Q. I will be 55 this month and plan to retire in November with 33 years of service under CSRS. Do I have to wait until I am 59½ to withdraw from my Thrift Savings Plan? A. Not if you wait until you’re retired to request the withdrawal.
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Q. My first required minimum distribution at age 70½ was made in August, when I took the total RMD required for both my IRA and Thrift Savings Plan accounts from one IRA fund. However, I have just received my notice from TSP stating I must make a withdrawal by April 1 from the TSP account to avoid dire circumstances. I am not clear on whether what I have already done meets my obligations for the first withdrawal, based on two of your answers concerning this matter. Q: “Also, I thought if I have other IRAs, I could take the RMD…
Q. I retired under FERS two years ago, and I haven’t needed to touch my Thrift Savings Plan account so far. I am receiving Office of Personnel Management, Social Security and military retirements. I am 68½ years old. I just received a 100 percent Veterans Affairs Department disability award, which will change my taxable military retirement to a nontaxable VA retirement. I don’t think this will have any effect on my long-term life expectancy. I have determined that I do not want to elect an annuity on withdrawing from my TSP. I am considering immediately starting a monthly TSP withdrawal…
Q. I retired Jan. 31, 2013. I have more than four years left on my mortgage. I owe about $25,000 on my loan. I was thinking of taking a lump sum from my Thrift Savings Plan for about $20,000 and use my tax refund to make up the difference I would owe. I have about $120,000 in my TSP. I’ve had it in the C Fund, which is doing very well. Do you think it’s a good idea to take a lump-sum withdrawal to pay off my mortgage? It would save me $900 per month, which is what I’m paying…
Q. I am 56 and had to retire under a disability retirement because of cancer. I am receiving Social Security, and I have 90 percent disability from the Veterans Affairs Department. Can I withdraw from the Thrift Savings Plan without the 10 percent penalty, or do I need to wait until I’m 59? What documentation do I need for taxes? Can you also refer me to the correct tax pubs and pages? A. The answer will depend upon when you retired and the nature of your disability. See Page 7 of the notice at https://www.tsp.gov/PDF/formspubs/tsp-536.pdf to see if you meet…
Q. I will be retiring in May with 25 years of federal law enforcement service. I will be 50 years old and subject to penalties and taxes on a one-time, age-based partial withdrawal from my Thrift Savings Plan. If I withdraw $20,000 to take care of bills and home repair, how much should I request from my TSP account to cover the taxes and penalties? A. Your withdrawal will be subject to 20 percent minimum mandatory federal tax withholding, so to receive $20,000 from the TSP, you’ll need to request $25,000. The actual federal income tax, early withdrawal penalty and…
Q. I retired from the federal government under CSRS. I turned 70½ years old in May. I have $40,000 in my Thrift Savings Plan account. I am thinking about withdrawing all of my funds in a lump sum. Is this a good idea? How will this affect my tax obligations? What do you recommend? A. The money you withdraw from your TSP account will be counted as ordinary income for tax purposes. If you need the money, then fine. If not, you should leave it in the TSP for as long as possible.
Q. My mother’s plan was purchased by MetLife. She wants to make a withdrawal but is told she can’t, or she needs a higher monthly payment. It’s only $300 due to a paperwork mistake, but she was told she could only submit this one time this year. Is there anything to do? A. If she bought an annuity, her monthly payments from that annuity are fixed for life. If she has a balance left in her Thrift Savings Plan account, she has the option of terminating her monthly payments with a final, lump-sum distribution of the remaining balance in her…
Q. I own both a Thrift Savings Plan account and several non-TSP IRAs with other institutions and am approaching the age at which I must begin to withdraw the required minimum distribution from both the TSP and the non-TSP IRAs. I am withdrawing enough money from the TSP to cover the required distribution from all of my accounts combined. Must I withdraw any additional monies from my non-TSP IRAs to comply with the tax laws? The answer may depend upon whether the TSP is considered a “traditional IRA” for tax purposes. I can’t find any information on this point. A.…
Q. I am a civilian FERS employee who will retire this summer at age 59 with 35 years of civil service. After retiring, I intend to start monthly withdrawals from my Thrift Savings Plan account ($2,000 per month). Even though I will have begun making monthly withdrawals from my TSP account, can the remainder of my money in the TSP continue to be invested in the various funds (G, C, F, S, I) and continue to grow via earnings within these funds? A. Yes.