Q: I retired Nov. 30 from the Foreign Service at age 60 and have a substantial sum in my Thrift Savings Plan. I would like to make a partial withdrawal in the near future to give me cash to renovate my house. In the future, when I decide to make a complete withdrawal, it looks like I could do a combination of a second lump-sum payout and a series of monthly payments. Am I reading the rules wrong? Can I indeed make this second lump-sum withdrawal?
A: Not unless the lump-sum withdrawal is the terminal withdrawal at the end of the the series of monthly payments. You could initiate monthly payments and then decide to end them later, culminating in a final lump-sum withdrawal. Otherwise, you can’t take a second partial withdrawal.
