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March 28, 2024

Federal Employee Retirement and Benefits News

Tag: www.tsp.gov

www.tsp.gov

 

Social Security – Now Or Later

social securityThere was a candy years ago called Now-Later. I believe it was called Now-Later because if you chewed it now, it lasted so long you would still have it for later.  Well, when it comes to when to collect Social Security benefits I am not so sure if the Now-Later theory actually works or if it is as fool-proof as the candy.

We did a post some weeks back on when to collect Social Security for maximum benefit.  The question of when appeared in my inbox again.  A gentleman asked, – When, When, do I collect Social Security benefits without cheating myself out of what is rightfully mine?

I wish the answer to his question was as straight forward as his question, but it is not.  There are Fact Sheets and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Social Security Benefits.  Yet, the answer to the question is as unique as one’s DNA.  It is true that the longer you wait up to age 70 to receive your Social Security the higher the benefit.  Waiting until after age 70 is of no real benefit.

If you don’t take the benefit at the first point of eligibility- age 62 and wait until your full-retirement age, you stand to earn 6 to 8 percent more per year.  If your spouse claimed Social Security at his or her full retirement age or older, as a widow or widower you are entitled to 100 percent of the benefit.  If your spouse claimed the benefit earlier, then what you are entitled to is decreased.

When To Begin Social Security Benefits

Once you know what the facts are, it is up to you and perhaps a financial advisor or family members you trust to see how the financial picture shapes up for you.  Nobody knows your circumstances better than you; therefore you are the best source to make a decision about WHEN do you collect your Social Security benefits.

You may need the money now to help close a financial gap in your living expenses and needs.  On the other hand, you might be in a position to hold off to maximize your benefits because you have enough from other sources to make ends meet.  The majority of us draw money in retirement from 3 primary sources:  Pensions, Social Security and Savings / Investments (TSP).

This is a question that requires some careful analysis on your part to determine what course of action best fits into your financial plans.  Individuals who write and lecture on such topics are left to take a general approach.  The information they give is very helpful in providing background information and giving you something to think about; but you hold the key to designing a retirement future that fits your needs.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

RELATED TSP ARTICLES

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Withdrawal Options

For Postal Employees – LiteBlue and the TSP

Federal and Postal Employees – Choosing a Financial Professional

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Is All ‘Your’ TSP Money Actually Yours?

Federal Retirement Benefit Analysis

How To Best Fund Your TSP

TSP and Social Security

tspFederal employees that are a part of the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) are eligible for both Social Security and for Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) employer matching – therefor these employees have quite a number of things to think about as they prepare for retirement.  Preparing for retirement doesn’t happen when you turn 55, 65 or beyond, but as early in one’s work career as possible and it should continue throughout the employee’s career and then into retirement.

FERS employees have three components to their retirement system with the the most important part, TSP, requiring a lot of input from the employee.  The basic pension requires no input from the employee, that is the piece of the retirement benefits profile that is legislated.  The Social Security portion of FERS also requires no input from the employee other than being in a pay status so that the appropriate deduction can be made from salary.

However, becoming eligible to receive the Social Security benefit at age 62 must be carefully analyzed.  Whether your Social Security is a part of your retirement system or not, evaluate your situation carefully to make sure you are maximizing your benefits in retirement to fit your needs.

While Social Security benefits might look like a good approach to increasing the amount of income you are working with, you might find out in the long-term that you have deprived yourself of a considerable amount of money by collecting your Social Security too soon.  The longer you wait to collect your Social Security the greater the financial benefit will be.

Normal retirement age is 66 if you are born between 1943 and 1954 with age eligibility gradually increasing for each year thereafter.  If you delay receiving your Social Security between 62 and 70, with each year your benefit will increase by 6 to 8 percent.  So if you can wait you will probably be better off financially.  However nobody is in a better position to make that decision than you and obviously how much you have saved in your TSP will have an impact on how early you are forced to begin your Social Security benefits.

Also, even if your life expectation indicates that you may not live to be well into your golden years, you might want to give consideration to the spouse you might leave behind and attempt to maximize your Social Security benefits based on both of your life expectancies.  If you are the higher wage earner, your spouse may have the option of taking your Social Security benefit in lieu of their own to realize the greater benefit.

MAXIMIZING YOUR TSP AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS

Managing your TSP to maximize your retirement is where you have to do the work.  By making the maximum contribution to your TSP.gov account, you will be able to live in comfort and security.  If you fail to make your TSP work for you, potentially the largest part of your retirement benefit, you may have to live in your retirement years on somebody else’s terms and not your own.

Just do your homework.  Ask loads of questions so that you can make the best decision for your life and retire well with no regrets.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) and Taxes

How are Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) excess deferrals treated for tax purposes?  If Thrift Savings Plan excess deferrals are made then those deferrals are treated as income in the year the contributions are made.  The excess TSP deferrals are treated as income whether they are refunded to the employee or not.  Deferred income is reported on an employee’s W-2.

Traditional excess deferrals to your TSP.gov account must be reported on the employee’s individual tax return as taxable income for the year in which excess deferrals were made.  TSP Roth excess deferrals are also treated as taxable income in the year the excess deferrals were made.

Excess TSP deferrals that are taken as a refund from the TSP are reported on IRS Form 1099-R (distribution from annuities, pensions, insurance contracts, retirement and profit-sharing plans and IRAs).

Check with you tax advisor, financial planner or educator during the course of the year to make certain you are making sound decisions about managing your TSP and your taxes well.

……..Also take full advantage of the many resources available to you in your Human Resources Office (Postal Employees can use PostalEase and LiteBlue) to help you make plans to retire well.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What you Know.

What are the Contribution Limits for TSP

Contribution Limits for TSP

contribution limitsMany employees worry about the consequences of making contributions in excess of the Internal Revenue Service TSP contribution limits.

If an employee has made excess TSP contributions, those funds can be returned by completing Form TSP-44-Request for Return of Excess Employee Contributions. Eligible participants must complete the Form TSP-44 and send it to the TSP for processing.  As soon as the TSP receives your TSP-44 your excess deferrals and earning will be returned to you.

When submitting a request for return of excess employee TSP contributions, check to make certain you use a current and updated TSP form.  The TSP will not process older versions of the TSP-44.

Current TSP forms can be identified by locating the tax year found in the upper right-hand corner under the form name.  If you request excess contribution limits you made in 2014, then the form should show tax year 2014.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

Access your TSP.gov Account HERE

RELATED TSP ARTICLES

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Withdrawal Options

For Postal Employees – LiteBlue and the TSP

Federal and Postal Employees – Choosing a Financial Professional

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Is All ‘Your’ TSP Money Actually Yours?

Federal Retirement Benefit Analysis

How To Best Fund Your TSP

Matching Contributions: TSP

TSP and Matching Contributions

contributionsHow are federal employee Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) contributions matched?  This is a question that showed up recently in our inquiry/comments in-box.

Federal and Postal employees covered under the (FERS) can receive matching funds for up to 5% of basic pay or salary.  If an employee contributes 5% of the basic pay earnings each pay period during the course of a year, those funds will be matched..

The TSP matching is achieved dollar-for-dollar on the first 3% of basic pay and 50 cents on-the-dollar for the remaining 2% of the basic pay earnings.  When choosing your TSP contribution amount make sure the amount is based on criteria that will maximize the benefits you are eligible to receive via TSP.

Check with your Human Resources Office (Postal employees can check their on LiteBlue or through PostalEase to be absolutely certain your TSP contributions are such that they will be spread out over 26 pay periods in order to get the maximum contributions match.  You may also use the TSP Deferral Calculator at tsp.gov to determine the appropriate TSP contribution amount that will give you the 26 pay period scenario you desire.

P.S.  Always Remember to Share What you Know.

RELATED TSP ARTICLES

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Withdrawal Options

For Postal Employees – LiteBlue and the TSP

Federal and Postal Employees – Choosing a Financial Professional

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Is All ‘Your’ TSP Money Actually Yours?

Federal Retirement Benefit Analysis

How To Best Fund Your TSP

Elective Deferrals and TSP

TSP and Elective Deferrals

elective deferralsThrift Savings Plan (TSP) Elective Deferrals are payroll deductions federal and postal employees ask their employer to withhold in order to make contributions to employer-sponsored retirement plan – the TSP.

Tax deferred contribution payments to traditional TSP and after-tax contributions to Roth TSP are classified as elective deferrals.  These contributions cannot exceed the Internal Revenue Code’s (IRC) annul contribution limit for 2013 and 2014 of $17,500.  The limit still applies whether contributions are combined (tax-deferred traditional or Roth after-tax contributions) or are a single elective deferral.

TSP catch-up contributions are not impacted by the IRC limit.  Additionally, the agency’s automatic 1% and matching contributions are not classified as elective deferrals because they are not a part of an employee’s pay or salary.

Make certain you have a good understanding of the provisions and guidelines governing elective deferrals.  If in doubt do not hesitate to contact the TSP representative in your Human Resources Office.  You may also wish to speak with your chosen financial professional for some ideas about how to best fund your TSP.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

 

RELATED TSP ARTICLES

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Withdrawal Options

For Postal Employees – LiteBlue and the TSP

Federal and Postal Employees – Choosing a Financial Professional

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Is All ‘Your’ TSP Money Actually Yours?

Federal Retirement Benefit Analysis

How To Best Fund Your TSP

Contribution Limits for TSP

contribution limitsA question about TSP contributions that always comes up in my training seminars is what happens to the agency contributions if I reach my annual TSP contributions limit to my Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)?  When you reach your limit before the end of the year, of course, your contributions are suspended for the remainder of the calendar year.  In that regard, it is always important to speak your TSP representative in your human resources office to make sure that your contributions are stretched out over 26 pay periods – you may also wish to work with a financial professional who is knowledgable about federal retirement needs who can help you look at additional options for savings too.

There are stop-alerts, as I call them, that prevent violating the current year TSP annual contributions limit set by the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) for limits on elective deferrals.  In other words, the TSP system will not allow employee contributions to be made into the fund when the limit has been reached.

                             View Your TSP Contribution Limits HERE

Your agency and employee TSP contribtions work in tandem.  As you make contributions to your TSP account so does your agency.  Therefore, when your contributions are suspended so are the agency’s TSP contributions.  The agency’s TSP contributions depend on the amount of contributions you are making during each pay period.

However, the agency’s one percent automatic TSP contribution continues even though your agency matching contributions and your contributions have stopped.  All such contributions are limited to those employees classified under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

RCC and TSP

rccI absolutely enjoy writing about subjects I think may help somebody get a better understanding of how to live their best life.  So I thought TSP knows RCC had the makings of a RAP song and that if any of my students saw this post they wouldn’t think I was totally incapable of understanding RAP; and the rest of the reading audience would hang around to read the rest of the post.

Well, back to what I understand.  RCC is Retirement Contribution Credits.  Individuals who participated in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) during the 2013 calendar year might have qualified for the credit if they met the modified adjusted gross income criteria.

See which category fits your financial picture:

Married and filing jointly if your adjusted gross income did not exceed $59,000.00.

Head of Household – $44,250.00.

Single or Married filing separately or a qualifying widow or widower – $29,500.00.

Stay connected and informed on your TSP so that you don’t miss out on any benefits that can potentially improve your financial outlook now and in retirement.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

Access your TSP.gov Account HERE

RELATED TSP ARTICLES

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Withdrawal Options

For Postal Employees – LiteBlue and the TSP

Federal and Postal Employees – Choosing a Financial Professional

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Is All ‘Your’ TSP Money Actually Yours?

Federal Retirement Benefit Analysis

How To Best Fund Your TSP

Mobile TSP

mobile tspOh, how the times have changed the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).  It was not that many years ago that the thought of transacting business from anywhere other than the actual physical location of the business was a remote thought at best.  Now in the new millennium we can virtually never leave our homes and get more done than ever before imagined – accessing and impacting your Mobile TSP is no different.

Many federal and postal employees spend a tremendous amount of time in their cars traveling back and forth to work and just living.  Cities and communities are so spread out that it is near impossible to navigate the course of one’s life without a vehicle.

The TSP is a part of the new millennium too, and has grown into something very new indeed, and is no longer your mom’s TSP.   The TSP is on the road with you and has gone mobile.  TSP is anywhere you need to be.  TSP.gov is mobile friendly because the folks at TSP want to answer the needs of their customers.  TSP mobile allows participants to use their smartphone to get to the mobile version of the TSP ‘MY ACCOUNT.’  The bonus is – there is absolutely no need to download a special application. The mobile application provides access to the same information available on TSP.gov (You can find out how to access your TSP here).

Your TSP does not stop there.  The TSP is keeping up with technology that keeps its customers informed and on the cutting edge of services, products and programs that deliver.  Who is following TSP?  Find out by becoming a TSP follower on Twitter.  TSP can be found tweeting out the latest and best information and paying close attention to what you have to say @tsp4gov.

It’s all there for you the tools and the information needed to help you make sound decisions about managing your TSP account and building an unshakeable retirement future.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

RELATED TSP ARTICLES

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Withdrawal Options

For Postal Employees – LiteBlue and the TSP

Federal and Postal Employees – Choosing a Financial Professional

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Is All ‘Your’ TSP Money Actually Yours?

Federal Retirement Benefit Analysis

How To Best Fund Your TSP

TSP Fraud, Bogus Websites, Phishing & Scams

TSP Fraud

tsp fraudTSP Fraud is very real.  The internet and conducting business on line is an easy and convenient way of taking care of the many things we do within very tight time constraints in our daily lives.

No matter the convenience, letting our guards down for exercising caution should never be an option.  Become thoroughly familiar with the TSP website.  If correspondence looks suspicious and you feel uncomfortable, it is a safe bet that your gut is probably right.

www.TSP.Gov is the legitimate web address for reaching The Thrift Savings Plan on-line.  There is no other legitimate web address.  If you receive an email asking you to update information or reset your password you should be very wary.  ‘Phishing’ is a strategy that unscrupulous entities use in an effort to gain your login and password information.  Beware because the link that is attached to these emails might be attempting to direct you to a fraudulent website.  These fraudulent sites have the capacity to steal your login information once you enter them.

If you think something is wrong, it is always a good idea to call the TSP to protect your account from fraud.

P.S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

RELATED TSP ARTICLES

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Withdrawal Options

For Postal Employees – LiteBlue and the TSP

Federal and Postal Employees – Choosing a Financial Professional

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Is All ‘Your’ TSP Money Actually Yours?

Federal Retirement Benefit Analysis

How To Best Fund Your TSP

TSP.gov Catch-up Contributions

tspThere are many ways to manage your TSP.gov account and understanding your ‘Catch Up’ contributions and how they work can have a big impact.  It pays to be very knowledgeable about what is potentially the trajectory of your life in retirement.  The more you know about your TSP.gov account the better you are equipped to deal with the challenges that will inevitably arise in retirement.

A few TSP.gov tips might help you to be better prepared to live in retirement on your own terms.  Did you know?

Your TSP.gov account balance is updated each business day.  So if you want to know what is going on in your account and desire to have your hand on the pulse of your business, you can check on your TSP.gov account as often as you wish.

You can view historical interest rates.  The annuity interest rate for annuities purchased in June of this year,  2014, will be 2.750% and 2.875% for annuities purchased in the month of May of 2014.

Catch-up contributions limits for ‘Qualified Plans’ (like 401k plans) and your TSP.gov account for 2014 is $5,500 the same as it was for 2013.

If you are age 50 or will reach that age during the calendar year and you have made the maximum employee contribution ($17,500) to your TSP.gov account which remains the same in 2014 as it was in 2013, you can make catch-up contributions to your TSP.gov account which allows people over 50 to contribute a combined total of $23,000 ($17,500 + $5,500 for catch-up).

Your total contributions (both that you contribute and that which is matched by your employer – or what is called the I.R.C. Section 415(c) limit) for 2014 is $52,000 increasing by $1,000 from 2013.

Take good care of what is yours because how well you take care of what you worked so hard to build will determine your level of comfort and security in retirement.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

RELATED TSP ARTICLES

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Withdrawal Options

For Postal Employees – LiteBlue and the TSP

Federal and Postal Employees – Choosing a Financial Professional

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Is All ‘Your’ TSP Money Actually Yours?

Federal Retirement Benefit Analysis

How To Best Fund Your TSP

TSP Loan – A Good Idea?

tsp loanThrift Savings Plan Loans – If you are thinking about taking out a loan here are some items to consider about possible a TSP Loan.  TSP loan interest rates, for new loans, can be as low as 2.375%.  I don’t think the rates can get much better.  However, if you are thinking about taking out a TSP loan, you need to make sure you are exercising and implementing what you have learned about financial literacy.

There are a number of questions you need to ask yourself before you take out a TSP loan even if the rates are as good as they are.  Interest rates are down and if you are thinking about getting a loan, making a house purchase or any other major purchase, the low interest rates we are currently enjoying is certainly a huge draw.

However, what if you are thinking about retiring soon, is it wise to take out a TSP loan from your TSP account?  Consider this.  Your TSP is a way to help you save for retirement while realizing matching funds from your agency if you are under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).  The TSP acts as a tax deferment for those employees under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), because there are no matching funds from the agency.

If you take money from your TSP even via a TSP loan, you are impacting the value of your TSP account designed to enhance your finances in retirement.  Also remember that a TSP loan is a loan and loans must be paid back.  Even when opportunities sound good, be sure to evaluate your own individual situation and circumstances to determine what is the best fit for your retirement future.

P.S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

RELATED TSP ARTICLES

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Withdrawal Options

For Postal Employees – LiteBlue and the TSP

Federal and Postal Employees – Choosing a Financial Professional

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Is All ‘Your’ TSP Money Actually Yours?

Federal Retirement Benefit Analysis

How To Best Fund Your TSP

Thrift Savings Plan – Take Five

thrift savings planFor the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) do April showers bring May flowers? – pretty catchy phrase, and often very true when forecasting the ebbs and tides of nature.  But April also brought us something else other than soaking showers that made my back yard look like a jungle, it brought us Financial Literacy month and that means more focus on the Thrift Savings Plan for federal and postal employees.

As the world is changing and becoming more automated with a greater responsibility for each of us to be in charge of our own lives, including our finances; being financially literate is one of the most important tools of survival needed today – the Thrift Savings Plan is no different.  To underscore the urgency of financial literacy, schools and civic organizations are beginning to teach children as young as pre-kindergarten age the merit of understanding appropriate and sound money management.

Just as these young children are learning new and different languages to communicate with a world whose diversity is immeasurable, becoming financially literate carries equality priority and importance.  The world has changed and we must be ready even earlier to meet its challenges as well as its opportunities.  Knowing the basics about the Thrift Savings Plan is a must for federal employees

During the monthly of April, the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) invited participants to take FIVE for their future.  Take FIVE minutes to make changes in your Thrift Savings Plan account.  Contribute FIVE percent so that you will receive maximum matching contributions from your agency.  Choose from FIVE core funds and FIVE life cycle funds and assess them for changes to make your Thrift Saving Plan money work better for you.

For the Thrift Savings Plan, when it rains it pours.  Let the April showers that has brought some of the most beautiful flowers in May that I have seen in a long time, remind you to let your finances blossom as you make financial literacy is part of your plans to retire well.

P. S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

Is Your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Working For You?

Like all good providers of services and products

thrift savings planLike all good providers of services and products, the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) wants to know from its customers how they are performing.  More than 5,500 civilian and uniformed service participants took part in a TSP survey in 2013 to provide feedback on a host of services provided by the Thrift Savings Plan.  The survey’s results were compared with a similar survey taken in 2011.

TSP Satisfaction Survey

The survey revealed that 87 percent of plan participants were satisfied overall with the performance of the TSP funds.  Another 10 percent were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and 3% were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied, showing an overall increase in satisfaction of 1 percentage up from the 2011 TSP survey.

On the surface those numbers look pretty good on the TSP side.  However, the measure of how the TSP is doing is not solely in overall satisfaction or dissatisfaction, but those participants who were neither impacted or engaged enough to render an opinion either way.  Those participants perhaps speak louder than any other participants in the group surveyed, because they are saying – we need more of something.  The position of not expressing an opinion either way can speak volumes to an organization invested in providing top quality services to its customers such as the TSP.

I know in our MBA programs we are told to look at the satisfaction and dissatisfaction levels to gauge how an organization is doing when evaluating survey outcomes.  But in the real world the undecided population is a group worth of deep consideration and concern and in the TSP survey this is no different.

The TSP survey also asked the participants about how they were doing on administrative services such as ease of accessing accounts on line.  Once again 89 percent of those surveyed were very satisfied/satisfied with the information provided in the annual statement.  84 percent registered satisfaction with the ease of accessing their account on line.  Ability to take out a TSP loan received 69 percent with the ability to transfer money from IRAs or other retirement instruments receiving a 57% satisfaction rate.

Overall from the prospective of how an organization is performing, the TSP is doing remarkably well not just by their own standards, but by the watchful and discerning eye of plan participants.  The share what you know lesson here is to always participate in plan surveys when possible because it is one of the most important ways an organization can measure its performance and make improvements to the ultimate satisfaction of the TSP‘s customers.

P.S.  Always Remember to Share What You Know.

RELATED TSP ARTICLES

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Withdrawal Options

For Postal Employees – LiteBlue and the TSP

Federal and Postal Employees – Choosing a Financial Professional

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Is All ‘Your’ TSP Money Actually Yours?

Federal Retirement Benefit Analysis

How To Best Fund Your TSP

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