Browsing: early withdrawal penalty

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 retired under a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority from the Department of Agriculture in July at age 56. I chose to receive monthly payments from my Thrift Savings Plan account. I would like to pay off my mortgage and a student loan. The only thing I can come up with is to transfer my TSP funds into an IRA and withdraw from the IRA. If I roll my TSP funds into a traditional IRA and make withdrawals before 59½, will I be subject to the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty? A. Yes, I believe you will, but you should…

Q. I am a 56-year-old federal employee with six years of service. I have traditional and Roth Thrift Savings Plans. I also have a traditional IRA with TIAA-CREF. Since my budget is too tight to take advantage of the full federal matching amount, can I use my TIAA-CREF IRA funds to maximize my federal match? If I roll over TIAA-CREF funds into my traditional TSP, will these funds receive federal matching? Also, I understand early withdrawal of traditional TSP funds is subject to income tax, but if I roll over TIAA-CREF funds into my traditional TSP, are withdrawals at age…

Q. I am thinking of retiring in about a year and will have approximately $310,000 in my Thrift Savings Plan account. The remaining cost of my mortgage is going to be about $140,000. Is using the TSP funds to pay off the mortgage an option? How much would I be taxed if I opted to go this route? If this does not sound smart, please suggest a smarter idea that I might use. A. It is an option, but the money will be taxed as ordinary income and may be subject to the early withdrawal penalty, depending on your age.…

Q. I will be retiring at age 52 with 27 years as a law enforcement officer. If I do a partial withdrawal of the Thrift Savings Plan for down payment on a house, I know I pay taxes.  I also would pay a penalty as I would be taking the partial withdrawal before age 55. Is the penalty 10 percent or 20 percent? Is the penalty directed at the entire amount withdrawn or toward the amount after taxes? A. The penalty is 10% of the gross amount.

Q. I remember reading an article on ways to retire at eligibility of 56 years old and being able to draw my tsp before age 59½ without a penalty. Is there a way to do this? There is no disability involved in my retirement. A. Yes. If you retire from federal employment at age 56, you will be exempt from the early withdrawal penalty.

Q. I plan on retiring just after I turn 59 with 30 years as a federal employee. Do I have to wait until 59½ to take anything out from my Thrift Savings Plan account either via partial lump sum or monthly amounts to avoid the 10 percent tax penalty? A. Not if you wait until you’ve retired to request the withdrawal. You will be exempt from the early withdrawal penalty.

Q. I am 50 years old and plan to resign in within two years. I will more than 10 years of service, but my minimum retirement age is 56. Sometime after I turn 56, I plan to submit for a deferred retirement, even though I know I will take a penalty of 5 percent each year under age 62. The Thrift Savings Plan states that “if you are age 55 or older in the year you separate or retire, the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty tax does not apply.” Does this apply to deferred retirements, as well? A. There is no…

Q. I have an opportunity to retire under a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority. I have 30+ years of FERS service, non-law enforcement. My age will be 53 years and 11 months if I retire under this VERA offering. At what age will I have full access to my Thrift Savings Plan without the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty by “taking substantially equal payments over my life expectancy.” At what age will I have full access to my TSP without the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty by NOT “taking substantially equal payments over my life expectancy.” If immediately upon retirement I…

Q. I am a FERS employee and will have 30 years of service at age 56, my minimum retirement age. Thus, when I retire at 56, can I start withdrawing from my Thrift Savings Plan without any tax penalty? Or do I have to wait until 59½ to start withdrawing from my TSP to avoid any tax penalty? A. In the circumstance you describe, your TSP withdrawals will not be subject to the early withdrawal penalty.

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