Q. I’m pretty pleased with the Thrift Savings Plan returns and would like to know if I can deposit any after-tax money into the TSP. If I have a $100,000 in a CD, can I withdraw those funds (and pay the taxes) and deposit them into my current TSP account? A. No, but you may transfer your 401(k) assets into your TSP account if all of the money in it is taxable upon withdrawal. Use Form TSP-60 and follow the instructions there.
Browsing: 401(k)
Q. My husband has 10 years of Air Force service and is in the process of negotiating to take a federal position. Is it possible to use a 401(k) rollover to buy back his service? I am thinking not, since a rollover is only allowable to an IRA or other “qualified plan.” We certainly can take a direct taxable distribution of a portion of that 401(k) plan and use that money to buy back, but he wondered if it can be done with the rollover. A. No.
Q. I am retired (68 years old) under CSRS. We are thinking of refinancing our home and paying off the line of credit. If we include the settlement fees, we will be saving $5,474 per year, recouping our settlement fee within 1½ years. However, if we refinance without including the fees, we will be saving $5,916 per year. My husband wants to draw $8,000 from either his 401(k) (he is 68 also), or draw $4,000 from his 401(k) and my Thrift Savings Plan. I don’t want to touch these for a $42 a year savings. Are there drawbacks at our age to taking…
Q. On June 26, I took out a $22,000 loan against my 401(k) plan for major home improvements. That equaled up to $376 per month taken out of my paycheck to repay this loan. Then, Aug. 1, my hours were temporarily reduced until the end of 2012 to 30 hours per week, which amounts to an additional $620 deducted from my pay monthly. This puts a serious hardship on my ability to pay my monthly obligations. Is there a way to legally stop payments to my 401(k) repayment, seeing as I had no idea my hours would be reduced, whereby affecting my ability…
Q. My wife recently retired from a state position. She was informed by her human resources/benefits office that she could roll over the balance of her 401(k) into my Thrift Savings Plan. Is this accurate? A. Wrong! One spouse can’t combine their retirement plan assets with those of the other.
Q. I recently retired from the military. I had $30,000 in the Thrift Savings Plan. I have no plans on returning to federal service. I have Roth IRAs with two other private companies, each with less than what I had in the TSP. I want to remove these from TSP and place into either a new Roth or one of my existing accounts, which makes more sense as a larger pot of money will earn me more since I can continue to contribute. This opens a new concern as the limitations of combined income and contributing to a Roth. I…
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 was contributing to the Thrift Savings Plan since 2002, when the program started, until 2009. I don’t contribute now on a monthly basis because I am not a government employee yet. I still put in money from time to time, like rolling over a 401(k) from a previous job. I have close to six figures in my plan. I plan on working for another 20 years, hopefully in the government sector soon. I currently have all my money in the G Fund. I have always been nervous to put money into those other funds. Can you provide me tips on…
Q. I am a federal civilian with 20 years of service (12 to 15 years to go). I have more than $200,000 in my 401(k) plan. The new Roth IRA option sounds appealing to me, since I’d rather pay tax on my retirement money now, while I’m employed. If I start changing some of my biweekly allocations to the Roth option, am I negating the benefits of the Roth by contributing less to the “big pot” of my existing 401(k), reducing the compounding interest? I don’t want to end up robbing Peter to pay Paul. A. Directing your contributions to…
Q. I live in Alabama. I’m 32 and have worked about six years in the federal system. I am vested, and just left to work with a contractor. I have $7,400 in my Thrift Savings Plan account and want to do a full withdrawal. If I do the withdrawal, do I get that number since I’m vested, or only what I’ve contributed? Also, when or if I withdraw it, I know I will have 20 percent withheld. Will it hurt my tax return next year? If so, how do I avoid that? A. You may withdraw your vested balance. That’s…