Q. I will retire soon and have access to a nice sum of cash that I want to invest. Does it make sense to use the Voluntary Contributions Program to a Roth vehicle to invest all or part of this money? A. Yes, as long as you can put the money away in the Roth for the required holding period.
Browsing: voluntary contributions program
Q. I am CSRS and eligible to retire now with 30 years at age 56. My salary excludes my wife and I from funding a Roth with more than $6,000 each year (except $22,500 allowable into new Roth TSP). Let’s say I put $25,000 into the Voluntary Contributions Program with the intention of making a one-time, lump-sum withdrawal as soon as possible and roll the original $25,000 into a private Roth IRA. I am told that doing so is a way to immediately fund a Roth that is not limited to my current $6,000 amount mentioned above. Do I understand this correctly,…
Q. Someone asked you online Oct. 8 if they could deposit funds into the Voluntary Contributions Program and transfer “the whole amount” into a Roth TSP. You said “yes.” The poster said they thought they could only transfer interest to TSP. By asking if they could transfer “the whole amount,” I believe they were wondering if they could transfer both contributions and interest. You have said as recently as an answer given on Sept. 24 that “You’ll have to use a Roth IRA for the after-tax portion of the VCP account,” and gave a corrected answer to a question posted…
Q. I’m CSRS. If I deposit funds in my Voluntary Contributions Program, I thought I could only transfer interest gain to TSP. Can I transfer the whole amount if I choose Roth TSP? A. You may not transfer or convert money into the Roth TSP. You could roll the money over to a Roth IRA, however.
Q. I am planning to retire next year. If Congress extends the Roth rollover provision, I am interested in pursuing the following scenario: I have funds in the Thrift Savings Plan that will be fully taxable upon withdrawal. If I withdraw them upon retirement (at 56), I will be taxed on them but not subject to the 10 percent penalty. I propose to take those funds and immediately (within the same day if possible) transfer them to the CSRS Voluntary Contribution Program account, which then could also allow a rollover into a Roth account. Therefore, am I permitted to fund the…
Q. Effective Feb. 29, 2012, I am a CSRS retiree from federal service; I participated in both the Thrift Savings Program ($201,000), and the Voluntary Contributions Program. I must make an election soon of the funds now in the VCP: $87,637 (nontaxable); $34,682 (taxable). I am married, and I will be 66 years old in October. I (we) do not foresee needing the money from these two sources in the near term. I will likely convert everything to a traditional IRA then Roth IRA in April of the year after I turn 70½, to be left to my son after I…
Q. I am CSRS and will be retiring next year. I will be making a contribution (after-tax) to the Voluntary Contributions Program before retiring. I have an existing Roth IRA (after-tax), reflecting contributions I have made over the years. I do not have a traditional IRA (pretax). I do, however, have money in the Thrift Savings Plan (pretax). I plan on converting the VCP contributions (after-tax) to my Roth IRA (after-tax) at retirement. Any interest earned (pretax) in the VCP will be transferred to the TSP at retirement. After doing some research on this and reading IRS Pub 590, it…
Q. I am a Civil Service Retirement System employee with 33 years of service, and I plan to retire June 3. Can I roll my Thrift Savings Plan into the Voluntary Contribution Program before I retire, and will I be required to pay tax on that money? Can I later roll the VCP into an Individual Retirement Account, and is it best to go into a Roth or traditional IRA? A. You may not transfer your TSP money into the VCP.
Q. I will be retiring this year under the Civil Service Retirement System at age 56 with 33.75 years of service. I read an article on the Voluntary Contribution Program. Can I roll my Thrift Savings Program into the VCP prior to retirement and then roll it into an Individual Retirement Account to save being taxed? A. No. The VCP only accepts after-tax contributions. You may roll your VCP balance into an IRA or Roth IRA, however.
Q: It seems to me that the CSRS voluntary contributions program is the undiscovered gem of the CSRS system. I have already heard that the VC program can be used as a way to beef up a Roth IRA. However, I think that in my case (age 67), retirement and use of the VC account for its intended purpose — to purchase additional annuity — is a very good deal, which according to my calculations would yield 8.46 percent for life (which includes a 10 percent reduction for my spouse survivor’s annuity, who is 65). Compare that rate to a…