Q. I recently received my “FERS Your Personal Benefits Statement Based on your Account as of January 01, 2012.” It states, “As of December 31, 2011, your TSP account balance was $130,841.13. It goes on to say, “Assuming you continue TSP contributions [$877 per pay period] at the same rate and earnings on your account average 7% [Wow. How unrealistic is this!], your estimated TSP balance when you are first eligible to retire would be $158,107.” My current TSP balance is $137,000. It gives estimated Thrift Savings Plan monthly annuities as follows: If you retire at age 64, your single life annuity…
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Q. I will have 25 years of service soon but will only be 48. If the government offers early-outs, what will I be eligible for? Pension at one-quarter of my salary for the last three years? Health insurance? What if I get a part-time job? Will this affect my pension or annuity? Also, if I do an annuity on my Thrift Savings Plan, can I start that now? Will there be a penalty? Do I get this same amount for the rest of my life, or does it stop after a certain number of years? A. Reg Jones: Because you…
Q. I have 25 years in civil service. I have a Thrift Savings Plan account and, once I retire, do I get an annuity automatically or do I have to use the money in the TSP account to get that? Should I buy an annuity or just take a monthly payment from the TSP account? Not sure if I will have enough to retire. I heard that in FERS, the government gives an annuity and then you get TSP. But when I go to the website to estimate how much I have in the TSP, I do not see the…
Q. I am under the FERS retirement plan. In four years, I will be 57 with 30 years. Will I be penalized in any way? Also, will I be able to tap into my Thrift Savings Plan? A. Reg Jones says: Because you will be retiring at your minimum retirement age with at least 30 years of service, you’ll receive a full, unreduced annuity. Mike Miles says: You’ll have access to your TSP account after retire without penalty.
Q. Can I retire from the Veterans Affairs hospital under FERS at age 55 with 25 years of service and withdraw my Thrift Savings Plan in lump sum. Or do I have to wait until I am MRA? Can I leave at 55 and defer my retirement until I reach my MRA at 56? A. Reg Jones says: You can’t retire until you reach your minimum retirement age, which is 56. If you retired then, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year you were under age 60 (5/12 of a percentage point per year). You could…
Q. I have been working for the federal government for 10 years. I have contributed the max for most of that time to the Thrift Savings Plan/FERS. After a divorce, I have been battling debt in the form of school loans, credit cards, etc. In an attempt to pay off the debt, I pay approximately $700 per month. I have attempted and requested to decrease the annual percentage rate on some items, with little success. I have a fair amount in my TSP. I am debating whether to withdraw just the amount I need to pay off the debt (20…
Q. My husband has 15 years active-duty military and is working now as a NASA employee. It will cost about $20,000 to buy back his 15 years. Can we roll over money from our 401(k) into FERS and avoid penalties and taxes on that money? A. No.
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 worked for DoDDS schools from 1987 to 1990. At that time, vesting was five years with FERS. When I resigned, I believe I had to forfeit my retirement and was made to withdraw my Thrift Savings Plan. Would this have been correct for that time period with FERS? And DoDDS? I came back to work for DoDEA in January 2001. I called to make certain that I was going to get credit for those three years. I wanted to redeposit my TSP money but was not allowed to, and was told there was no provision for repayment. It…
Q: I am a Federal Employees Retirement System employee retiring on April 30, under the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay at age 55. Can I take some or all of my Thrift Savings Plan balance and transfer it to a self-directed individual retirement account? What is the process for doing that? What are the estimated costs and penalties? A: You may roll over your TSP assets to an IRA following separation at at 55 with no penalty. Use Form TSP-77 to request a partial withdrawal or Form TSP-70 to request a full withdrawal of your account assets.