Q. I will be eligible to retire Dec. 4 with both minimum retirement age and years of service under FERS. I would like to wait until Jan. 31 to retire to complete a project. I will have 240 hours of annual leave going into 2013. The combination of my lump-sum payment for my annual leave and my January wage earnings would exceed the Social Security earnings limit for 2013. Since the Social Security earning limit is the same as the FERS annuity supplement earnings limit, would this make me ineligible for the special retirement supplement for 2013? If I put all…
Browsing: income
Q. In 2011, following 18 years of government service at age 60, my excepted service position ended unexpectedly. My retirement pension is small: $589. My first payment arrived February. I had $10,000 in savings with Fidelity but used that to live on, considering the lack of income for two to three months and basic living requirements: mortgage, insurance, car payments, son leaving for college, etc. I paid taxes on that money, approximately $3,000 or more. That money is now gone. When I retired, I had two Thrift Savings Plan loans that were rolled in as income on my taxes. They…
Q. Are the Thrift Savings Plan and non-TSP Roth contribution limits exclusive? In other words, can I contribute the maximum to my TSP ($17,000 for 2012) and maximum ($5,000) to my non-TSP Roth IRA, so long as my adjusted gross income is below the limit imposed for the Roth? Or is the $17,000 limit imposed for both retirement vehicles combined? A. The two limits are separate.
Q. My retirement time frame under FERS is about 2035. Prior to joining the feds, I had virtually no retirement planning. But when I joined the feds at age 33, I started making diligent contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan. Six years later, my TSP account has hit a $110,000 balance. This year, I started a Roth IRA with a $5,000 contribution. I am married, and our income just slid slightly below the adjusted gross income ceiling for Roth IRA contributions, mostly because I contributed $17,000 into the traditional TSP. As I look now to the Roth TSP, I am considering for the…
Q. I’m 60 years old and receiving a full Thrift Savings Plan annuity at set monthly payments. For 2013, I want to increase the payments using Form TSP 73 to cover anticipated expenses for a family wedding. The following year, I want to again submit TSP 73 to significantly lower my payment for 2014, as I will have some anticipated income and won’t need the extra money. Other than the $50 minimal monthly withdrawal amount, are there any dollar restrictions in setting the monthly withdrawal amounts year to year? A. Just to be clear, you are receiving automatic monthly payments from your…
Q. Does a Vanguard Roth decrease the elective amount that I can place in the Thrift Savings Plan? This year, I have already maxed my Vanguard Roth to $5,000. Can I only place $12,000 into TSP, or can I still contribute the total $17,000 to TSP? I understand that if I contribute $5,000 to the Roth TSP, I can only place $12000 into the regular TSP. Does the Roth TSP preclude from using the Vanguard Roth? A. The amount you contribute to a Roth IRA does not affect the amount you may contribute to the TSP, but your income might…
Q. I am 59 and am going to retire next year. I am in CSRS. I have a loan on my Thrift Savings Plan, which, if I retire next year, won’t be completely repaid. Do I have to repay it, since it’s my money and I can withdraw all of my money from TSP when I retire? A. No. If you don’t repay it, the outstanding balance will be declared a distribution and will be reported to you as taxable income. Since you are retiring after the year in which you reached age 55, there will be no early withdrawal…
Q. I know that the Social Security supplement is reduced for any earnings above $14,640 (in fiscal year 2012). If I retire under FERS at my minimum retirement age but my wife keeps working at her job, will her earnings count toward that $14,640? Also, would distributions from my Thrift Savings Plan count toward it? A. Mike: Your TSP distributions do not count as earned income. Reg: The Social Security earnings limit applies only to your own earnings from wages and self-employment, not anything else.
Q. I plan to retire in nine years (at 63). I have $176,000 in the Thrift Savings Plan. I add the maximum to the TSP every year ($22,500) and will continue that until I retire. Then, my strategy, once retired, is to withdraw a monthly income from my TSP, and I will then start adding that money to a Roth IRA (e.g., a Vanguard fund) until I max out the Roth for both my husband and me. My thought is that I am getting a tax break by adding the max to the TSP during my high-income years as a…
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…