency Automatic (1%) Contribution in his or her account after completing 3 years of Federal service (2 years for most FERS employees in Congressional and certain noncareer positions).”
Q. I am a single, 57-year-old CSRS Offset retiree, mortgage-free, no car payment, no children and debt-free. I have enough pension to live on comfortably and still put away money into savings monthly. I have more than 30 quarters of Social Security credit. I have two six-figure IRAs that I do not plan to touch until required. My Thrift Savings Plan is approximately $400,000 and I have yet to touch it. I am perplexed about when to begin drawing money from my TSP, but I know that I will have to begin withdrawals by age 70½. Should I draw TSP…
Q. The Internal Revenue Service is penalizing me for withdrawing my Thrift Savings Plan. I am less than 59 years old, but I retired under a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority. It is my understanding that I do not have to pay an early withdrawal penalty because I am retired. Please correct me if I am wrong. I also need to find the regulations for the IRS if I am exempt from paying this penalty. A. Unless you retired during or after the year in which you reached age 55, or meet one of the other special exceptions, your withdrawals will…
Q. Regarding the Thrift Savings Plan and what can be deposited into my active TSP account: I was previously employed in a nonfederal job for which I had a 401(k) plan in which I was fully vested. After leaving the company’s employ, I rolled the 401(k) into an IRA. Now, I am thinking about taking the IRA and depositing it into my TSP. Is this allowed? Is there a maximum amount that can be rolled into the TSP? Where should I look to get the appropriate forms? A. You may transfer an unlimited amount of pretax money from a 401(k) or IRA…
Q. I am 60½ years old, under FERS and plan to continue to work until 66. I took out a loan from the Thrift Savings Plan and currently have payments for two more years. I am wondering if I could not pay this loan off and have it counted as a disbursement since I am old enough to withdraw from my account. I would not do this until 2013. A. Yes, if you default on your loan repayment, the TSP will declare your unpaid balance, including interest, a taxable distribution and the usual rules will apply.
Q. Current age: 56 Entered U.S. Navy active duty: May 1978 Active-duty military time: 11 years, four months Retired reservist after 26 years as an O-5 Entered civil service: November 1997 Current paygrade: GS-9, Step 8 Received a $30,000 severance pay when released from active duty in January 1989 Points accumulated, active and reserve, for retirement: 5,245 What do I need to do to retire at the end of this year? I know you can’t tell me what I should do, but if you could give me guidance as to what I need to do so I can make an…
Q. I am a FERS employee with the Postal Service and will have 30 years of service at age 57. Can I withdraw from my Thrift Savings Plan without penalty if I have reached my minimum retirement age? A. Your MRA has no effect on TSP withdrawal penalties. After you retire, you’ll have access to your TSP account without penalty. While you’re still working, you’ll have to wait until you reach age 59½ to avoid the penalty.
Q. I made the costly mistake of rolling over my Thrift Savings Plan into a traditional IRA. I had to file a Form 72(t) to take out payments until I reached age 59½. Then I moved to another firm, filed a new 72(t), and now I violated the original 72(t), and take a 10 percent retroactive penalty. A. I’ve written many times about the reasons not to roll your TSP account over to an IRA. This illustrates one of them — that you may be giving up penalty-free access to your funds. I’ve also written many times about the pitfalls…
Q. I will turn 70½ years old on March 29, 2014. In what year do I have to take my first required minimum distribution? I have been told it would be on April 1, 2015, but I want to be 100 percent sure it isn’t April 1, 2014. A. It’s the year after the year in which you reach age 70½, so 2015.