Q: I am close to retirement in the Civil Service Retirement System and will transfer my Thrift Savings Plan investments from the C and S Funds to the G Fund to be safe. My question is in the transfer of funds: Is it the amount of shares that is transferred from one fund to another, or is the value of the fund used to purchase shares in another fund? For example: the S Fund with 2,000 shares at $19 a share is worth $38,000. The G Fund is worth $13.50 a share. Will the 2,000 shares transferred to the G…
Browsing: thrift savings plan
Q: I am a 44-year-old Federal Employees Retirement System employee. I have a financial planner who wants to explore withdrawing part of my Thrift Savings Plan and rolling it into a Roth individual retirement account to take advantage of the two-year payout of taxes. I told the financial planner we only have two options for TSP withdrawals: One is for hardship, and the other applies if you are more than 59 1/2 years old. Because I do not meet either requirement, it appears to me that I cannot make an in-service withdrawal. Are there other options for in-service withdrawals? The…
Q: During the Obama campaign, there was talk of allowing up to $10,000 penalty-free 401(k)/Thrift Savings Plan withdrawals for hardship purposes. Have you heard whether this has been passed into law yet? A: It is my understanding that penalty-free hardship withdrawals are permitted under certain circumstances. You should start with IRS Publication 590 or consult a qualified tax adviser for details. I recommend using someone who would be responsible for preparing your return for the year of the withdrawal.
Q. Currently, I am 79. I had planned on retiring on April 30, 2011. My boss has asked me to extend another year because of the inability to replace my talent. If I retire on April 30, 2012, I will have a total of 33 years service. I am a FERS employee. Needless to say, since I have always contributed the max I am allowed under the IRS rules, the amount deposited has become fairly large. My question is simple: “What amount of money or percentage thereof will I be required to withdraw from my TSP account each year? Will…
Q. I recently retired from the USPS and plan to leave my TSP funds untouched until age 70 1/2. At the time I select monthly annuity withdrawals, does my TSP remainder continue to grow in the funds I had previously selected or is the total fund amount at that age frozen and become the total of my annuity to withdraw? A. If you use part or all of your TSP balance to purchase an immediate annuity through the TSP, you forfeit your control of those funds and are entitled only to the income payments promised.
Q. I currently have my TSP funds allocated: C Fund 50 percent, S Fund 30 percent and I Fund 20 percent. I’m currently 41 years old, and have about $200,000 in my account. I would like to achieve a 9 percent to 10 percent return each year or the most I can without jeopardizing my money. I’ll be eligible to retire at 57. Should I be putting some into G and some into the F to reduce risk? I balance my account once a year on my birthday back to C Fund 50 percent, S Fund 30 percent and I…
Q. Can I add lump sums of money to the TSP from any other source except my paycheck? If so, what are those sources? I am a current federal career employee. A. You may transfer balances from certain other retirement plans (like 401(k) plans) and traditional IRA accounts as long as they contain only pretax money.
Q. I am 61 years old with 21 years of FERS service. I plan to work a few more years. I moved money into my Thrift Savings Account a few months ago. I took money from my C Fund and added to the G Fund. I moved only the amount due to pay my mortgage off. Due to my age, was this a wise move and how safe is the G Fund considering the government’s debt? I have 40 percent in the G Fund, 30 percent C Fund and 30 percent in the S Fund. Would you recommend that I…
Q. Please advise … can I convert my existing TSP account to a Roth IRA? I would love to start a Roth but our family income is over the threshold. The rules for 2010 seem like a perfect opportunity to make it happen. I just don’t know if the TSP is one of the retirement accounts that can be converted. A. Yes, you may, but I’d advise against it in most cases. You should consider what must happen for the Roth IRA to overcome the burden of higher costs and/or risk, compared to the TSP.
Q. I am a federal employee and contributing the maximum of $16,500 to the TSP. I also have a sub-chapter s-corporation and earn outside employment income. Can I open a 401(k) under the corporation and make additional pretax contributions to this account? A. No. The limit applies in the aggregate.