TSP Retirement Center Chat Room

[Show-me]

1. 2080 hrs is a manyear, so yes.

2. I don't know, but as long as you do not exceed the $15,500 IRS limits I would GUESS yes.

3. Works for me. Cash is king.

 

[2moryrs]

Thanks Show-Me!

Do you remember when they changed the 2080 to 2087? I vaguely remember but I'm really fuzzy on the reason. I'm sure it was to the employer's benefit and not ours!

Next, I have to find out when I qualify to keep my health insurance into retirement. I woke up last night wondering if I really could retire on 1/3/2009 or if I had to wait another year!

2moryrs (maybe? ;^()

 

[The HalfBreed]

Do you remember when they changed the 2080 to 2087? I vaguely remember but I'm really fuzzy on the reason. I'm sure it was to the employer's benefit and not ours!

I THINK it had something to do with "Leap Year".

The change from 2080 to 2087 happened in the early to mid 1980's if memory serves me correctly. During the Ronald Ray-Gun era. About the same time that they eliminated sales tax deductions, and formed the FERS system, because, as they said....'Federal CSRS Employees Make far too much in retirement.....but wait ! We have a Deal for YOU !!!'

And here it is ! FERS !!! :blink:

I'm glad I didn't 'jump' and move from CSRS.

 

[Show-me]

Thanks Show-Me!

Do you remember when they changed the 2080 to 2087? I vaguely remember but I'm really fuzzy on the reason. I'm sure it was to the employer's benefit and not ours!

Next, I have to find out when I qualify to keep my health insurance into retirement. I woke up last night wondering if I really could retire on 1/3/2009 or if I had to wait another year!

2moryrs (maybe? ;^()

Sorry, I don't.

 

[Show-me]

http://www.fedsmith.com/article/1453/

Here are some great article from Tammy Flanagan.

http://www.nitpinc.com/gov_ex_archives.html

 

[jon]

On public TV tonight I accidently tuned into the first of 2 part program called Retirement Revolution with Paula Zahn. Looks like a good program with lots of actual costs and financial benefits from federal programs, etc. Pete Peterson provides a lot of background info on how and why particular benefit programs work. Social Security issue is both depressing and infuriating that Congress and President just procrastinate.

 

[Gumby]

Thanks Show-Me!

Do you remember when they changed the 2080 to 2087? I vaguely remember but I'm really fuzzy on the reason. I'm sure it was to the employer's benefit and not ours!

Next, I have to find out when I qualify to keep my health insurance into retirement. I woke up last night wondering if I really could retire on 1/3/2009 or if I had to wait another year!

2moryrs (maybe? ;^()

Pay and Benefits Watch: Why your paychecks don't always add upBy Brian Friel September 9, 1999
letters@govexec.com
Have you ever noticed that your paychecks don't add up to the salary listed for your grade and rank on the government's pay tables?
Take a hypothetical federal executive who makes $118,400 a year, according to the tables. Under the formula Uncle Sam uses to calculate her paychecks, she'll only get $117,998.40 in 1999. What happened to the other $401.60?
To find out, let's break down the government's pay formula.
To determine the executive's hourly rate for the year, Uncle Sam divides her yearly salary by 2,087 hours:

$118,400 / 2,087 = $56.73

To figure out the executive's biweekly rate, the government multiplies the hourly rate by 80 hours:

$56.73 x 80 = $4,538.40
Then the executive's agency pays her $4,538.40 every two weeks. There are typically 26 pay periods in a year:

$4,538.40 x 26 = $117,998.40

Look back over the formula. Can you spot Uncle Sam's secret to making the $401.60 disappear?
The trick is in how many hours a year the government says its employees work. If you work 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, you work a total of 2,080 hours in a year. If you re-calculated the executive's salary at 2,080 hours instead of 2,087 hours, then she would receive just under $118,400. But the government tacks on an additional seven hours to the formula, so employees appear to get shortchanged seven hours' pay each year.
However, there is a method to Uncle Sam's madness. In some years, there are 27 pay days, instead of 26, because of the way our calendar works. Back in 1986, some sharp-eyed budget cutters noticed that the federal pay formula was based on 2,080 hours a year. So our hypothetical executive, under the old formula, would end up with a $4,500 bonus in years with 27 pay days while getting her full salary in years with 26 pay days.
Rather than give federal employees free money every few years, Congress changed the formula to 2,087 hours. So employees are underpaid in years with 26 pay days, and then overpaid in years with 27 pay days. Our hypothetical executive still receives $4,136.80 more than the salary listed in the pay tables in years with 27 pay days, but that's offset by the $401.60 deficit in years with 26 pay days.
Why do some years end up with an extra pay day? It works like this: A biweekly pay period includes 14 days. Typically there are 26 pay periods in a year. Multiply 26 by 14. You get 364. How many days are in a year? Of course, 365 in a normal year and 366 in a leap year. So over the years, those missing days add up to a full pay period, hence the extra pay day in some years.
Pay periods vary by agencies, so the last year with 27 pay days was 1996 for some federal employees and 1997 for others. It happens roughly once every 11 or 12 years, so it will be some time before most federal employees enjoy an overpaid year again.



This guy also got a big incentive award for screwing the Fed employees. What a deal.

 

[EW_ret]

1. One year of sick leave is 2087 hours according to unused sick leave conversion chart.

2. The 26th pay period in normally the final pay for a calendar year. The date you receive the pay is what IRS uses in determining the tax year. I do not understand why some believe this pay goes for following calendar year. If it did it would be pay period 1. You are limited to a maximum of $15,500 plus $5,000 catch-up contributions to your TSP account. This must come from your salary, and not the annual leave lump sum. Some retirees contribute nearly their entire salary the last few pay periods, and use the annual leave lump sum to live on. It normally arrives in your final paycheck, coming from your local payroll office.

3. Where to put the annual leave lump pay is really dependent upon your financial situation. I have ING Direct and Emigrant Direct savings accounts linked to my local credit union checking account. I transfer the extra money to these linked accounts because they pay higher interest (now at 2.75% to 3.00%) than anything the credit union offers. In two business days I can move money between the credit union checking and Direct accounts.

Hello,

I am getting close to retirement and am doing a lot of reading and getting more confused by the day. So maybe some of you that retired under CSRS can answer a few questions I have:
1. I will have 34 yrs in 8/2008 and will have accumulated 2087 hours of s/l as of pp 26. Will those hrs count for a full yr for length of service computation?
2. Read that you could put all your pay from last two pp's (25 & 26) into tsp before actual retirement date. Is this true?
3. If I were to go ahead and use my 208 hrs of a/l (just keep 240) and then put that amount of pay based on the a/l hours used into amy Credit Union account; does that make any sense? Credit Union pays better than most other liquid asset accounts in my local area.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts and ideas! I've never retired before and this is very scary. I want to make the best (right) decisions for my future.

2moryrs (not!)

 

[clester]

For anyone in FERS that has retired, How soon do you get your lump sums (AL)? Is there any delay on the first paycheck (FERS or Supplement) if you retire the last day of the month? (for example, if you retired Jan 31, did you get a check the first of march?)
How about TSP payouts, If you had monthly payments (say based on life expectancy)?

 

[Guest2]

For anyone in FERS that has retired, How soon do you get your lump sums (AL)? Is there any delay on the first paycheck (FERS or Supplement) if you retire the last day of the month? (for example, if you retired Jan 31, did you get a check the first of march?)
How about TSP payouts, If you had monthly payments (say based on life expectancy)?

Clester, although there's a lot of good information concerning the TSP
within these walls, I think the link provided below has excellant information
about your question. I hope it helps, you'll need to search with a related
keyword to help you navigate to the info a little quicker.

http://community.federalsoup.com/4/OpenTopic?a=frm&s=4944011921&f=2514011031

 

[2moryrs]

Thank you Gumby and EW_Ret! You folks have so much knowledge and you share it! I have enjoyed this site very much. I have finally decided to retire at the end of the year FOR SURE and I will be able to pursue other interests. I am going to become more active on legislative issues that affect current employees and retirees with my local NARFE chapter.
Thank you all for the education.

less than 2moryrs!