Q. I’m a 50-year-old postal clerk (FERS) with 23½ years of service, and I want to get out. I want to move from Florida back to my home state 1,000 miles away. I think I only have four options, and I’m looking for advice on what would be best for me. 1. Retire with 50/20 and either pay the penalties or defer or postpone annuities? If I do that, what will the penalties be? 2. Stick it out for another year and a half until I have 25 years of service and retire. If I do that, will there be…
Browsing: TSP
Q. I know that I can’t put my wife’s Individual Retirement Account into the Thrift Savings Plan, so we would like to invest it into an F Fund equivalent. Can you identify such a fund that we can roll her IRA into? A. Any fund that is based on the Barclay’s Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index should do — the lower the cost, the better. Try AGG from iShares.
Q. I deposited a little money into my Thrift Savings Plan, tax free, about five years ago, when I was in the military serving in Iraq. Since this money is in effect post tax, would it be possible to transfer it from my traditional TSP account to a Roth TSP account, thus allowing it to accrue tax-free interest? A. It is possible. Consult a competent tax adviser for advice about if, when and how you should do it.
Q. Will retirees be able to roll over funds from the Roth TSP option into a Roth IRA, even if we exceed the income limits for a Roth IRA? A. Yes, you will.
Q. Is there any way of structuring an annuity purchased through the Thrift Savings Plan into a qualified longevity annuity contract? A. Since, under the proposed regulation, this would require the purchase of a deferred annuity contract and the TSP does not offer such a contract, this is not possible.
Q. I have worked for the Postal Service for 24 years as postmaster. I would be able to take an early-out offer. I want to borrow on my Thrift Savings Plan for a residential loan. If I do a 10-year loan from my part of the TSP next month and then they offer early retirement and I take it, will I still have to continue making the payments? Also, when I retire, will I be able to pull out all my savings in TSP? A. If you retire, your outstanding TSP loan will become due. If you don’t repay it…
Q. I have worked for the Postal Service for 24 years as a postmaster. I would be able to take an early out if it was offered. I want to borrow on my TSP for a residential loan. If I make a 10-year loan from my part of the TSP next month and then the Postal Service offers an early-out retirement and I take it, will I have to continue making the payments? Also, when I do retire, will I be able to pull out all my savings in TSP? A. If you retire, your outstanding TSP loan will become…
Q. I am a federal employee and I have a TSP account from which I am trying to take out a residential loan. So far I have faxed in my information four times and I am told every time that a different page is unreadable. The issue is I have sent each fax from a different fax machine and there is an issue every time. I would like to follow a complaint, but the thrift line is no help. How would I go about filing a formal complaint? A. The Federal Thrift Retirement Investment Board administers the TSP. You can…
Q. I read your article that Traditional IRA funds can be transferred to the TSP either before or after a person’s retirement. My question is, can I transfer SEP IRA funds into TSP after retirement also? How about 401K-SOLO? A. Yes and yes.
Q. Just how is the minimum distribution calculated for the TSP? I understand calculations based on life expectancy tables, but not how the minimum amount is calculated. I am assuming that it would be less than that based on life expectancy. I am FERS and plan to retire in June. A. In general, the Required Minimum Distribution amount is calculated by dividing the prior year’s ending account value by the appropriate life expectancy factor. There are specific rules that may apply to certain situations, however. See IRS Publication 590 for instructions for calculating the RMD.