Q. I am a 55-year-old Postal employee planning to retire sometime in the next year under CSRS. Many years ago, I purchased a $2,000 Vanguard IRA that has grown to more than $40,000. I also have a separate similarly valued Roth IRA. I know that I can begin penalty-free withdrawals from TSP after separation, but can I roll my Vanguard IRA into TSP? I also know that I cannot roll my Roth into TSP. My desire is to have the money accessible before 59-1/2 and to avoid having three pots to withdraw MRDs when I’m 70-1/2. Any suggestions? A. You…
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Q. I am 65 years old. I have been employed in the federal government for nine years. At this late stage and age, should I join TSP. A. If you’d like to save money for your use later in retirement, yes.
Q. I took my tax info to a professional to have them done this year. I’ve maxed out my Roth IRA with USAA. I’ve also contributed about $2500 to a traditional TSP as a uniformed service member. I’m being told I’ll be penalized for my contributions to my Roth account since I have an employer-based retirement plan. Is this accurate? Can I only contribute a total of $5500 for both accounts? I’ve always been told to contribute to both. A. The TSP contribution limit is fixed and not contingent on any other factor. Your eligibility to contribute to a Roth…
Q. I was enlisted in the Marine Corps from 2004 to 2008 and have been a full-time employee at the Social Security Administration since March 2012. So, I have a uniformed services Thrift Savings Plan account and a civilian TSP account (using pretax and Roth contributions). Nothing has been contributed to the uniformed services account since I left the Marines in 2008, so I asked someone in human resources here if I could combine the accounts. I was initially told this wasn’t possible, but after my own research, I found Form TSP-65 – Request To Combine Civilian and Uniformed Services…
Q. I retired from civil service in January 2012 with 25 years contributing to CSRS and FERS. I will be 59½ in April. I plan to make a partial withdrawal and have the balance as monthly payments when I turn 60. Will I incur an additional 10 percent early withdrawal penalty before age 59½ since I retired or do I need to wait until 59½? Do I need to wait until 60 to begin receiving monthly payments, or can that start any time? A. Since you retired after the calendar year in which you reached age 55, your Thrift Savings…
Q. I was hired into federal service Sept. 28, 1992. At this point, shouldn’t the government have started contributing to a Thrift Savings Plan account in my name 1 percent of my salary automatically? Contributions didn’t begin until I manually enrolled in TSP a year later. This seems to be the bit from the TSP website that applies to me: “If you are a FERS participant and were hired before Aug. 1, 2010: * The TSP would have begun receiving automatic contributions equal to 1% of your pay from your agency — beginning with your first pay period. If you…
Q. I am 47, have been investing for seven years, have reached maximum contributions at a total of $115,328.22 and will eventually retire at 63. Recently, there is talk in the stock market of a global sell-off. I have had all of my investments in the S Fund and doing quite well. As of Jan. 23, I’ve shifted my contribution of 100 percent from S to G. Was this a financially dumb move? A. Not if you’ve guessed right. Only time will tell. For what it’s worth, if we’re talking about your entire portfolio here, you should be invested in…
Q. I am a federal employee, almost 30 years old and contribute to my Thrift Savings Plan, as well as a Roth IRA toward retirement. I contribute the maximum to my Roth IRA at $5,500 a year and contribute 15 percent of my $82,500 salary (approximately $12,500 a year). I have a comfortable emergency account, life insurance, $500 per month to a 529 plan for my 1-year-old, on top of the basic necessities. How much should I be contributing if I can’t max both my TSP and Roth IRA? Should I continue with this allocation, or should I be maxing…
Q. If I am contributing to a traditional Thrift Savings Plan, can I now change my future contributions to a Roth TSP, or do I have to wait until open season? A. You may start, stop or change your TSP contributions at any time.
Q. My agency, according to my W-2, overcontributed to my Thrift Savings Plan by $4 on the last pay period of the year. So, with total contributions, I have contributed $17,504 regular contributions and $5,500 in catch-up contributions for a total 2013 amount of $23,004. Is this a problem with the additional $4 being sent to my TSP account? If so, what do I have to do to fix it? Also, are there IRS penalties I am now responsible for due to my agency’s negligence? A. You may want to make sure that the TSP returns the $4 in overcontribution,…