Q. I work for the BOP and I am 10 months away from being forced to retire with 20 years of service. A few years ago there was talk around work that the age restriction was going to be raised, and it seems that was wishful thinking. I just accepted it as a probability because it was raised in the past and that gave me the opportunity to get hired. I took out a loan against my TSP account anticipating the age requirement would go up and as a result, unless something does change, I will most likely have a…
Browsing: penalty
Q. I took my tax info to a professional to have them done this year. I’ve maxed out my Roth IRA with USAA. I’ve also contributed about $2500 to a traditional TSP as a uniformed service member. I’m being told I’ll be penalized for my contributions to my Roth account since I have an employer-based retirement plan. Is this accurate? Can I only contribute a total of $5500 for both accounts? I’ve always been told to contribute to both. A. The TSP contribution limit is fixed and not contingent on any other factor. Your eligibility to contribute to a Roth…
Q. I am a FERS employee (6c law enforcement coverage) planning to retire in January 2015 after 31 years in federal law enforcement. I plan to build my retirement home soon after and have need of a partial withdrawal from my Thrift Savings Plan at retirement. Is this partial withdrawal subject to the 10 percent IRS tax under the one time withdrawal provision, and if so, do I have any option to avoid that penalty while still accessing about a third of my account? A: If you retire during or after the year in which you reach age 55, you…
Q. I am looking at retiring in January 2015. I will be 56 years old Oct. 15. I will have 30 years in as of Dec. 24. Waiting until the end of leave year to cash in all available annual leave. I am looking at cashing out my Thrift Savings Plan in a lump sum to pay off all debts. Will that income be considered part of earned income so that the special retirement supplement is reduced? If so, would it be in my interest to retire at the end of 2014 so that my annual leave hits that year…
Q. The following question/answer was recently posted. Where can I find the full information to support the answer? Are there penalties involved? Q. I will be 55 this month and plan to retire in November with 33 years of service under CSRS. Do I have to wait until I am 59½ to withdraw from my Thrift Savings Plan? A. Not if you wait until you’re retired to request the withdrawal. A. Check Page 7 of this notice: https://www.tsp.gov/PDF/formspubs/tsp-536.pdf.
Q. I will turn 70½ after Feb. 19, and will retire from my full-time position at the end of the month. I have notified Social Security, the state retirement funds in two states where I worked, and my fund in a private approved pension fund with accounts from two other universities of my intention to retire at the end of February and to start receiving distributions in March 2014. Is there anything else that I need to do to avoid being hit with that horrid 50 percent penalty? I received an unsavory email from the Wisconsin Employee Trust Fund scolding…
Q. I retired from the Army Reserve in 2010. My 55th birthday was in 2010. Can I withdraw now (2014) from the Thrift Savings Plan without incurring the 10 percent penalty? I won’t be 59½ until 2016. A. Yes, since you retired during the calendar year in which you reached age 55.
Q. I am a federal air technician with the Air National Guard. I have 34 years in the Guard and 27 years as a federal full-time technician. I am in FERS and have a minimum retirement age of 56. I will be 53 this year. It has been communicated to me that I will probably not be retained this year, meaning that Dec. 31, 2014, I will be involuntarily retired, thus losing my full (technician) and part-time (traditional Guard) employment. When can I begin collecting my retirement pay, Social Security, Thrift Savings Plan? Are there any penalties if I was…
Q. I will be retiring in May with 25 years of federal law enforcement service. I will be 50 years old and subject to penalties and taxes on a one-time, age-based partial withdrawal from my Thrift Savings Plan. If I withdraw $20,000 to take care of bills and home repair, how much should I request from my TSP account to cover the taxes and penalties? A. Your withdrawal will be subject to 20 percent minimum mandatory federal tax withholding, so to receive $20,000 from the TSP, you’ll need to request $25,000. The actual federal income tax, early withdrawal penalty and…
Q. My agency, according to my W-2, overcontributed to my Thrift Savings Plan by $4 on the last pay period of the year. So, with total contributions, I have contributed $17,504 regular contributions and $5,500 in catch-up contributions for a total 2013 amount of $23,004. Is this a problem with the additional $4 being sent to my TSP account? If so, what do I have to do to fix it? Also, are there IRS penalties I am now responsible for due to my agency’s negligence? A. You may want to make sure that the TSP returns the $4 in overcontribution,…