Q. I will be resigning from the Postal Service and need to know a few things. If I withdraw all of my Thrift Savings Plan funds after resigning, will I still be able to apply for a deferred FERS annuity? Upon resigning, I will be 49 with 22 years and 10 months of time. When would I be eligible for a deferred retirement: 56 or 60? A. Although withdrawing your funds from the TSP would have no effect on your eligibility for a deferred retirement, taking a refund of your retirement contributions would. So, if you want a deferred annuity,…
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Q. I have been a postal worker since April 1991, and I plan to retire in August 2013. At that time, I’ll be at my minimum retirement age — 56 years with 32 years of service. The service will be made up of 22 years of Postal Service time and 10 years military time, which I bought back in 1992. Upon retirement, I understand that I’ll receive a Basic Benefit Plan (1 percent per year for every year of service), special retirement supplement (until age 62) and Thrift Savings Plan. I was told by Postal Service human resources that my…
Q. I am under the FERS retirement plan. In four years, I will be 57 with 30 years. Will I be penalized in any way? Also, will I be able to tap into my Thrift Savings Plan? A. Reg Jones says: Because you will be retiring at your minimum retirement age with at least 30 years of service, you’ll receive a full, unreduced annuity. Mike Miles says: You’ll have access to your TSP account after retire without penalty.
Q. Can I retire from the Veterans Affairs hospital under FERS at age 55 with 25 years of service and withdraw my Thrift Savings Plan in lump sum? Or do I have to wait until my minimum retirement age? Can I leave at 55 and defer my retirement until I reach my MRA at 56? A. Reg Jones says: You can’t retire until you reach your MRA, which is 56. If you retired then, your annuity would be reduced by 5 percent for every year you were under age 60 (5/12 of a percentage point per year). You could delay…
Q. I am a General Schedule Defense Department employee facing a reduction in force. If I accept a NAF position, can I keep contributing to FERS and the Thrift Savings Plan? A. No, you could not keep contributing to FERS.
Q. If I set up a payroll deduction to pay my military deposit, are the payments pretax items on my leave and earnings statement, like with the Thrift Savings Plan, or do they get taxed like other earnings? If I make the payment with a lump sum, is there a way to deduct that on my taxes? If so, what do I need to do? I am a current FERS employee. I am at the point of paying back my military deposit for my six years active duty. I will either pay a lump sum by check or set up…
Q. I left the federal service 15 years ago, so I am a discontinued service employee with FERS and Thrift Savings Plan retirement accounts. I am 65 years old and have not started to take my FERS annuity payments, which should have started at age 62. Since I am making a reasonably good income outside of the federal government at the moment, I decided to hold off starting my FERS annuity payments until I actually retire — which may be in several more years, so I will be in a lower tax bracket. Is this a mistake? Are my assumptions correct in that whenever I…
Q. As a new employee, I am paying into the Federal Employees Retirement System annuity. 1. Am I required by law to participate into the FERS program, or can I opt out? 2. How does paying into this system benefit me? 3. If I leave the federal government before I retire, will I get my money back? 4. How is this different from Social Security? A. 1. You are required by law to have retirement deductions taken from your pay. You cannot opt out. 2. If you meet the age and service requirements to retire, you’ll be eligible for an…
Q. I will have 40 years with the Internal Revenue Service in 2012 and plan to retire either this year or in 2013. I have been contributing to both the Thrift Savings Plan and the Voluntary Contributions Program. I plan to leave the TSP contributions to the G Fund alone and let it grow. The VCP is another matter. I have a Roth IRA with Vanguard and would like to transfer all of the VCP to the Vanguard Roth IRA. I know I am required to pay tax on the interest the VCP has earned in the year received. How do…
Q. I worked for DoDDS schools from 1987 to 1990. At that time, vesting was five years with FERS. When I resigned, I believe I had to forfeit my retirement and was made to withdraw my Thrift Savings Plan. Would this have been correct for that time period with FERS? And DoDDS? I came back to work for DoDEA in January 2001. I called to make certain that I was going to get credit for those three years. I wanted to redeposit my TSP money but was not allowed to, and was told there was no provision for repayment. It…