Q. I am a Postal Service employee who has civil service retirement and has been on workers’ compensation for several years now and probably will not go back to work. Can I get my Thrift Savings Plan money now as payments or do I have to retire first? Also, how can I add money into my TSP if I can’t take it out? A. As I understand it, unless you have separated from covered service, you will be subject to the TSP’s restrictions for in-service withdrawals. You should call the Thrift Line to be sure, however.
Browsing: retirement
Q. I am CSRS and plan to retire Jan. 3, 2014. Since my annual leave payout will be part of my final paycheck and thus will be taxed as 2014 earned income, can I contribute part of it to Thrift Savings Plan for 2014 even though I will be retired? A. No.
Q. In an effort to increase my Thrift Savings Plan account before I retire Sept. 30, I assume I can open a traditional IRA and roll it over to my TSP account with no restrictions on amount. Is that correct? A. Correct, as long as the IRA contains only pretax money.
Q. I retired in 2011 because of a base closing. Before leaving, I put everything in the G Fund. Can I take money out of the G Fund and put it into another fund now that I’ve retired? A. Yes.
Q. I have $300,000 in my Thrift Savings Plan and am retiring soon. I plan on taking $40,000 out to put into my checking and then roll the remaining $260,000 into an account that I can make monthly withdrawals for the rest of my life. I am 60 years old. What percentage of this should I take out monthly (I’ve heard anywhere between 4 percent and 6 percent) … to make it last? What is your recommendation? A. First, you should take out enough to create a spending fund and then take the monthly withdrawals from your TSP account. No…
Q. I started taking 4 percent of my Thrift Savings Plan when I retired. When I reach 70½, will I have to make a total withdrawal or will I be able to take life expectancy payments? I am CSRS Offset if that makes a difference. A. You may change the amount of fixed monthly payments once each year or you may switch from TSP calculated payments to fixed payments, but not the other way around. See the publication at https://www.tsp.gov/PDF/formspubs/tspbk02.pdf for info.
Q. I’ve participated in the Thrift Savings Plan since its inception as a CSRS employee and plan to retire next year. My current contribution allocation is 100 percent to the L2020 Fund and has been since that fund was created in 2005. Prior to the creation of the L funds, I had allocated my contributions equally to the C and G funds, which I have left untouched in the account. The account’s present holdings are approximately 50 percent L2020, with the remainder being 25 percent C and 25 percent G Fund. What should I now be doing, if anything, with those…
Q. I understand that to make Thrift Savings Plan catch-up contributions, you are supposed to be making sufficient regular TSP contributions so that the maximum annual amount (currently $17,500) of regular TSP contributions will be reached by the end of the year. What happens if you begin contributing an amount per pay period at the beginning of the year that would result in the maximum regular and catch-up contributions by the end of the year assuming 26 pay periods? However, you retire in the middle of the year. This would result in making TSP catch-up contributions during the year without…
Q. As a retiree, can I convert my Thrift Savings Plan account to a Roth TSP, or is this only available to active employees? A. You may not convert traditional TSP balance to the Roth TSP, regardless of your employment status.
Q. Retirement date: Sept. 15, 2017, at age 62. Retire as GS-13, Step 7, FERS, with 38 years total service (figure includes my nine years military, bought back). TSP: About $250,000, Social Security paid in full to receive full benefits for a 62-year-old. I live in Washington state. I expect to pay spouse survivor benefits, federal income tax. Should I leave my Thrift Savings Plan alone or draw it out entirely? A. Leave your TSP alone for as long as possible.