Q. I will be eligible to retire Dec. 4 with both minimum retirement age and years of service under FERS. I would like to wait until Jan. 31 to retire to complete a project. I will have 240 hours of annual leave going into 2013. The combination of my lump-sum payment for my annual leave and my January wage earnings would exceed the Social Security earnings limit for 2013. Since the Social Security earning limit is the same as the FERS annuity supplement earnings limit, would this make me ineligible for the special retirement supplement for 2013? If I put all…
Browsing: Social Security
Q. I have 33 years in and am under CSRS. I will be 60 years old in May. I served less than two years in the Army in my 20s. I am a WG-8 making almost $25 an hour. I receive correspondence statements from Social Security that if I retire at age 62, I would be eligible for approximately $300 based on a second job 12 years ago and jobs before joining the government in the 1980s. 1. Should I buy back the time I have in the Army? 2. Will the buyback help increase my Social Security? Or will…
Q. I am 72. My wife is 62. I get $1,700 a month in pension and $1,700 a month in Social Security. My wife gets $5,800 in pension. We put $70,000 in a mutual fund three years ago. It is now $80,000. I would like to take out $20,000 a year. I have health problems. Good idea or not? A. You have the “idea” of spending money that you’ve saved and invested in mutual funds, and you want to know if your idea is a good one? That’s like asking if your idea to eat the leftover birthday cake is…
Q. When I retire under FERS, can I get all of my Thrift Savings Plan monies, Social Security and my annuity? Can I roll over my TSP monies without paying 30 percent of the total to the Internal Revenue Service? If so, what amount of tax-deferred monies, once rolled over, can I take out monthly without a penalty or have to pay taxes? A. Mike: Once you retire, you may withdraw your TSP money. If you retire during or after the calendar year in which you reach age 55, your TSP withdrawals will be exempt from the early withdrawal penalty.…
Q. I know that the Social Security supplement is reduced for any earnings above $14,640 (in fiscal year 2012). If I retire under FERS at my minimum retirement age but my wife keeps working at her job, will her earnings count toward that $14,640? Also, would distributions from my Thrift Savings Plan count toward it? A. Mike: Your TSP distributions do not count as earned income. Reg: The Social Security earnings limit applies only to your own earnings from wages and self-employment, not anything else.
Q. If I retire after 10 years of service, which would make my age 56.4, would I be able to start withdrawing from my Thrift Savings Plan without a penalty? If so, am I allowed to withdraw a larger amount per month and then lower it when I start getting my Social Security benefits at age 62? How often am I allowed to change the amount I withdraw per month? A. If you retire during or after the year in which you reach age 55, your TSP withdrawals will be exempt from the early withdrawal penalty. You may change the…
Q. I retired from the Navy last year (I have 20 years in) and am receiving my pension. I took a GS-12 job and am under FERS. I’ll be 39 in a few weeks. If I wanted to retire at age 57, what would be my monthly payout? For how long? I understand that there is a three-tier system using the Thrift Savings Plan and Social Security. Am I allowed to draw on those at age 57, or do I have to wait until age 62? Mike Miles: You may begin drawing from your TSP account immediately and without penalty after…
Q. I am a single, 57-year-old CSRS Offset retiree, mortgage-free, no car payment, no children and debt-free. I have enough pension to live on comfortably and still put away money into savings monthly. I have more than 30 quarters of Social Security credit. I have two six-figure IRAs that I do not plan to touch until required. My Thrift Savings Plan is approximately $400,000 and I have yet to touch it. I am perplexed about when to begin drawing money from my TSP, but I know that I will have to begin withdrawals by age 70½. Should I draw TSP…
Q. I am 54 years old and I have 30 years of federal service under FERS. Should I start a Roth TSP at age 54? I was born in March 1958. I plan to work until I hit full Social Security, which, I think, is 67 or maybe 66. Bottom line: If I were to start the Roth TSP until retirement at age 67 or 66, which is 13 or 14 years from now, is it worth my time and effort? My current Thrift Savings Plan is about $230,000 as of July. Six years from now, about March 2018, I will be…
Q. I qualify for a buyout with 25-plus years of service. If I take the buyout, it is my understanding that I must wait until my normal minimum retirement age of 56 to begin receiving the Social Security supplement. Would this prevent me from receiving increases in Social Security supplemental benefits that I would have received had I waited until 56 to retire? I believe I would get the increases at 62, in any event, when I could first draw reduced SS benefits. Also, what happens to my Thrift Savings Plan account? May I purchase an immediate annuity and/or take a…