FERs Retirees, anyone?

[tsptalk]

The search function on this site is lacking or I haven't figured out how to use it in the last six years. Not necessarily Tom's fault (Mr TSPTalk to most of us) but seems to be true on all vbulletin forums.

I've been reading some of the retirement posts and came across this. I agree. The forum search features isn't all that good, but if you go to the home page (TSP Talk - Thrift Savings Plan) there is a Google search box in the top right corner that works well. It searches TSP Talk and tsp.gov.

Hope this helps someone.

 

[uscfanhawaii]

I've been reading some of the retirement posts and came across this. I agree. The forum search features isn't all that good, but if you go to the home page (TSP Talk - Thrift Savings Plan) there is a Google search box in the top right corner that works well. It searches TSP Talk and tsp.gov.

Hope this helps someone.

Thanks, Tom. yes this really helps!

 

[Maricar19]

I came across the statement below while browsing TSP FERS Strategy | Federal Employees First Alliance. Will somebody please enlighten me on the statement that I underlined? Did I understand it correctly- once you started your systematic withdrawal, you cannot stop it and the only option left is to withdraw your full balance?

"Systematic withdrawals are done by many people. $x per month taken out of the TSP while leaving the money in the TSP. This would be great if your main priority is leaving the TSP behind to some people AND if you are comfortable taking risks. Otherwise you are confined to low growth fund and given little to no flexibility in terms of what you withdrawal. You can change your withdrawal amount at the end of each year but there are things that give discretionary withdrawals with more growth. It is also worth noting that you cannot stop systematic withdrawals without pulling out everything at once from the TSP. This means that if you decide you agree that the option is bad once you are into it, it is in essence too late when you consider the tax disadvantages involved in taking a lump sum payment from your remaining balance"

 

[alevin]

I came across the statement below while browsing TSP FERS Strategy | Federal Employees First Alliance. Will somebody please enlighten me on the statement that I underlined? Did I understand it correctly- once you started your systematic withdrawal, you cannot stop it and the only option left is to withdraw your full balance?

"Systematic withdrawals are done by many people. $x per month taken out of the TSP while leaving the money in the TSP. This would be great if your main priority is leaving the TSP behind to some people AND if you are comfortable taking risks. Otherwise you are confined to low growth fund and given little to no flexibility in terms of what you withdrawal. You can change your withdrawal amount at the end of each year but there are things that give discretionary withdrawals with more growth. It is also worth noting that you cannot stop systematic withdrawals without pulling out everything at once from the TSP. This means that if you decide you agree that the option is bad once you are into it, it is in essence too late when you consider the tax disadvantages involved in taking a lump sum payment from your remaining balance"

I believe that is the rule as it stands right now. I can only hope they hurry up and change the options the way they are thinking of doing, before I retire in another couple years.

 

[clester]

I came across the statement below while browsing TSP FERS Strategy | Federal Employees First Alliance. Will somebody please enlighten me on the statement that I underlined? Did I understand it correctly- once you started your systematic withdrawal, you cannot stop it and the only option left is to withdraw your full balance?

"Systematic withdrawals are done by many people. $x per month taken out of the TSP while leaving the money in the TSP. This would be great if your main priority is leaving the TSP behind to some people AND if you are comfortable taking risks. Otherwise you are confined to low growth fund and given little to no flexibility in terms of what you withdrawal. You can change your withdrawal amount at the end of each year but there are things that give discretionary withdrawals with more growth. It is also worth noting that you cannot stop systematic withdrawals without pulling out everything at once from the TSP. This means that if you decide you agree that the option is bad once you are into it, it is in essence too late when you consider the tax disadvantages involved in taking a lump sum payment from your remaining balance"

I guess it depends on your strategy. TSP has very low costs. It has the G fund which is great because you won't lose money there. Bond funds can go down. I did the early withdrawal payment method, 72t, and at 59.5 I can change monthly payments once a year to a specific amount. You could just reduce payments to a low amount if you want to basically stop withdrawing.

Personally, I'm happy staying in TSP. Lots of folks roll over to IRA. I have other accounts to do stock trading etc.


Sent from my iPhone using TSP Talk Forums

 

[evilanne]

Maricar,

When you do monthly payments it is considered a "full withdrawal" so you cannot stop it but you can reduce the monthly payment down to $25 (only exception is life expectancy payments which have more restrictive rules if you retire before age 55). If you decide to close your account, you can transfer the account to an IRA so you don't have to take it as a "lump sum payment" or have any tax impact. Regardless of whether you are in TSP or in an IRA, once you turn 70.5, you have to take RMDs that will impact your taxes.

The article you are looking at is trying to convince you to transfer your money to them. Most financial advisors will try to put you into a managed or fee based account that charges a small fee (.5 to 1%) on the value of your account every year, see Fee-Based Brokerage: Will They Work For You? I would bet that most will put you into tried and true "safe" funds, maybe a few Large Cap stocks, and recommend very few changes over the years. Make sure you ask a lot of questions before transferring your money anywhere. If you decide to transfer your account out of TSP, you do have option of leaving a certain amount in so if you find out that it is a mistake, you can transfer back in :wink:

 

[Hallatauer]

I guess it depends on your strategy. TSP has very low costs. It has the G fund which is great because you won't lose money there. Bond funds can go down. I did the early withdrawal payment method, 72t, and at 59.5 I can change monthly payments once a year to a specific amount. You could just reduce payments to a low amount if you want to basically stop withdrawing.

Personally, I'm happy staying in TSP. Lots of folks roll over to IRA. I have other accounts to do stock trading etc.


Sent from my iPhone using TSP Talk Forums

I'm doing the same... I started withdrawal when I retired at 52 with the 72t rule. I let them figure out the payout based on life expectancy so there would be no issues... in the 4 years since, my account balance in my TSP has still managed to increase despite withdrawing from it. I'm good with that!