Q. For the past five years, I’ve been contributing the maximum to the traditional Thrift Savings Plan (balance north of $127,000). In 2014, I plan to switch all contributions ($17,500) to Roth TSP. I have more than four years until military retirement (April 2018). At that time, will I be able to transfer all Roth TSP contributions to my Roth IRA? I have no plans of transferring the traditional TSP balance. The goal is to combine Roth TSP/Roth IRA contributions and pay cash for retirement home. We don’t want any debt, including mortgage upon retirement. A. You may not selectively…
Browsing: rollover
Q. I am confused about the five-year rule for Voluntary Contributions Program funds rolled over into a Roth IRA. If a Roth IRA has been funded for five years, is there still a five-year withdrawal waiting period for funds transferred from a VCP account into that IRA? A. The five-year clock applies to each conversion, but how it will affect you isn’t clear from the information you’ve provided. The answer depends upon your age and how much you withdraw. I suggest that you read Internal Revenue Service Publication 590 and consult a CPA before proceeding.
Q. Can I transfer funds from Simplified Employee Pension Individual Retirement Arrangement (SEP-IRA) to the Thrift Savings Plan, or does the distribution have to be an “eligible rollover distribution”? I would not move the Salary Reduction Simplified Employee Pension (SAR-SEP) funds if it would be considered an “eligible rollover distribution” due to the withholding for income tax. A. As long as the accounts do not contain any after-tax money, they can be transferred without withholding to the TSP.
Q. I will have worked four months short of the five-year mark when I leave the government to care for my aging mother. Can my FERS money be rolled over into my Thrift Savings Plan? A. No.
Q. I am the 401(k) specialist for our tribal government. We have a former employee who wants to roll over his 401(k) into making a deposit in CSRS. Is this possible? A transfer from CSRS into a 401(k) is not allowed, so should his attempted rollover be allowed? A. This is not allowed. CSRS deposits are made with after-tax money.
Q. How long does one have to maintain a traditional IRA before rolling it over into the Thrift Savings Plan? A. You may not transfer Roth IRA assets into the TSP.
It’s easy to make mistakes when you are planning to retire. Some of the biggest mistakes apply to all employees; a few apply only to CSRS or FERS retirees. All can be costly. Here they are and what you can do to avoid them: Retiring on the spur of the moment. It can be disastrous, for two reasons. First, if you hand in your retirement application at the last minute, it may contain errors that delay processing or even cause it to be rejected. Second, decisions made in haste often come back to bite you. Once committed to a course…
Q. I have an IRA with Prudential Insurance. Can I roll over my IRA into my wife’s Thrift Savings Plan account with the federal government? The money would be hers, not mine. This way, when she retires in a year or two, she’d have more money in her TSP account. I already have a pension and don’t need that money, but my wife’s retirement will be less than mine and I’d like her to have more in her TSP. A. No.
Q. My financial adviser is encouraging me to move my Thrift Savings Plan funds immediately to a Roth account. Is this a good idea if I am retiring in the next 12 months or earlier? A. No. It’s not a good idea unless there is a good reason to do so. I’ll bet that your “financial adviser” is nothing more than a salesperson trying to take your money. Confusing the two is usually a costly mistake.
Q. My wife and I are FERS employees. We are both considering retiring early if offered Voluntary Early Retirement Authority at ages 50+/- (both with more than 25 years of service). With children still in the picture for some time, access and flexibility with our Thrift Savings Plan accounts are crucial to any plan. I would like to accomplish two things: 1). 72(t) withdrawals until 59½ in one account. 2). Flexibility to roll over funds currently in TSP into a Roth IRA held at another institution (from an IRA as I see no method to do that while the funds…