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Thread: Stoplight's Retirement Story (FERS, Gap in Service, Military Buy-Back)

  1. #229

    Default Re: Stoplight's Retirement Story (FERS, Gap in Service, Military Buy-Back)

    WOO-HOO !

    So our checking account today recorded the Wife’s first Social Security check deposit !!

    This is a milestone in our retirement “Master Plan”. When I crunched the numbers before deciding to retire in 2012 (Wife retired in 2009), I knew 2013 was gonna be tough, but we’d get in the black in 2014, when the Wife’s SS kicked in.

    What I DIDN’T realize was just how tough 2013 would be !!! We were hit with some major home repair bills, and also helped a Family member with some college tuition payments. Thank God, we had an emergency cash fund built in to the “Plan”, so we were able to draw that balance down, and still pay all the bills.

    So....rather than spend this new income on frivolous stuff, we’re going to use it to rebuild that emergency fund as our first priority. Well....maybe spend SOME on some frivolous stuff...

    My investment decisions with my remaining TSP and my rolled-over TSP (now in a traditional brokerage IRA), along with the Wife’s rolled-over 403(b) accounts (also in a traditional brokerage IRA) , have kept ahead of our withdrawal rate, so our balances are actually growing...knock on wood !!! In fact, my TSP pot will run dry almost 4 months after I projected it would ! Of course, one never knows how their finances will do going forward, but I’m comfortable with my asset allocation for now.

    OTOH, like I said before...it’s somewhat of a bummer to be drawing SS...but at least it’s still here !!! To borrow a line from an old Jimmy Buffett song that sums it up :

    “We are the people our Parents warned us about !”

    Now, we ARE “...our Parents...” !!!

    Thanks for reading !!!


    Stoplight...
    "Too old to rock and roll...too young to die"... - I. Anderson

  2.  
  3. #230

    Default Re: Stoplight's Retirement Story (FERS, Gap in Service, Military Buy-Back)

    One other thing about the SS payment...and I knew this part !

    They DON'T automatically deduct for Fed taxes, like TSP withdrawals do. You have to TELL them how much to withhold, but I wanted to wait and see how that shook out on the first payment...

    So...when we went to file the form to withhold today, based on my estimate of taxes, I was surprised to see I could NOT specify a specific dollar amount...it has to be a certain percentage !!! I did NOT know that !!!

    No biggie...just means we'll get a little more refund (or owe a little less !) than what I figured...


    Stoplight...
    "Too old to rock and roll...too young to die"... - I. Anderson

  4.  
  5. #231

    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Posts
    12,148

    Default Re: Stoplight's Retirement Story (FERS, Gap in Service, Military Buy-Back)

    Good job and good luck.
    May the force be with us.

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  7. #232

    Default Re: Stoplight's Retirement Story (FERS, Gap in Service, Military Buy-Back)

    Congrats on the raise Stop! I'm still waiting for the spouse's SS to kick in!

  8.  
  9. #233

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Fredericksburg TX
    Posts
    78

    Default Re: Stoplight's Retirement Story (FERS, Gap in Service, Military Buy-Back)

    Quote Originally Posted by Stoplight View Post
    WOO-HOO !

    So our checking account today recorded the Wife’s first Social Security check deposit !!

    This is a milestone in our retirement “Master Plan”. When I crunched the numbers before deciding to retire in 2012 (Wife retired in 2009), I knew 2013 was gonna be tough, but we’d get in the black in 2014, when the Wife’s SS kicked in.

    What I DIDN’T realize was just how tough 2013 would be !!! We were hit with some major home repair bills, and also helped a Family member with some college tuition payments. Thank God, we had an emergency cash fund built in to the “Plan”, so we were able to draw that balance down, and still pay all the bills.

    So....rather than spend this new income on frivolous stuff, we’re going to use it to rebuild that emergency fund as our first priority. Well....maybe spend SOME on some frivolous stuff...

    My investment decisions with my remaining TSP and my rolled-over TSP (now in a traditional brokerage IRA), along with the Wife’s rolled-over 403(b) accounts (also in a traditional brokerage IRA) , have kept ahead of our withdrawal rate, so our balances are actually growing...knock on wood !!! In fact, my TSP pot will run dry almost 4 months after I projected it would ! Of course, one never knows how their finances will do going forward, but I’m comfortable with my asset allocation for now.

    OTOH, like I said before...it’s somewhat of a bummer to be drawing SS...but at least it’s still here !!! To borrow a line from an old Jimmy Buffett song that sums it up :

    “We are the people our Parents warned us about !”

    Now, we ARE “...our Parents...” !!!

    Thanks for reading !!!


    Stoplight...
    Greetings Stop; May I ask with what brokerage did you rollover a portion of your TSP....if I'm reading your post correctly as my wife and I are trying to figure out "how" to withdraw our TSP.
    Thanks...Joe

  10.  
  11. #234

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Fredericksburg TX
    Posts
    78

    Default Re: Stoplight's Retirement Story (FERS, Gap in Service, Military Buy-Back)

    Okay and sorry, read some of your other posts from days gone by and see that you answered my question(s) in those prior posts.
    Thanks in deed.


  12.  
  13. #235

    Default Re: Stoplight's Retirement Story (FERS, Gap in Service, Military Buy-Back)

    Quote Originally Posted by Hawgjo View Post
    Okay and sorry, read some of your other posts from days gone by and see that you answered my question(s) in those prior posts.
    Thanks in deed.
    Hey, Joe ! Thanks for stopping by !

    Yeah...I know this retirement thread has gone on way too long, but I'm glad you saw my previous posts re: my TSP rollover. There have been discussions in other Forums about the pros and cons of an IRA brokerage account with USAA. They just made some significant changes, and I admit...I'm not sure I like the "new" way of displaying my data...just gonna take some time to get used to it, I guess...

    In my case, the partial rollover from TSP went smoothly...you shouldn't have any problems, regardless of what firm you choose...BUT...I had a scare with mine, when TSP didn't get my complete fax, and set it up as a cash withdrawal, complete with 20% tax withholding !!! OUCH ! Fortunately, I caught it in time... My recommendation is to submit the request via snail mail, or at least a good fax machine ! ...and follow up with TSP immediately !!!

    Just as an aside...there have also been a lot of discussions on the Forum about the pros and cons of just leaving your TSP balance with TSP...there happened to be an article in USA Today this weekend, that talked about this issue...link here :

    Retirees and 401(k)s: Big money, big decisions

    I moved my balance, for all the reasons they cite !!! "Different strokes for different folks", though...

    Best of luck to you !!!


    Stoplight...
    "Too old to rock and roll...too young to die"... - I. Anderson

  14.  
  15. #236

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Fredericksburg TX
    Posts
    78

    Default Re: Stoplight's Retirement Story (FERS, Gap in Service, Military Buy-Back)

    Thanks Stoplight, another question por favor, not trying to be nosy, can I assume that your USAA IRA is self directed by you and that you more or less use IT's signals for your IRA moves? I recently approached USAA with a couple questions via email and they saddled me up with one of their "wealth management" folks which I didn't want....I just like the looks of the advantages of the IRA and want to move money around every month similar to my TSP actions. Thanks again, Joe

  16.  
  17. #237

    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Key West FL USA
    Posts
    184

    Default Re: Stoplight's Retirement Story (FERS, Gap in Service, Military Buy-Back)

    PARTIAL rollover, I never considered that; I sent it all to the pros. It might've been fun to retain some in the TSP to play with.

    SS is nice isn't it. Mine equals OPM-FERS, they add up to something livable. Glad your enjoying yourself, you earned it.

  18.  
  19. #238

    Default Re: Stoplight's Retirement Story (FERS, Gap in Service, Military Buy-Back)

    Joe,

    No worries...ask away !!!

    Yes, my USAA IRA is a “Self-Directed” brokerage account. I incur fees when I make trades, and of course there are fees that aren’t obvious in the mutual funds, etc I hold...but I don’t pay USAA a fee to manage my money ! Maybe they could do better...maybe not

    I DO subscribe to I-T’s premium service, BUT I only move a small percentage around based on his advice. You can follow I-T’s signals based on TSP-comparable mutual funds or ETFs if you want to.... I have a portfolio of conservative buy-and-hold stocks and mutual funds that I selected based on dividends and diversity....rarely trade them ! I DO also have some “mad money” that I trade in NUGT, mostly following Oleg’s calls...it’s my guilty pleasure (or pain !)

    I’m not surprised USAA steered you towards their wealth management folks...I got that initially, too ! I don’t fault USAA on that, though...they try and “up-sell” you every time you call them and speak to a real person, be it about your investments or your insurance coverage !!! I suspect every other similar Company is the same...

    BTW...they STILL have problems with their conversion of accounts to the new manager...my “Activity” screen has some pretty funky line items !!! I spoke with an adviser the other day...he gave me what I was looking for, but he said...”Yeah...this conversion is taking a while...”

    Jimi,

    Thanks ! The Wife’s SS IS making a difference !

    Yeah, the one-time PARTIAL TSP rollover became critical for me !!! I was < 59.5 when I retired, so if I moved the whole shebang over to the IRA, I couldn’t touch it, without tax penalty, for a few years !!! Instead, I estimated what I wanted/needed to withdraw, and left that in the TSP, and set up a final FULL withdrawal at a fixed dollar limit to draw on that ! It has no additional tax penalty, and I can adjust the monthly dollar withdrawal once a year...so far (knock on wood !), I haven’t had to adjust it !!! I DO follow I-T on that small TSP balance...

    HTH !

    Stoplight...
    "Too old to rock and roll...too young to die"... - I. Anderson

  20.  
  21. #239

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Fredericksburg TX
    Posts
    78

    Default Re: Stoplight's Retirement Story (FERS, Gap in Service, Military Buy-Back)

    Excellent Jim I could not have asked for a better reply!
    I'll c what I can do now.
    I'll continue to monitor your thread for tidbits....
    All the best!
    Cheers....Joe

  22.  
  23. #240

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Fredericksburg TX
    Posts
    78

    Default Re: Stoplight's Retirement Story (FERS, Gap in Service, Military Buy-Back)

    Jim; As I continue my decision process for my TSP parking garage search, I found this article in the WP Business Section from a couple months ago. A different perspective for sure.

    Regards, Joe


    http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/as-brokers-urge-ira-rollovers-ex-workers-ditch-their-low-fee-federal-retirement-plan/2014/08/14/53c68dd0-2239-11e4-958c-268a320a60ce_story.html

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