Q. I am a federal firefighter under CSRS Special Retirement due to retire in November 2011 at age 50. At what age will I be able to collect on my TSP retirement?
A. You may tap your TSP account as soon as you are retired, but you will be subject to the early withdrawal penalty until you reach age 59 1/2 unless you roll over the withdrawal, use the withdrawal to buy a life annuity, take a series of Substantially Equal Periodic Payments under IRS section 72t, or meet one of the other specific exceptions to the rule.
