Q. Can I designate my adult, nondependent child as a beneficiary for my Thrift Savings Plan lifetime annuity? Would they be considered an “insurable interest”? This would be a perfectly healthy adult child that may or may not be married at any given time. A. You may name anyone you choose as a beneficiary for your TSP life annuity. There is no insurable interest requirement for beneficiaries.
Q. I recently transferred my “entire” traditional Individual Retirement Account from Fidelity to the Thrift Savings Plan. When I started the IRA in 1983, I opened it with pretax money. From that, there was a front load cost. To the best of my knowledge, they rolled all of it over. How does that affect the tax situation? Is that previously taxed money identified? A. When you moved it into the TSP, you signed a statement that it was all pretax money. It will all be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn.
Q. I am 67, retired, and I am considering withdrawing $21,000 from my Thrift Savings Plan to pay off my home mortgage payments of $500 a month. I’m helping two grandchildren with college and the $500 a month is rough. What would my tax liability be on $21,000? A. The only way to answer this question is to prepare your tax return for the year of the withdrawal.
Q. I am a Defense Department employee under CSRS, and am eligible to retire in two years at age 55. I have been making contributions to the Voluntary Contributions Program for many years. Under VC regulations, upon withdrawing the account (among other options), I can roll over the interest portion of my VC balance direct to my Thrift Savings Program, and receive my contributions portion back as a cash refund, from the Office of Personnel Management. On the upcoming Roth TSP, will there be an option to roll my VC portion, direct to the Roth TSP, in addition to rolling the…
Q. I owe $24,000 to my Thrift Savings Plan from a loan I made. If I take the early retirement, how much will I owe in taxes to the government? I live in Florida. A. The amount you’ll owe on the unpaid loan balance can only be determined by completing your tax return for the year. If you’re not prepared to make the estimates by running a pro-forma return, then you should consult a tax adviser who is.
Q. I’m a 50-year-old postal clerk (FERS) with 23½ years of service, and I want to get out. I want to move from Florida back to my home state 1,000 miles away. I think I only have four options, and I’m looking for advice on what would be best for me. 1. Retire with 50/20 and either pay the penalties or defer or postpone annuities? If I do that, what will the penalties be? 2. Stick it out for another year and a half until I have 25 years of service and retire. If I do that, will there be…
Q. I am 41 and due to unemployment for two years following my active-duty retirement, I need to withdrawal all my Thrift Savings Plan funds. When the 20 percent is withheld from my payment, does that then get applied to my tax liability for this year? I understand that I owe 20 percent in taxes on the money, so is it set aside like federal taxes withheld in a regular paycheck? In addition, there will be a 10 percent penalty due to my age? Is the penalty automatically taken out if I elect for a total withdrawal, or must I set this aside when filing 2012 taxes? A. The…
Q. I know that I can’t put my wife’s Individual Retirement Account into the Thrift Savings Plan, so we would like to invest it into an F Fund equivalent. Can you identify such a fund that we can roll her IRA into? A. Any fund that is based on the Barclay’s Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index should do — the lower the cost, the better. Try AGG from iShares.
Q. I deposited a little money into my Thrift Savings Plan, tax free, about five years ago, when I was in the military serving in Iraq. Since this money is in effect post tax, would it be possible to transfer it from my traditional TSP account to a Roth TSP account, thus allowing it to accrue tax-free interest? A. It is possible. Consult a competent tax adviser for advice about if, when and how you should do it.
Q. I am planning on rolling over my voluntary contributions account in the very near future. Can I roll my contributions to the new Roth Thrift Savings Plan once it is operational? I understand that any earnings I have from my VC account can roll over to my regular TSP account. A. Based on the guidance provided by the TSP so far, this should be possible. We’ll have to see how things develop to be sure.