Q. I am planning on retiring at age 56½. I am a CSRS employee. If I take my Thrift Savings Plan balance and roll it over to an IRA, can I start withdrawing it immediately, or do I have to wait until I am 59½ years old? A. The rules are different for IRAs than they are for the TSP. Under the scenario you propose, you will be exempt from the early withdrawal penalty for distributions taken from your TSP account because you retired during or after the year in which you will reach age 55. There is no similar…
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Q. I am 64 years old and retiring from the federal government with over 33 years of service. I am CSRS Offset. I applied for Social Security to begin in September. I do not need my Thrift Savings Plan money now. Should I leave it where it is, or roll over to an IRA? I have all of my money in the L 2020 fund. If I leave it where it is, should I move the money into another fund(s)? A. You should leave your money in the TSP for as long as possible. There is no better retirement investment environment. How…
Q. I have a rollover IRA with Fidelity with approximately $75,000 at current market rates. I am wondering if it is better to transfer this money to my Thrift Savings Plan or leave it where it is? I have eight years until I retire at age 66. What do you recommend? A. Since the TSP offers expected investment performance superior to what you’ll find anywhere else, I recommend that you transfer as much of your portfolio as possible into the TSP and keep it there for as long as possible.
Q. Can I roll over the balance of my Thrift Savings Plan loan to an IRA at retirement and keep making loan payments? I am trying to delay the impact of the entire balance being counted as income on my 2012 income tax (assuming I am retiring in August 2012). A. No. Loans are not permitted from an IRA.
Q. My sister retired in 2010 and most likely will not move her Thrift Savings Plan into an IRA and begin withdrawals until she’s required to in 2015. In the meantime, she has awarded percentages of her TSP to children and friends. If she dies before 2015, I know that the beneficiaries will have to notify TSP. It’s my understanding that the TSP beneficiaries will each have to start new IRAs to receive their portions. I don’t think there’s any way for the beneficiaries to receive a lump-sum payment, unless they pay penalties. Am I correct? And this is true regardless…
Q. I’m a Postal Service worker with 33 years of service under CSRS. Can I make contributions to Thrift Savings Plan that exceed the $17,000 maximum and $5,500 catch-up contributions? A. No. You may transfer money into TSP from an eligible IRA without limit, however.
Q. I have an IRA that guarantees me a 4.50 percent interest rate. I can roll over IRAs anytime. Very little fees if any. It is a variable annuity that I purchased in 1983 that has granted me the fixed income. I am thinking of rolling over my Thrift Savings Plan and only taking the required minimum distribution at the end of each year. I can take out money without any penalty except for taxes. There is also a good death benefit. There are no surrender fees. What are your thoughts? I am already 75 years old. A. The phrases…
Q. I am separated from federal service, and I want to roll my Thrift Savings Plan funds over into two or three separate IRAs at one or more brokerage houses. Am I allowed to make two or three partial withdrawals and roll each portion into separate IRAs? Are there time restrictions such as only being permitted to make one such transfer in a 12-month period? A. You are not allowed to take multiple partial withdrawals from your TSP account. You may roll the money over to an IRA and then roll over partial withdrawals from there to additional IRA accounts.
Q. I plan to retire next month at age 62 and withdraw my entire Thrift Savings Plan account. I know that they will withhold 20 percent for federal taxes, but how can I keep from being taxed on that amount as income in the same calendar year? With my current rate of pay, adding some $300,000 to $400,000 in the TSP withdrawal will surely kill me in taxes. A. Assuming that you are determined to withdraw your entire account balance at once (why would you do this?), you can roll over part of your withdrawal to an IRA.
Q. I recently left federal service after three years to pursue grad school in the fall. I am 23, with a little over $15,000 in a Thrift Savings Plan account. I am wondering if I should make an out-of-service withdrawal and transfer the funds to an IRA? Then, once the funds were in an IRA, I could withdraw the funds for education costs without the penalty or 10 percent tax and only face federal income tax, since my state doesn’t have an income tax. I am not receiving financial aid for grad school because of my federal government salary, and…