Hey Songster. Welcome to here. I was born & raised in NC myself. I moved to Texas when I got out of the Air Force in 1981, lived in TX, LA & WI..now 1/2 time in TX & 1/2 time in LA till I retire in about another year. You're Postal Service, I'm fed Civil Service...so we have some stuff in common. My thought on the TSP, just off the top...is that I'd try to just leave it in the TSP and take monthly withdrawals from it, no more than 4% of the balance, adjusted annually for inflation. However, that may or may not jive with whatever other plans you have. Since you're going to be retiring from the Postal Service, you'll have a pension. I'm assuming you're a FERS employee. I'm CSRS. If you are indeed FERS, then you realize that your TSP is theoretically 1/3 of your federal retirement. A $200,000 initial balance would mean you could consider withdrawing around $8000 your first year, divided by 12 months. I'd consider that a place to begin with the TSP.... I'm like the majority on this forum in that I don't think an annuity is such a great thing. If you do happen to be in the CSRS system, then your TSP might be a little more flexible to you, and you could consider doing some other things with it. Just keep in mind that TSP has some of the lowest fees you'll find anyplace for the maintenance of your money. You won't find an IRA with fees anyplace close to what you're paying for TSP. If I were FERS and the $200,000 was all I had besides my FERS pension, I think I might not want to put that money too much at risk outside the TSP. But again, I don't know your whole story. You might have some income-producing real estate or some other sources of income.
By the way, what part of NC are you in? Ever been to Richmond County?