Q. My mother’s plan was purchased by MetLife. She wants to make a withdrawal but is told she can’t, or she needs a higher monthly payment. It’s only $300 due to a paperwork mistake, but she was told she could only submit this one time this year. Is there anything to do? A. If she bought an annuity, her monthly payments from that annuity are fixed for life. If she has a balance left in her Thrift Savings Plan account, she has the option of terminating her monthly payments with a final, lump-sum distribution of the remaining balance in her…
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Q. I’m unsure of what to do with my Thrift Savings Plan account. I understand that I could leave it in the account as it is until I’m 70½. I can also make a full or partial withdrawal. Full withdrawal is not an option for me. A TSP life annuity (both single or joint life) option is based on life expectancy or until the money runs out. Also there is the TSP annuity vendor (MetLife) where I could get the annuity but money used to purchase this annuity goes to the insurance company if you die before it’s used up.…
Q. I am 63 years old and will be retiring under CSRS in January. I have about $150,000 in my Thrift Savings Plan account. I have talked with a financial adviser who told me it would be better to buy from outside and cheaper than MetLife annuity. The annuity is from Prudential and has a living benefit rider. They claim it is the cheapest one out there. Can you give me any advice as to which annuity would be best? A. Your “financial adviser” is not an adviser but a salesperson. Don’t be foolish. Now is not the time to buy a fixed annuity…
Q. What are the MetLife annual and/or one-time fees charged after annuity is purchased? A. The only fee is the initial cost of the annuity, which depends upon your age, the annuity you purchase and the interest rate index at the time of the purchase.
Q. I am retiring in the near future and I want to take my Thrift Savings Plan balance which is approximately $175,000 to $180,000 and purchase an annuity from MetLife. My concern is if MetLife were to fold. I think my state (Massachusetts) will insure me up to $100,000 in that event. I believe that is per insurance company. So would it be wise to split that total ($175,000-$180,000) and purchase an annuity from two different companies, so as not to exceed the 100,000 limit? A. I’m not confirming your statements about the limits of protection in a particular state,…
Q. I am retiring under FERS in a few months, and am looking for recommendations on how to best invest my Thrift Savings Plan dollars. I believe my options are to buy a MetLife annuity, leave the funds in my TSP account until I turn 71 years old (I am now 60), or roll the TSP dollars into an IRA or other type of investment account. I have approximately $350,000 and will receive my FERS retirement and eventually Social Security. Do you have any recommendations to roll the dollars into an investment account that I could occasionally draw from and that could draw…
Q. How many annuities can I purchase from MetLife with my Thrift Savings Plan funds? A. As far as I know: One through the TSP’s program and as many as you’d like through MetLife’s retail operation.
Q. Is an annuity purchased with Thrift Savings Plan funds from MetLife federally insured/guaranteed the way bank accounts have FDIC? Or is a MetLife guaranteed annuity not really guaranteed at all, in case even a huge company like MetLife fails? A. A TSP annuity is guaranteed by MetLife, not by the federal government.
Q. I will be taking the early-out offered by the Postal Service. I am a 54-year-old CSRS employee of 35 years. I have a Thrift Savings Plan account. Please give your opinion on the best option such as taking the MetLife annuity, joint with spouse, level or increasing, cash refund compared with simply leaving the money in TSP and getting monthly payments either by specific amounts or increasing by life expectancy. I don’t quite understand the difference in the two options. A. There is no “best” choice. Using your money buy an immediate annuity guarantees income for life. You give…
Q. I have a Thrift Savings Plan account, and I have a retirement annuity with a company other than MetLife from previous employment. Can the two be merged into the MetLife program, or do I have to take my TSP account to the other annuity when I retire? Am I correct in assuming that if I place my TSP either way, there will not be a tax penalty, since it will be put directly into an annuity? A. Merging the two is probably not possible. You can either continue your TSP account, use the money to buy a TSP annuity…