By Mike Miles
TSP and annuities
May 13th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I have been a federal employee for 27 years, just long enough to have been one of the first forced into FERS. About seven years ago, I looked at my Thrift Savings Plan statement and learned that the prediction was that if I retired at age 62 and bought an annuity, I would have a pretty good monthly salary. Now, I notice that the prediction is that if I use my TSP savings, with about the same amount predicted for me at age 62, to buy a monthly annuity, that annuity will be about one-third of what was predicted seven years ago. Not a very good deal now.
My belief is that the years of low interest rates are responsible for the change in what the same amount of money will buy now. I wonder if that is true. I also wonder if these annuity companies that agreed to pay the larger amounts when they signed people up seven or more years ago are going to have to have massive bailouts by the federal government if interest rates continue to remain where they are. Finally, if I retire soon, I will not want to buy an annuity at that time, but if interest rates go up in five years, how much more attractive are monthly annuities going to be? If the interest rates go back to where they were 10 years ago, will the price of annuities go back to where they were, or have annuity companies learned a lesson and are likely to be more conservative in pricing?
This also might be a good topic for one of your columns for other FERS feds who have to decide about using some of their savings to buy annuities.
A. I have written columns about the pros and cons of using your savings to buy an annuity, and about the dangers of using the calculators provided by the TSP. You’re a witness to the problems. There was never a promise by the insurance company to provide a certain payout for a future annuity purchase. The payout is always calculated at the time of purchase. Annuity payouts are dependent upon the prevailing interest rates at the time of purchase, and those rates are now at historic lows. Same with the payout rate. If interest rates increase in the future, the payout you will be offered should also increase. In addition, as you age, the payout will go up since the number of payments the insurer expects to make will decrease.
Tags: annuity, FERS, interest, retirement, TSP
TSP
May 13th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I am a fully vested CSRS employee with the Environmental Protection Agency for 33 years at age 55. I have received my numbers, but I missed my first date to retire. How long does it take to receive my first full check? Should I take all of my Thrift Savings Plan out at once; leave about $10,000 in and roll it over to a Roth IRA; or leave it in the TSP? Is there a counselor at TSP to speak with about taxes and IRAs.
A. You should leave your money in the TSP for as long as possible and consult your tax preparer or a financial planner with your tax questions.
Tags: CSRS, retirement, rollover, Roth IRA, taxes, TSP, vested
Survivor benefit vs. life insurance
May 9th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I will be retiring at the end of this year with 37 years and 10 months of service. I am a CSRS employee and will be 57 years old in September. My annual annuity would be $81,958. I will have a little over $200,000 in my Thrift Savings Plan account.
Is it smartest to take the spousal annuity or take out a life insurance policy on myself to sustain my wife once I pass away? My annual annuity will be reduced by around $7,900 a year if I chose the spousal annuity. Which would be the wisest?
A. This isn’t your choice to make. It’s your spouse’s choice. If I were your spouse, I’d favor the full survivor benefit.
Tags: annuity, CSRS, life insurance, retirement, survivor benefit
Involuntary retirement and early withdrawal penalty
May 9th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I have been in the Foreign Service since 1986 and am being involuntarily retired for expiration of my time in class on Sept. 30, 2014. I will be 49 years old at the time. Even with an involuntary retirement, do I still get penalized for any lump-sum payment I take from the Thrift Savings Plan? I know annuities and equal payments are not penalized.
A. There is no exception to the early withdrawal penalty for involuntary retirement.
Tags: annuity, early withdrawal penalty, lump-sum, retirement, TSP
CSRS annuity payments treated as rollover
May 9th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. Based on a reading of Internal Revenue Service Publication 721, it appears to say that since the CSRS and FERS retirement systems are considered “eligible retirement plans” you could roll over a distribution (including a regular annuity payment) into another IRA and defer the taxes, or into a Roth IRA and pay the taxes immediately. If this is the case, the normal IRS limitation on contributions to IRAs and Roth IRAs are bypassed. Am I reading this correctly?
A. From IRS Publication 721: “Distributions eligible for rollover treatment. If you receive a refund of your CSRS or FERS contributions when you leave government service, you can roll over any interest you receive on the contributions.You cannot roll over any part of your CSRS or FERS annuity payments.”
Tags: annuity, contributions, CSRS, distribution, FERS, IRA, IRS, retirement, rollover, Roth IRA, taxes
Taxes and transferring TSP to Roth IRA
May 9th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. Upon retirement, I’m considering transferring a portion of my Thrift Savings Plan balance in monthly payments directly into a Roth IRA. Since my TSP is pretax, I understand that taxes will need to be paid on these funds upon conversion to a Roth. I am in a state with no income tax on federal pensions and distributions from the TSP (North Carolina) and want to be sure that this transfer from my TSP to the Roth will be considered a TSP distribution for tax purposes, and therefore, subject to federal and not North Carolina taxes. Does the Office of Personnel Management issue a 1099R for such a transaction to generate the tax liability?
A. Yes.
G Fund
May 6th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I have what’s left of my retirement fund totally in the G Fund, about $35,000. I retired Jan. 31 and will be 70 in July. Can or should I move some or all of it to another fund to enhance (or improve) my benefits?
A. It’s impossible to say since the answer depends entirely on your individual circumstances — your goals, resources and constraints.
Tags: contributions, G fund, retirement
TSP vs. Roth IRA
April 29th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I am a fully vested CSRS employee with the Environmental Protection Agency for 33 years at age 55. I have received my numbers, but I missed my first date to retire. How long does it take to receive my first full check? Worst-case scenario? Best-case scenario? And is there any way to speed up processing?
When will I receive my annual leave payment? Will it be immediate in one lump sum without taxes since I already paid taxes on my leave?
Should I take all of my Thrift Savings Plan out at once or leave about 10,000 in and roll it over to a Roth IRA or leave it in TSP?
Is there a financial counselor at TSP to speak with about taxes and IRAs vs. TSP?
I was told the first three days of the month or the last day of the month are the best times to go out to receive the check earlier? Is this a good idea?
A. Mike: You should leave your money in the TSP for as long as possible, since it is the best retirement investment vehicle you’ll find. You’ll find information about taxes and the TSP at www.tsp.gov. You may contact the Thrift Line with your specific questions, although I doubt they’ll help you with questions about IRA taxation.
Reg: I don’t know how long it will take for you to get your first full annuity check; nor, I expect, does anyone else. However, once your retirement package arrives at the Office of Personnel Management, they will put you in interim pay within a week or two. A complete and accurate retirement package speedily sent to OPM by your agency is the best hedge against delayed processing.
You’ll have to ask your agency when it will send you your lump-sum payment for unused annual leave. That can’t happen until your agency closes out your account. Since you couldn’t have paid taxes on that money until it was received, it will be treated as ordinary income from which taxes will be deducted.
To pick the best date to retire, try to find one that is at the end of a pay period — to get credit for any annual and sick leave you earned during that pay period — and as close to the end of a month as possible — so the time between when you are employed and on the annuity roll is as short as you can make it. Note: As a CSRS employee, you can retire up to the third day of any month and be on the annuity roll in that month. While you will be paid for the additional days you are employed, your first month’s annuity will be reduced by 1/30 for every day you are still employed.
Tags: annual leave, annuity, CSRS, lump-sum, retirement, rollover, Roth IRA, taxes, TSP, vested
TSP withdrawal at 70 1/2, Part II
April 24th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. I am retired CSRS. I was born Nov. 15, 1942. Therefore, I’ll be 70½ on May 15.
1. When will I have to start taking payments from my Thrift Savings Plan account?
2. Can I wait until January to March 2014 before I get my first payment?
3. What is the minimum I will have to take?
4. I do not want a total lump-sum payment.
5. Do I have to take a monthly payment, or can I get my minimum payment once a year?
6. What form do I need to submit to get minimal payments each year?
7. Can you provide the form?
A. You are required to take your first withdrawal by April 1, 2014. This will be the required minimum distribution for 2013. You are then required to take the 2014 RMD by end of the day on Dec. 31, 2014. The RMD amount is calculated for each year and will likely be different each year. The amount is calculated using the method described in IRS Publication 590. The TSP will calculate the RMD amount for you and send you monthly payments to meet the requirement. Use Form TSP-70 to request the monthly payments based on your life expectancy. You may take one lump-sum distribution from your TSP account and may only take monthly payments after that.
Tags: 70 1/2, CSRS, IRS, life expectancy, lump-sum, Required Minimum Distribution, retirement, TSP, withdrawal
Penalty on TSP withdrawal?
April 24th, 2013 | Uncategorized
Q. My age is 52. I worked 22 years in the Postal Service. I have a Thrift Savings Plan account and am now retired due to a disability. If I make a full withdrawal, will I be penalized?
A. Yes, unless you qualify for one of the exceptions listed on Page 7 of the notice at https://www.tsp.gov/PDF/formspubs/tsp-536.pdf.
Tags: age, Disability, penalty, Postal Service, retirement, TSP, withdrawal