Q. I retired in 2005 with 30 years in the military. I am 58 years old. If I want to make a full withdrawal now, how much will I pay in taxes? If I wait until I’m 59½, will I pay less? A. TSP withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income. The amount of income tax you pay will depend upon your tax return for the year in which you take the withdrawal. If you withdraw the money before you reach age 59½, you will likely also have to pay the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty. You’ll avoid this penalty by…
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Q. If you have a Thrift Savings Plan designation of beneficiary on file but you survive the maximum age to keep the money in the account and then are required to start withdrawing until the fund is depleted, what are your options to still disburse the money to the same beneficiaries? A. The beneficiary designation only applies to funds remaining in your TSP account at the time of your death, and thereafter. If you entirely deplete your account before you die, then the beneficiary designation is irrelevant.
Q. I am 59½ and would like to take advantage of the opportunity to take a one-time withdrawal. What are the tax consequences of taking a withdrawal of, say, $50,000? Does it have to all be rolled to an IRA to avoid a tax penalty, or can it come out as cash and part of it be put into an IRA and part put into a spending account for paying down bills/mortgage? A. Taking a withdrawal from your TSP account after reaching age 59½ will not generate a penalty. Any amount withdrawn and not rolled over will be treated as ordinary, taxable…
Q. I have selected a retirement date of June 28, 2014. I will be 59½ years old with 33½ years of government service. I have been FERS my whole career. I have $365,000 in my Thrift Savings Plan. I will retire with a high-3 at GS-13, Step 4 and a 16.51 percent locality pay. I am debating paying off my mortgage on my retirement home by taking a partial withdrawal from my TSP. The reasons for this are: 1) Escrow of property taxes 2) Flood insurance imposed by Dodd-Frank 3) Desire to be mortgage-free in retirement. I owe $185,000 on…
Q. Retirement date: Sept. 15, 2017, at age 62. Retire as GS-13, Step 7, FERS, with 38 years total service (figure includes my nine years military, bought back). TSP: About $250,000, Social Security paid in full to receive full benefits for a 62-year-old. I live in Washington state. I expect to pay spouse survivor benefits, federal income tax. Should I leave my Thrift Savings Plan alone or draw it out entirely? A. Leave your TSP alone for as long as possible.
Q. I’m 59 and retiring June 2, which is the first day of a new pay period. Will my Thrift Savings Plan election and catch-up contribution be deducted from my last paycheck? I will have earned no salary in that pay period, but I will have my lump-sum annual leave payout. A. TSP deferrals are not taken from annual leave payout checks.
If you own a Thrift Savings Plan account and plan to use it to fund your standard of living in retirement, you are a pension fund manager. As a pension fund manager, you are responsible for the standard of living your TSP account produces. This standard of living will depend heavily on the decisions you make in the course of managing your account. It is critical to recognize that a single stumble along the way — one bad outcome from one bad or overlooked decision — can cost you dearly later in life. The margin for error is razor thin,…
Q. If I start taking my retirement now at 62 — FERS, Thrift Savings Plan payments and Social Security — and end up being picked back up at some point in federal service: I understand my FERS benefits would be cut by the amount I make in a new job. What about TSP payments? Are they exempt from penalties of re-employment? A. If you are rehired, your automatic monthly payments will stop and you will be subject to the in-service withdrawal rules.
Q. I recently retired from the federal government due to becoming permanently disabled at age 61. I received my disability approval from the Social Security Administration. I withdrew a portion of Thrift Savings Plan funds to cover expenses as a result of not being able to work. Why was 20 percent tax deducted from the distribution of funds at age 61 and with the legal purpose of being disabled? A. Because that is the default federal income tax withholding rate for the distribution. The money has been applied toward your tax liability for the year.
Q. If I have left the federal government at age 57 and want to withdraw from my Thrift Savings Plan account, is there a penalty? A. No.