TSP HELP, leaving the military

[alanmx6]

Im leaving the service and dont know what to do with my account or what i can do with it, can i leave it there until im old enough to take it out or do i have to cancel it somehow or something. Any ideas?

 

[Tinslinger]

My personal opinion is that I would leave it right where it is. Even though you can no longer make contributions, you can still control your account and the fees are pretty low. Then, if you are employed by a company that has it's own 401k, you could always transfer your TSP funds into that new account, although I'm not saying that's what you should do, it's merely an option. One of the best things about TSP is that you don't have to make any decisions right away, you can wait until you're ready. So, again, I would leave it alone for now.

 

[alanmx6]

so there are no penalties for leaving it where it is. I just cant make contributions after i leave service.

My personal opinion is that I would leave it right where it is. Even though you can no longer make contributions, you can still control your account and the fees are pretty low. Then, if you are employed by a company that has it's own 401k, you could always transfer your TSP funds into that new account, although I'm not saying that's what you should do, it's merely an option. One of the best things about TSP is that you don't have to make any decisions right away, you can wait until you're ready. So, again, I would leave it alone for now.

 

[wvango]

Correct, I left mine there when I retired in 2007 and then started working for the Gov't. Once there I rolled it over into my Civilian Acount...pretty painless. You just have to remember to log in and manage it. But the decision is all up to you, but there are no penalties.

You may want to go to the TSP Web site and click on Life Events, Your Career and then Separating from Government Service. Here is the link to that if you need it.
https://www.tsp.gov/lifeevents/entering/enteringGovService.shtml