Q. Can I opt to use (say 10 percent ) of my TSP account monthly as a supplement with my FERS retirement to help me meet my debt obligations into my retirement? A. You may request monthly payments from your TSP account after you retire, but you are limited to a fixed dollar amount each month (which may be changed once each year) or payments automatically computed based on your life expectancy (which vary in both dollar amount and percentage each year).
Browsing: TSP
Q. For Army employees: Have you heard anything regarding the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program and pretax payment? Or is there anything before Congress? What are the pros and cons to employees having their money from a VSIP benefit going to TSP? What would they need to do to ensure that money goes to TSP? A. A VSIP is not eligible for deferral to the TSP.
Q. I am a FERS employee, with 27 years of service, making $126,000. My wife focuses on raising our son, but does some substitute teaching making about $2,000 per year. Can I max out my TSP at $22,000 and max out a Roth IRA for myself at $6,000 and put an additional $6,000 into my wife’s Roth IRA? I do not understand IRS Pub 590. A. The answer will depend upon your Modified Adjusted Gross Income for the year of the contribution. If you don’t understand the tax rules and how they apply to you, you should hire a trustworthy…
Q. I’m in FERS with about 15 years until I’m eligible for retirement. When I increase my TSP contribution, my taxable income is reduced and the amount of federal tax withheld is obviously reduced as well. How would I go about calculating the “sweet spot” in my TSP contribution amount to get the most benefit in reference to the amount of taxes being withheld. Is there a law of diminishing returns here or is more always going to be better? A. Sorry, but I’m not at all sure what you mean by “most benefit in reference to the amount of…
Q. I am a CSRS employee with more than 36 years of service. I have also been contributing to a TSP account. I plan to retire in June 2013. Should I start contributing to a Roth IRA or continue contributing to my TSP? A. “Should I…” is not a question that I can answer through this forum. Whoever is responsible for managing your investment portfolio and delivering the results you expect should be the one to decide.
Q: When I am filing my simple taxes, do I need to include my 5 percent Thrift Savings Plan contributions as an investment anywhere in my return? I did not receive any IRS Form 1099s from the TSP, but want to ensure I do the right thing. A: Your TSP contributions do not need to be reported as an investment. The contributions are reported to you on your W-2.
Q: I am a Federal Employees Retirement System employee retiring on April 30, under the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay at age 55. Can I take some or all of my Thrift Savings Plan balance and transfer it to a self-directed individual retirement account? What is the process for doing that? What are the estimated costs and penalties? A: You may roll over your TSP assets to an IRA following separation at at 55 with no penalty. Use Form TSP-77 to request a partial withdrawal or Form TSP-70 to request a full withdrawal of your account assets.
Q: I plan on retiring at 62 from the Federal Employees Retirement System. Will I be penalized for withdrawing money from my Thrift Savings Plan account at that age? A: No.
Q: I have a question concerning the following paragraph from your Feb. 20 column in Federal Times: I find it disappointing that it appears that you will not be able to manage, or withdraw, money selectively between the two options. Your contribution allocation and any interfund transfers you direct will apply to both options. Any withdrawals will be taken, pro rata, from both options. You may, however, split a rollover distribution between traditional and Roth IRA accounts. Specifically, I am puzzled by the statement in the second sentence. As I understand the general concept with “tax deferred” individual retirement accounts…
Q: I have looked all over the Thrift Savings Plan website and cannot find the button to push that says I am retiring and want to start collecting my money. I am almost 62 and intend to retire in 191 days. I have figured out that I want to begin receiving my money on a monthly basis and can only change that election once a year. The online calculator tells me that amount is good for 60 years and four months. It does not tell me how far off the minimum distribution I am. But where is the button? A:…