Thread: House set to vote on easing TSP early withdrawal penalty

Originally Posted by Itchn2retire

House set to vote on easing TSP early withdrawal penalty - The Washington Post

I found under the text tab in the link that it seems this is only for certain federal jobs.

"To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow Federal law enforcement officers, firefighters, and air traffic controllers to make penalty-free withdrawals from governmental plans after age 50, and for other purposes."

Originally Posted by jmcapps

I found under the text tab in the link that it seems this is only for certain federal jobs.

"To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow Federal law enforcement officers, firefighters, and air traffic controllers to make penalty-free withdrawals from governmental plans after age 50, and for other purposes."

yes, for those that qualify to retire before 55. It's not limited to just those careers listed in the article and it would (should) apply to all federal retirees who qualify. If they were to pass this tomorrow I'll be retired by Friday.

House passed the bill. Now we wait for the senate to act. If/when this becomes law, I'll retire 30 days later!

Here's a link to the bill.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-...+2146%22%5D%7D

The bill passed the House and then moves to the Senate. Call your Senators if you are affected by this like I am.

Frank

Originally Posted by Lakebound

The bill passed the House and then moves to the Senate. Call your Senators if you are affected by this like I am

There's probably no need for that. The bill will help those who would be eligible to retire at 50 so I'm sure they'll vote themselves a new benefit. This is pretty much guaranteed to pass.


"Under both CSRS and FERS, Members of Congress are eligible for a pension at age 62 if they have completed at least five years of service. Members are eligible for a pension at age 50 if they have completed 20 years of service, or at any age after completing 25 years of service. The amount of the pension depends on years of service and the average of the highest three years of salary. By law, the starting amount of a Member’s retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final salary."

The above excerpt is from http://www.senate.gov/reference/reso...df/RL30631.pdf

House Passes Bill Exempting Some Feds From Retirement Tax Penalty - Pay & Benefits Watch - Pay & Benefits - GovExec.com

Might be time to retire!!!

Originally Posted by Itchn2retire

yes, for those that qualify to retire before 55. It's not limited to just those careers listed in the article and it would (should) apply to all federal retirees who qualify. If they were to pass this tomorrow I'll be retired by Friday.

So another thing to consider is if you have outside 401k. If you roll your private 401k's into TSP will that unlocked those funds. (I'm thinking yes because how are they going to differentiate between what was rolled over and what was contributed.) But then the down side is you're still in the TSP which is limiting.

I was thinking of moving out of TSP when I retired but now I may need to rethink that if my money is going to be available to me should I decide to retire before 55.

Yes and I'm hoping that this thing gets past the Senate and signed into Law ASAP! You think it would since it has virtually no opposition.

Originally Posted by Itchn2retire

There's probably no need for that. The bill will help those who would be eligible to retire at 50 so I'm sure they'll vote themselves a new benefit. This is pretty much guaranteed to pass.


"Under both CSRS and FERS, Members of Congress are eligible for a pension at age 62 if they have completed at least five years of service. Members are eligible for a pension at age 50 if they have completed 20 years of service, or at any age after completing 25 years of service. The amount of the pension depends on years of service and the average of the highest three years of salary. By law, the starting amount of a Member’s retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final salary."

The above excerpt is from http://www.senate.gov/reference/reso...df/RL30631.pdf

Doubtful. If you read the proposed legislation, if only applies to a select group: "expand the exemption to include specified federal law enforcement officers, customs and border protection officers, federal firefighters, and air traffic controllers who similarly have reached age 50."

Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong but, Congress critters don't meet those requirements but I do. And, the reasoning behind this legislation (sadly) is that group named above, of which I am a part of tend to have a shorter life span due to the stress of our occupations.

So....... I'm calling my Senators.

Frank

Originally Posted by Lakebound

Doubtful. If you read the proposed legislation, if only applies to a select group: "expand the exemption to include specified federal law enforcement officers, customs and border protection officers, federal firefighters, and air traffic controllers who similarly have reached age 50."

I'm hoping it's not limited to those specific career services and the legislation applies to "all similar" plans. I'm going to be checking with the retirement branch.