Outside the TSP?

[jazz4cash]

The TSP has recognized that too many account holders move their funds when they leave federal service. This is due in part to some rather onerous and confusing withdrawal policies. They are looking at making changes and should only take several long years to implement policies that encourage account holders to stick with TSP.

[Fedup]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz4cash The TSP has recognized that too many account holders move their funds when they leave federal service. This is due in part to some rather onerous and confusing withdrawal policies. They are looking at making changes and should only take several long years to implement policies that encourage account holders to stick with TSP.

I believe they are going to improve so people don't have to leave tsp.


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[jazz4cash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fedup I believe they are going to improve so people don't have to leave tsp. Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

I think most people don't "have" to leave now but just don't feel comfortable that TSP can continue to meet their needs. Biggest drawback IMO is only allowing one partial withdrawal unless you setup a monthly plan.


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[Fedup]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz4cash I think most people don't "have" to leave now but just don't feel comfortable that TSP can continue to meet their needs. Biggest drawback IMO is only allowing one partial withdrawal unless you setup a monthly plan. Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

There tons of limit. One of them is that you can only move money from G fund to S, C, I twice a month. But I have seen some small incremental change that's positive like the user interface.


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[ABQ2015]

I rely heavily on the G fund for non-equities but given only a 2% return wonder whether I should be investing more in the F fund. But in the past I have not done well with the F fund and over the last couple of years have been concerned about the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates so have shied away from the bond fund.

With 1 ½ years until retirement, I am debating whether to do Roth conversions. Although I will be solidly in the 25% tax bracket being single with my FERS pension, i-ORP recommends Roth conversions. One way to convert would be a partial one time withdrawal from TSP, roll it over into a tIRA, and then do yearly conversions in small amounts perhaps to stay in the 25% tax bracket. I was also considering switching to the Roth TSP the last work year to get a head start on the process.

But the Roth TSP rules are terrible. I’d like to keep my Roth TSP in equities and can do so with my contribution allocation. But any Interfund Transfer will apply to both the traditional TSP and the Roth TSP. So if I decide to change my traditional TSP from 60/40 to 50/50, this would also apply to my Roth TSP. Any withdrawals in retirement will also apply to both so there is no way to withdraw from the traditional TSP only and preserve the Roth TSP. I know the TSP Board is considering changes for withdrawals, but these changes have to be approved by the legislators and could take years. And I doubt changes are being considered to decouple the traditional TSP and Roth TSP withdrawals.

[zinger1457]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ABQ2015 Any withdrawals in retirement will also apply to both so there is no way to withdraw from the traditional TSP only and preserve the Roth TSP.

That requirement certainly needs to be changed, sounds like a left over from the old TSP 'full' withdrawal requirement. When you retire you do have the option of taking monthly TSP withdrawals and direct transferring all or a portion of your traditional TSP monthly withdrawal into a tIRA or ROTH IRA. I assume you could also direct transfer your ROTH TSP portion of the withdrawal into a ROTH IRA account if you wanted to.

[kitesurfer2]

It's cost effective to retire ta 62 vs earlier. 1.1% vs 1%--made $300 bucks difference for me when i figured it out. I was all in l income when i retired last year. i moved to L2050, C and S funds. Then i promptly lost $30k over the last year not to worry. As I am depositing $2k per month into savings, i'll probably never need my TSP so i'm being a little risky. i'm counting on the market coming back in the next 8 years, when TSP will make me start spending.

[nash031]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ABQ2015 I rely heavily on the G fund for non-equities but given only a 2% return wonder whether I should be investing more in the F fund. But in the past I have not done well with the F fund and over the last couple of years have been concerned about the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates so have shied away from the bond fund.

I wouldn't chase returns in your fixed income. That's not usually the point of that part of your portfolio. Capital preservation is. There is no better tool for that (IMO) than the G fund.

[jazz4cash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kitesurfer2 It's cost effective to retire ta 62 vs earlier. 1.1% vs 1%--made $300 bucks difference for me when i figured it out. I was all in l income when i retired last year. i moved to L2050, C and S funds. Then i promptly lost $30k over the last year not to worry. As I am depositing $2k per month into savings, i'll probably never need my TSP so i'm being a little risky. i'm counting on the market coming back in the next 8 years, when TSP will make me start spending.

Isn't there a length of service requirement in addition to age 62 to get the 1.1 rate?


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[Fedup]

62 and 20 years.


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[GolfingDuo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by postpete Looking for a little help. I have $300k in the TSP at work. When I retire in July I plan on withdrawing $800/monthly. I was thinking of leaving 100k in the TSP, that would give me 10-12 years of withdrawls. But the other 200k I was thinking of moving to an outside source. The reason being that any withdrawal from TSP comes equally from all funds, cannot just designate one fund. I would have to rebalance every month.(I think?) But if I have the 200k elsewhere I could set it and forget it for at least 10 years, going for more riskier funds. Or am I totally wrong? Thanks for the wisdom!

You probably have decided in staying and I think that is a good decision. Consider moving that money into the L income fund or a combination of L-income and 2040 or 2050 fund. That will allow you to grow while having a stable base.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fedup You can move out and move back to tsp as long as you have at least $250. only point I want to send here is and it should be obvious you cannot move out to convert to Roth and expect to return that from the Roth unless you have Roth already set up. Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerard3 Correct, if you want to change the amount you wish to withdraw monthly, you can make that change yearly: https://www.tsp.gov/PlanParticipatio...als/index.html

Very important point here is that decision needs to be made and received at TSP by 15 December to be used for the following year. If you miss that deadline it will remain unchanged.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz4cash The TSP has recognized that too many account holders move their funds when they leave federal service. This is due in part to some rather onerous and confusing withdrawal policies. They are looking at making changes and should only take several long years to implement policies that encourage account holders to stick with TSP.

I think TSP is doing better at giving us options and keeping us there. There are reasons to do both but in my life leaving it in there is the best choice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ABQ2015 I rely heavily on the G fund for non-equities but given only a 2% return wonder whether I should be investing more in the F fund. But in the past I have not done well with the F fund and over the last couple of years have been concerned about the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates so have shied away from the bond fund. With 1 ½ years until retirement, I am debating whether to do Roth conversions. Although I will be solidly in the 25% tax bracket being single with my FERS pension, i-ORP recommends Roth conversions. One way to convert would be a partial one time withdrawal from TSP, roll it over into a tIRA, and then do yearly conversions in small amounts perhaps to stay in the 25% tax bracket. I was also considering switching to the Roth TSP the last work year to get a head start on the process. But the Roth TSP rules are terrible. I’d like to keep my Roth TSP in equities and can do so with my contribution allocation. But any Interfund Transfer will apply to both the traditional TSP and the Roth TSP. So if I decide to change my traditional TSP from 60/40 to 50/50, this would also apply to my Roth TSP. Any withdrawals in retirement will also apply to both so there is no way to withdraw from the traditional TSP only and preserve the Roth TSP. I know the TSP Board is considering changes for withdrawals, but these changes have to be approved by the legislators and could take years. And I doubt changes are being considered to decouple the traditional TSP and Roth TSP withdrawals.

The bolded statement is an excellent point and is one reason that someone in your position might want to move your money. As Fedup stated though is if you do a withdrawal of a large chunk to roll over into a fund you can transfer it back. So you can move say 80% out or more and when it is there roll the traditional fund back even over time. That should allow you to keep your Roth untapped.