What are your retirement plans?

[The HalfBreed]

I would imagine you're going to run the gamut on opinions on retirement and it's effects, especially concerning the stock market. In particular, the variations between FERS and CSRS as it applies to retirement. We all know about the 3 legged stool offered by FERS, and the impact that market fluctuations/crashes have upon retirement options. Some in FERS will need to consider the ramifications of recent events....and the same could be said of CSRS employees, but maybe to a lesser degree (?).

As a CSRS employee, the stock market crash has no bearing on my retirement plans per se. I'll survive on 70% + via CSRS easily, as I now live on approx. 37% of income, and that's accounting for over $800.00 in FUN money. My TSP (unmatched by gov't) and other savings could add another 12K/yr, so, it's a different ballgame. Being single, it could only get better if I get 'hitched', but that's not in the cards currently. Maybe a comparative analysis of the two sides of this coin may be a good article to pursue......(?)

 

[clester]

I will also retire as planned. I will probably take my TSP money out and put into an IRA. The lost money in TSP will change how I live in retirement though.
I am thankful for our pensions, supplement, health benefits etc. There are many who only have 401ks these day. They will be hurt the worst.

 

[nnuut]

Jan 2010 I'm outa there with 37 years CSRS about 70% of my gross, and my TSP. Would get $750 a month (52 quarters) Social security but due to the DAMN WEP will get about $285 a month!! It's all good though, I can't wait!

 

[ChemEng]

I have to work another lifetime (literally) until I can retire.

 

[clester]

I will also retire as planned. I will probably take my TSP money out and put into an IRA. The lost money in TSP will change how I live in retirement though.
I am thankful for our pensions, supplement, health benefits etc. There are many who only have 401ks these day. They will be hurt the worst.

May 31, 2009!

 

[Rod]

Although I never planned on my TSP to sustain us in retirement (It's my fun account), I was fortunate enough not to lose 1 cent during this market downtown. I happily bailed to the (G) Fund in late January and stayed put.

FWIW, My Wife & I purchased a 30 year mortgage 3 years ago which will be paid off in 10 years.

We now pay quadruple our new vehicle payment so it will be paid off ahead of time- 7 months from now.

We have zero credit card debt, and nice cozy reserves in emergency savings, Our Roths, my TSP, and my 2 year old daughter's ESA.

Did I mention that we absolutely despise debt??? Our short-term goal is Debt Freedom, baby... even with our mortgage.

So, no changes to my retirement plans... 2 years from now, and I just turned 40 three weeks ago.

But, I'll find something to do on the side so I don't go nnuuts, like my good friend Norm.

Hi Norm!

 

[mick504]

Hi Rod...boy you are in really good financial shape! You've got insurance after retirement for the family right. I stayed in the G throughout the meltdown but wanted and missed an upsurge from 850 to 1000 today in the S&P which I tend to like rather than the S fund. I also like the companies in the I fund. I retired in 2006 and am in Asia....getting my new spinning reel ready for some surf fishing in the tropics. Take Care

 

[mick504]

You are right...we in the govt are very fortunate if you compare us with other people...excluding the high flying big company types. We have pretty good benefits, e.g insurance etc and a pension as long as we live....support for spouse's also. A friend of mine retired w/the Fire Dept in Florida and pays abour $800 monthly for he and his wife's medical insurance. He cannot move his pension....just takes the hits as they come. At least we can move from C,S,I, F, to the G fund when necessary. I retired in 2006 @age 56. I read a study which showed that people who retired early lived longer....therefore I did, even though I would have stayed for one or two more years but didn't. Maybe it's all that stress that shortens life or causes illnesses...I just don't know but even though a little less money monthly, I don't regret it.

 

[nnuut]

although i never planned on my tsp to sustain us in retirement (it's my fun account), i was fortunate enough not to lose 1 cent during this market downtown. I happily bailed to the (g) fund in late january and stayed put.

Fwiw, my wife & i purchased a 30 year mortgage 3 years ago which will be paid off in 10 years.

We now pay quadruple our new vehicle payment so it will be paid off ahead of time- 7 months from now.

We have zero credit card debt, and nice cozy reserves in emergency savings, our roths, my tsp, and my 2 year old daughter's esa.

did i mention that we absolutely despise debt??? our short-term goal is debt freedom, baby... Even with our mortgage.

so, no changes to my retirement plans... 2 years from now, and i just turned 40 three weeks ago.

But, i'll find something to do on the side so i don't go nnuuts, like my good friend norm.

hi norm!:d

booga booga!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Silverbird]

I'm in FERS with nearly 20 years in, I had no choice in FERS vs CSRS. Because of the rules for FERS, unless I retire at 62, I will get 10% less a month in my FERS annuity, so I will not retire earlier than 62. The math on Social Security is laughable, unless I decide I really want to stay until I'm 70 - IF there enough money to back up the system when us Busters retire. I do not think Social Security will have enough money to pay back the Boomers on what they put in, and suspect it may run out right when the most long-lived of that group is most in need, and us Busters are in the middle of our golden years (if not earlier).

That leaves TSP as my main source of retirement funds. With nearly 20 years in, I already have a considerable amount of money in my account. G fund frankly does not pay enough to cover inflation. Parking in the L funds during the first 3 quarters of this year, if you are a Buster in L2030 or L2020 due to you later retirement date, who has a considerable amount of money already in the system, you just went back in time to 2003. There is a huge difference between averageing 7% a year (where I was up to the end of last year) to how bad it would have been if I hadn't gone to G during the first quarter of 2008. I am able to enter the market now through payroll and loan deductions (I have a residental and a personal loan outstanding). Because I could move my funds around, my retirement didn't suffer a huge haircut. But anyone with a lot of money in the TSP who parked L 2020 or worse, 2030, and didn't look is in considerable distress now, especially if they paniced in the last month.

I may not have to delaying my retirement yet, thanks to my ability to get out before everything tanked. However, on the longer term, it depends how returns look over the next few years. If the stock market takes a long time to recover, and my assumption of an average of 7% a year returns is wrong, I will have to consider retiring after 62. And how about those who just parked and then paniced at the worst time?

However, even they can recover - because they can delay their retirement. The people you should be worried about are the ones who already are retired and did not expect a negative return on their nest egg. How are they going to recover from a bad Parking L decision??

Here's mine from another posting.

 

[Guest2]

Why is it that two reporters can't come up with a informative article
by now. Why does it take a third reporter to jump in after several weeks
and ask the same old questions. Why aren't you focusing on the dribble
that the FRTIB used to limit our rights within the TSP. Why aren't you
focusing on the heavy handed practice of punishing TSP participants
for excersizing their rights to make IFT's in March (when it was well
within the rules). Why aren't you focusing on the "Expense and Costs"
lies that the FRTIB have made to justify such "Insidious" behavior. Why
aren't you focus on the fact that many TSP participants are now being
forced to work longer because of the restrictions they have put in place.

Why are you bothering us ! Fight the good fight or go with hell away !

 

[CountryBoy]

Why is it that two reporters can't come up with a informative article
by now. Why does it take a third reporter to jump in after several weeks
and ask the same old questions. Why aren't you focusing on the dribble
that the FRTIB used to limit our rights within the TSP. Why aren't you
focusing on the heavy handed practice of punishing TSP participants
for excersizing their rights to make IFT's in March (when it was well
within the rules). Why aren't you focusing on the "Expense and Costs"
lies that the FRTIB have made to justify such "Insidious" behavior. Why
aren't you focus on the fact that many TSP participants are now being
forced to work longer because of the restrictions they have put in place.

Why are you bothering us ! Fight the good fight or go with hell away !

Be easy on them SB, they're just mouthpieces for the FRTIB, that's why they didn't care enough to cover that bit of socialism and limiting the IFT's and punishing those for breaking non existant rules.

CB

 

[Frixxxx]

So, no changes to my retirement plans... 2 years from now, and I just turned 40 three weeks ago.

But, I'll find something to do on the side so I don't go nnuuts, like my good friend Norm.

Hi Norm!

What tax breaks do you look for Rod? If you have your house paid off in ten years, where do you put the money to get a break until you retire?

I'm curious, cause my only major write-offs/deferrments are:

Mortgage interest
Traditional IRA/TSP
Medical Costs (7%) medical fund
Charities

Outside of that, I can't hide much of anything else.:blink:

 

[Frixxxx]

...
Now, it would appear that some members, including myself, are interested
in knowing others plans. Some of the shared info could help someone that
might have missed something or didn't think of alternatives shared. This is
something really positive and I won't interupt the flow of this thread any
more. Sorry for the brief interuption.

I got the same request (PM) but I have not responded. The post even asked if I'd sit down with a planner to see where I was in respect to when I wanted to retire....I just don't feel like a guinea pig for this.:suspicious:

 

[CountryBoy]

These people come from the other end of the anatomy. They stop by
from time to time and ask the same old dumb questions. They niether
have the motivation, nor inclination to help fight the injustices which
have forced me (and many others) to work longer then my health may
allow. There bottom feeders looking for shark poop and I'm fed up with
their transparent attempts to do nothing more then waste time.
(What are your retirement plans?) Bahhhhhhhhh !

I agree 100% SB, just need that sarcasm emoticon.

CB

 

[CountryBoy]

I got the same request (PM) but I have not responded. The post even asked if I'd sit down with a planner to see where I was in respect to when I wanted to retire....I just don't feel like a guinea pig for this.:suspicious:

I got the same thing and I couldn't hit the delete button quick enough. I don't trust people being nosy like that. As far as I'm concerned they are just spies for Long and the board. And again, in case they are snoopy, they dropped the ball on the IFT limitation beat down that was put on us by the Long et al.

CB

 

[Rod]

You are right...we in the govt are very fortunate if you compare us with other people...

Yeah, having a pension (for me) is like retiring at 42 with $2,000,000 already in a retirement account if I were to live until the ripe old age of 100!

 

[Rod]

What tax breaks do you look for Rod? If you have your house paid off in ten years, where do you put the money to get a break until you retire?

I'm curious, cause my only major write-offs/deferrments are:

Mortgage interest
Traditional IRA/TSP
Medical Costs (7%) medical fund
Charities

Outside of that, I can't hide much of anything else.:blink:

I haven't given that much thought, yet.

I'm sure I'll think of something when that time comes.

 

[DrFaustus]

I am a 47-year old ex-Fed. Am planning to retire at 67. I was a FERS employee for 20 years. I chose to leave my money in the TSP when I left Fed service for the golden calves of private industry - mainly because I understood (or at least thought I understood) the TSP and had enough headaches without having to worry about rollovers and our 401k plan here.

I'm sure that the financial advisors that Miss Harwood is referring to will advocate some sort of buy and hold strategy, similar to the lifecycle funds. And that's well and good if you're into that but I think I can make more by self-directing my allocations.

As for my plans? Well, as the times have shown, things change. I think all we can do is to maximize our TSP accounts and then choose the retirement vehicle (monthly payments, annuity, etc) that best suits our projected needs when the time arrives. I'm sure the retirement landscape will look a lot different when I get there than it does now ... and that is ALL I am sure about.