Thread: FERs Retirees, anyone?

For those folks talking about our high 3 years, remember those aren't actual calendar or even fiscal years. The FERS pension is calculated on our highest 36 consecutive months.

Originally Posted by Cactus

For those folks talking about our high 3 years, remember those aren't actual calendar or even fiscal years. The FERS pension is calculated on our highest 36 consecutive months.

so waiting for the end of January after the COLA really doesn't help much? I know some who have done this.
seams like its better to acquire as much annual leave as possible and leave at the end of December. Sound right?
thanks

Originally Posted by Valkyrie

so waiting for the end of January after the COLA really doesn't help much? I know some who have done this.
seams like its better to acquire as much annual leave as possible and leave at the end of December. Sound right?
thanks

V,

Sounds WAY right !!! Technically speaking, I guess you could say waiting for the COLA would result in "more" on your pension check, but it's the OTHER 35 months that would keep it down !

Take the AL money and run !


Stoplight...

Originally Posted by Valkyrie

so waiting for the end of January after the COLA really doesn't help much? I know some who have done this.
seams like its better to acquire as much annual leave as possible and leave at the end of December. Sound right?
thanks

Valkyrie,

Retiring at the end of January to get your COLA only helps for January and not your high 3.

I always found Tammy Flanagan's articles helpful. Here is a link to her article about the best days of the month to retire for CSRS and FERS. There is also a download for the best dates to retire for 2015.
Best Dates to Retire 2015 - Retirement Planning - Pay & Benefits - GovExec.com

Originally Posted by Valkyrie

so waiting for the end of January after the COLA really doesn't help much? I know some who have done this.
seams like its better to acquire as much annual leave as possible and leave at the end of December. Sound right?
thanks

The only reason to retire at end of January is
1- Your MRA is in January OR
2- Your annual leave is under 240 hrs at year end and it does not matter to you.

I retired at the end of May and incurred a high tax bracket. I would say retire on December

Valkyrie,
I tend to agree with Clester, SLight, NASA, Skorcher, and Cactus.
Depending on when you hit your MRA, FERs pensioners are almost always advised to retire at the end of the year , some say at the end of the month.

1. Accrued Annual Leave - this will tide you over until you get the full FERs annuity.From reading other TSPTalkers, the first few months is not a full pension.
2. Retiring sometime in the month, you don't get next month's pension e.g.,retire in January 7, you don't get your 1st annuity until March. Can somebody confirm this, please?
3.not familiar with Cola,but from what I understand, you don't get Cola until 62.
4. Tax bracket

I know others who wait in January for the pay increase. Their reasoning, their annual leave will have more $value per hour.

Originally Posted by Cactus

If I can ever find that story I'll post it here. The moral of the story is: if you are within 5 years of retirement don't open a Roth TSP.

That is exactly my dilemma. My spouse and I had more than 5 years since we started contributing to Roth. We originally intended to retire at 60, but something happened and we had to advance it to 57,end of next year. So the 59 1/2 rule will impact our planned - full withdrawal (1 lump sum and series of monthly payments) Now, we will have 10% penalty because of prop. distribution.

But I read somewhere,(which of course, I can't find anymore), that We can have our Roth ( only) be rolled over to an IRA, that way, we can avoid the 10% penalty. Now, what I am not sure of is the treatment of the roll over, will that be considered my one time lump sum withdrawal?

Well, I'll have to consult a financial advisor...but Of course, I will procrastinate until june next year. LOL..

Originally Posted by Cactus

Maricar19, I ran into this on Consuelo Mack WealthTrack: Consuelo Mack WEALTHTRACK: The right track to your financial health. : WealthTrack which I watch on PBS. More of her guests started espousing this after the 2008 crash. The context is people who were already retired with the standard 60/40 bond/stock split. With the lowering interest rates on their fixed income investments, these retirees weren't receiving enough income to live on. They were being encouraged to take on more risk to make up the difference while keeping 5 years of living expenses in safety.

The last time I saw one of her guests talking about this was last fall, but unless you subscribe to her service you can only get transcripts from the last couple of shows. Here is a transcript I found still available of when Mary Beth Franklin was on: Fidelity Funds | Stock Discussion Forums

Here are some links I found online talking about these buckets of money as they call them.

How Much Stock Should You Own in Retirement? - WSJ

Reduce Stock Exposure in Retirement, or Gradually Increase It?

Increase Stock Allocations In Retirement? Maybe, Maybe Not

Cactus, excellent reading on the five year cushion. I think my plan is almost similar with that...however, I just have an arbitrary amount..not based on 5 years. Using 5 years worth of expenses as the yardstick for my one time lump sum payment makes a lot of sense than my original plan of withdrawing a dollar amount out of the blue.

Thanks, Cactus. I hope a lot of Tsptalkers will get a chance to read it..

Originally Posted by Stoplight

WW,

That's a great question, that I haven't seen asked before !!!

I've often thought...IF your high-3 comes at the end of your career (mine didn't !), one might consider taking a lateral into a higher locality pay area for 3 years, if your Agency allows it...bite the bullet for 3 years, then retire back to where you WANT to live !!!

Never crunched the numbers to see if that would even make sense, with PCS expenses, cost of living, etc etc...but it's an interesting thought !!! Talk about gaming the system !!! Stoplight...

I've seen quite a few people in my agency do the high-3 back in DC just before retiring back to wherever they really want to retire. Or they may at least do last few years in a regional office to get high-3. Not for me. I grew up in DC area, watched my dad do that daily commute from the burbs. ugh. Watched the traffic jams on the interstate on Sunday evenings for years as people came back from the mountains to their homes closer in to DC. Inner beltway apartment living not for me either. Ugh. Kudoes to those who are willing to do that. They have more fortitude than I.

Originally Posted by Cactus

Maricar19, I ran into this on Consuelo Mack WealthTrack: Consuelo Mack WEALTHTRACK: The right track to your financial health. : WealthTrack which I watch on PBS. More of her guests started espousing this after the 2008 crash. The context is people who were already retired with the standard 60/40 bond/stock split. With the lowering interest rates on their fixed income investments, these retirees weren't receiving enough income to live on. They were being encouraged to take on more risk to make up the difference while keeping 5 years of living expenses in safety.

The last time I saw one of her guests talking about this was last fall, but unless you subscribe to her service you can only get transcripts from the last couple of shows. Here is a transcript I found still available of when Mary Beth Franklin was on: Fidelity Funds | Stock Discussion Forums

Here are some links I found online talking about these buckets of money as they call them.

How Much Stock Should You Own in Retirement? - WSJ

Reduce Stock Exposure in Retirement, or Gradually Increase It?

Increase Stock Allocations In Retirement? Maybe, Maybe Not

I just wanted to re-post this because it is a great read...