Khan
Gone but not forgotten
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As of Nov '11,started withdrawing from TSP; as of Oct '12 started withdrawing from SSA.
Retirement Funds
- Thread starter Khan
- Start date
OP
OP
Khan
Gone but not forgotten
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- Aug 23, 2006
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$13K for teeth, 1K for cat; always maintain your emergency account.
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W2R
Moderator Emeritus
Welcome back, Khan! That must be some pretty extensive dental work. I am having an implant done.
obgyn65
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Welcome back, Khan.
CoolChange
Full time employment: Posting here.
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+1 on the welcome back to Khan.
Many hopes that both Khan's and W2R's dental work is going or went well. My SO is over a year into what seems to be an implant saga with no end and just came home with a toothache on the other side of her head last night. I think I'll go brush again right now.
OP
OP
Khan
Gone but not forgotten
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And $1K for cat thyroid surgery.
martyb
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Ouch! Speaking of dental stuff...I need a root canal & crown right now. I'm trying to hold out till the first of the year because my new dental insurance doesn't kick in until January 1st. That will cut the cost in half for both procedures, and then I can get a few other things done throughout the year. Having said that, I'm not sure I can make it till January. The tooth in question wasn't actually hurting previously, but now it's starting to throb a little here & there, especially noticeable at night & when I drink something cold. Also, I'm having to eat only on one side of my mouth, lol. Hope I make it till January!
martyb
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I'm getting close to the time when I'll start drawing some from my TSP. I haven't retired yet, but am thinking more & more about it every day. I had a pretty good year in the TSP, and have more now than I expected at this time. Still down from my target from 4 years ago, but this year really helped. Since I'm CSRS, there will be little SSA for me. Not zero, but not much.
yakers
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Zero SSA for me, but CSRS is OK. Been drawing down TSP for 4 years now but slowly, it is higher than when I started (not inflation adjusted). Some gets reinvested after tax so withdrawals are just part of tax planning to lessen impact of mandetory distribution in the future.
For $13K might have the work done in some medically safe but otherwise exotic foreign location and got a trip ot of it as a bonus.
For $13K might have the work done in some medically safe but otherwise exotic foreign location and got a trip ot of it as a bonus.
Sorry to hijack the original thread. I am not a dentist, but have had my share of root canals. The pain is most likely from an infection in the root of the tooth. Your dentist will probably want you to be on antibiotics for a few days before the root canal. You could try to see your dentist now and get the antibiotics started, then you can have the root canal early in 2013. Once the antibiotics start working the pain should largely go away for a few days.
nun
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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Wow, that's a lot of crowns, I've had about 5, but I spaced them out so one a year. I had a tooth break which started things out and my dentist then methodically did crowns on teeth with big amalgum fillings that had cracks. I'm not sure how much was really necessary, but as one had broken I went with it. My mouth now looks a lot nicer.
I just had a root canal on a tooth with a crown on it. I though I'd have to pay 20% of the cost, but amazingly the endodontist receptionist checked with Cigna and it was 100% covered. However, I then had to go back to my regular dentist to get a permanent filling and that was only 25% covered, go figure, so total out of pocket cost was a couple of hundred, not bad in the end and my tooth and gum feels great.
The actual root canal wasn't painful at all, it was just uncomfortable having to keep my mouth open and deal with the dental dam.
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Good to hear from you Khan.
At least you won't have any worries about biting your own butt after all that dental work.
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
I'm glad to hear that your cat is still alive. As I recall, he/she is getting pretty old, and you were waiting until your cat passed away before possibly moving.
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
Probably so! I'm sure you love that cat anyway, though.
Tadpole
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Hi Khan, Did you have dental coverage? I know it doesn't pay much for crowns (FEDVIP). I haven't touched my SS or TSP yet. I can't seem to get out of "saving for retirement" mode. I'm just living off the little FERS I get and my husband's contribution.
Thinking about TSP in the withdrawal phase gives me a headache. Not many options there. I think they want people to take it elsewhere or annuitize it.
Thinking about TSP in the withdrawal phase gives me a headache. Not many options there. I think they want people to take it elsewhere or annuitize it.
drb391
Recycles dryer sheets
I think the monthly w/d is very good. keep in mind that is considered "full" w/d; that is, the only other thing (other than change amt every yr) you can do is withdraw from the plan
yakers
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Yep, monthly withdrawals adjusted once a year works fine for me. I did do the one time rollover to an IRA with Wells Fargo, about 1/3 of the initial amount in the TSP. With that I get some asset classes not available in the TSP (REITs, foreign bonds) and I can access that account if I needed immediate funds not covered by the monthly withdrawals from the TSP and I convert small amounts to a Roth IRA annually.
easysurfer
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Welcome Back, Khan!
W2R - When does the implant procedure start on your implant?
For me, the entire process took about a year from start to end. The waiting did take some patience on my part, but I love the result.
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
Easysurfer, I had the bone graft done on December 5th, and that went well. The implant surgery is scheduled in the last week in March. Then, of course, there will be more waiting. One step at a time. 
Once it is finished, hopefully I will have it for a very long time, so it is worth the wait to me. It is so encouraging to read how happy you are with the your implant.
Once it is finished, hopefully I will have it for a very long time, so it is worth the wait to me. It is so encouraging to read how happy you are with the your implant.
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easysurfer
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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W2R, that's good you are past the bone graft. For me, I didn't much care for the blood during the graft. (My dentist extracted what was left of my old tooth, then did the graft all in one session). Other than that, piece of cake.
With my implant, sometimes I'd chew on it (for example eating an apple). My first reaction, out of habit when I only had a crown on what was left of my old tooth, is to avoid that...but so far so good. The implant has held up just fine.
With my implant, sometimes I'd chew on it (for example eating an apple). My first reaction, out of habit when I only had a crown on what was left of my old tooth, is to avoid that...but so far so good. The implant has held up just fine.
RAE
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Same here. My TSP account is down slightly since I retired almost 3 years ago now, due to the monthly withdrawals, but that's not a big deal, since there's no way I will outlive the remainder of it at this rate. It does provide a nice (if small) supplement to my CSRS monthly annuity.
Have you talked it over with the dentist or his insurance biller? ISTM that right now is a pretty quiet time of the year, but after the holidays a huge number of people will be visiting the dentist to review their behavior and start their New Year's resolutions. Maybe the dentist would rather see you while there's free time, than to see you next year when he's potentially tired & grumpy.
The dentist may be willing to see you now, if for no other reason than a free diagnosis & prep work, and then start the paperwork on 2 Jan.
