Q. I was a half-time Veterans Affairs Department psychologist at an outpatient clinic from 1981 to 1993. During the first part of the period of employment, I recall that I was part of the standard VA retirement system. If my memory is correct, I was compelled to join the Thrift Savings Plan and also had some reduced level of participation in the some retirement plan (maybe it was Social Security) in the final years of my employment. I received an annual notice regarding TSP, but I have not received any other information on any possible retirement benefits. I am now…
Browsing: TSP
Q. I am a FERS retiree and about to withdraw my Thrift Savings Plan proceeds via a fixed monthly amount. I consequently need my wife to sign a statement on the TSP-70 form to give up her right to the prescribed joint life annuity. However, my basic annuity (FERS retirement benefit) provides for survivor benefits. Will she still be eligible for FEHB survivor benefits? A. Decisions you jointly make about your TSP account will have no effect on her entitlement to a FERS survivor annuity.
Q. I worked for the federal government from January 1981 to November 1990. I pulled my money from CSRS retirement and worked in the private sector until September 2010. Upon returning to federal service in September 2010, I paid Social Security and put money into my 401(k), which I have rolled into my Thrift Savings Plan. I am in CSRS Offset, I declined the FERS option and stayed with CSRS. I am trying to find out whether to pay back the CSRS money I pulled in 1990? I also recently got married, so how will my benefits be paid once I…
Q. I am trying to take advantage of the redeposit and can’t seem to find information to get this done. The current form 3108A does not address this particular subject. Human Resources was not familiar with it. It is on the Postal Service blue page, but that is as much information that I can get. I left USPS for eight months, and I took my Thrift Savings Plan and roll into an IRA. I want to find out how to get this redeposit, to receive credit for my annuity computation, and also my eligibility to retire. I am currently employed with…
Q. I am going to retire when I am 62, in roughly 2½ years. I will be receiving my FERS retirement, a small retirement from the state of North Carolina that is similar to FERS and my TSP annuity. Will any of these payments affect my Social Security benefit, which I plan on applying for at 62? A. None of the other benefits will affect your FERS annuity or Social Security benefit unless the North Carolina benefit came from a retirement system where you didn’t pay Social Security taxes. If it did, and you had fewer than 30 years of substantial…
Q. I’m a FERS employee who recently resigned my commission in the Navy Reserve. I have combined active duty and reserve time. After I received my Statement of Service, I submitted that and my DD 214 to Defense Finance and Accounting Services for military buyback consideration. If I buy back my military time, I’ll have 20 years combined. What happens to that military retirement if I don’t convert that time? Can I request that military retirement amount be transferred into my TSP or a private 401(k) account? If I don’t convert that military retirement balance, what happens to it? A.…
Q. I worked for customs for 13 months and resigned about 10 years ago. I did not my accrued sick leave, nor did I transfer it when I left. I was recently hired by the Department of Homeland Security/Transportation Security Administration part time. 1. How do I get the unused sick leave I had when I resigned credited back to me? 2. Can I start to contribute to TSP right away, along with receiving the agency’s matching contributions, or do I have to wait like all new employees? 3. Is there a formula for calculating FERS retirement for part-time service;…
Q. I am a CSRS employee, hired in 1979 and contemplating retirement April 3. I will be subject to the windfall elimination provision since I earned 40 credits of Social Security eligibility before federal employment. But my spouse is also Social Security eligible and started receiving Social Security benefits of more than $1,900/month (gross) last month, whereas the SSA has estimated that my Social Security benefits would be approximately $385/month (gross). Would I be eligible for spousal Social Security benefits? Also, a financial planner has recommended that I roll over my substantial TSP account balance before I turn 70½ (October 2017), but I…
Q. I qualify for a buyout with 25-plus years of service. If I take the buyout, it is my understanding that I must wait until my normal minimum retirement age of 56 to begin receiving the Social Security supplement. Would this prevent me from receiving increases in Social Security supplemental benefits that I would have received had I waited until 56 to retire? I believe I would get the increases at 62, in any event, when I could first draw reduced SS benefits. Also, what happens to my Thrift Savings Plan account? May I purchase an immediate annuity and/or take a…
Q. I was looking at what states are best for retiring when it comes to tax rates. I’ve read that North Carolina doesn’t tax annuities. That’s great for my TSP annuity, but is my Postal Service retirement considered an annuity? A. Civil service annuities in North Carolina aren’t taxed if you had five years of creditable government service as of Aug. 12, 1989. If you didn’t, they’re taxable.