Thanks all for the info. One month credit will be less than $100 per year so I'm not sweating it too much. On the other hand I want whatever is due and may end up having a few illnesses the last year.
PO
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Thanks all for the info. One month credit will be less than $100 per year so I'm not sweating it too much. On the other hand I want whatever is due and may end up having a few illnesses the last year.
PO
Active Duty: Important Information for Federal Employees called to Active Duty and Returning to Federal Civilian Service
You are entitled to your agency automatic 1% contribution when you return from active duty plus matching contributions (if you contributed while on AD). Check the publication below for more details.
https://www.tsp.gov/PDF/formspubs/oc95-5.pdf
FYI #1
When you retire and opt to receive TSP Monthly Payments, below is the federal tax implication:
1. If your monthly payments will last less than 10 years (less than 120 payments), you are subject to the mandatory 20% Federal Income Tax(FIT).
2. If your monthly payments will last 10 years or more (120 payments or more), or are computed based on life expectancy, you are NOT subject to mandatory 20% federal income tax. You have the option not to to have FIT withheld, or be withheld based on your marital status. You can also opt to have more $ withheld.
Source: TSP Form 70, p7
If your goal is to avoid the 10% penalty, it depends if you are a Federal LEO or STATE LEO. My understanding is that Federal LEOs are subject to the 72t rule.
Sorry, I am not familiar with LEOs.
Read the links below:
law enforcement officer
House bill would let federal law-enforcement officers access retirement funds early - FederalNewsRadio.com
As a retired LEO you can make Life Expectancy Withdrawals that would be penalty free. The catch is that you would be locked into that withdrawal scheme until you reach 59.5 or after five years, whichever scenario is longer. You need to look up Dan Jamison's FERS Guide for Law Enforcement and Firefighters. Dan is a retired FBI Special Agent who spent many years developing the unofficial guide and used to distribute it for free. Now that he's retired, for 2015 he's set up a website and now charges $10 for the guide. Even with the charge, it's still the best $10 you will spend. He also produces a similar guide for non-LEO's (or retirement guide for regular federal employees). 84 pages of what the FERS is all about. PM me if you have trouble finding it online.
Lakebound - Forgot to say, when you retire at age 50 you don't have to do anything with your TSP. You can let it ride.
FYI #2: FERS Postal:
Retiring at Minimum Retirement Age (MRA) before age 62 and with 30 years of service entitles you to Supplemental Annuity or Supplemental Income (SI). Supplemental Income is approximately equal to 75% of the Social Security benefit that you would have received at age 62. Just like your SS benefit, this is subject to earned income threshold. Cashing your accrued annual leave will not affect your Supplemental Income.
Example: Retired on December 31 with 560 hours of earned annual leave at $30.00 per hour. This equates to a lump sum of $16,800 (pre-tax) plus you will receive SI of approx. $750 per month if SS benefit at age 62 is $1000. Don’t forget you will also receive FERS annuity and TSP if you decide so.
Disclaimer: Scenarios quoted here are almost always applicable only to me and my spouse. Your scenario might differ from ours.
There are always exceptions to the rule. Always check with OPM or your agency.
I am retired ATC. Almost 5 years ago. Whew, time flies. Anyway I took 72t withdrawals using amortization rule. That plus supplement plus fers pension from 26 years service (40%) plus the reduced deductions for Medicare, fica , tax etc gave me a take home pay close to what I was making before take home. My TSP balance is about the same as it was when I retired. So, my returns equal my withdrawals over that time. So, my opinion is to go ahead and start 72t withdrawal if it will help you retire. Enjoy it while your young. You can start changing the monthly amounts after age 59.5. This incurs no penalties but of course you pay taxes.
FYI #3 - How much Sick Leave (SL) hours do you need to get a month or a year added to your annuity? SL is not added to your service time qualification, but to your annuity computation.
Example: If you have 29 years of postal federal service and 1 year and 29 days worth of Sick Leave. The 1 year accrued sick leave cannot be added to make your service time 30 years. However, it will be added/used to compute your $annuity. SL less than a month will not be used in the computation. Consider them your donation to the postal service.
See attached SL chart. I think I got it from OPM website.
Disclaimer: Scenarios quoted here are almost always applicable only to me and my spouse. Your scenario might differ from ours.
There are always exceptions to the rule. Always check with OPM or your agency.