Re: That one is easy

AND have the years of service. But the point of this article is that there are smaller issues that could make a big difference if you pick the wrong day.

Re: That one is easy

Depends - you can cut off your nose to spite your face if you use the wrong retirement date (you will lose a lot of money and isn't that what we all work for?). I would think that you (or anyone) would want to think about the correct retirement date that would allow the maximum. Why lose anything when you have come so far?

Re: The date of your retirement

I expect they'll take 25% income tax and 7.5% SS and Medicare. But income taxes don't matter. It will all go on 2010's books so on April 15th 2011 you'll probably have a refund coming since odds are you will be in a lower bracket (15%).

I'm going Dec 31st, at age 60, with >400 hours. They'll take out a third as above and I'll either owe it or get it back, no big deal. I should net 12-15k which I will use to supplement the special supplement for two years until SS kicks in; in other words, live on it and let the TSP continue to accumulate.

Re: The date of your retirement

Meteorologist,

Thanks for the information but here is another response. If you can afford it, and remember that you will not be able to put more money into the TSP after you retire, then put it into a ROTH IRA. This way you have already paid the tax on it and later on you can receive the money back tax-free.

Re: The date of your retirement

Is a Roth IRA guaranteed? Roths are through banks, what if the bank ceases to exist? I mean, I don't understand why someone would take their money out of TSP and put it into a Roth IRA. When you put the money into the Roth IRA aren't you taxed on it? Taxes on it now would be high. If you leave your money in TSP and draw on it after retirement, aren't you taxed at a lower rate? Maybe I am missing something, please explain.

Re: Retirement

You may want to read the article on this topic at:

http://www.fedsmith.com/article/1951/when-your-ideal-retirement-date-2009.html

You can quickly find articles on our site using the search engine near the top of most pages on the site.

Re: Question NSPS Statement

Doesn't matter. Either your covered by NSPS when you retire or you're not.

Re: Question NSPS Statement

The only issue with NSPS is that you have to be ON BOARD the day AFTER the effective day of the payout (Jan 3. 2010) to receive your performance bonus for FY 2009.

That means, you have to be on board January 4, 2010. This means your first retirement check is issued March 1, 2010, not February 1, 2010, so if you want the award that bad, work until the end of January or up to February 3, 2010 (if CSRS).

I have checked into this... :-)

Re: Question NSPS Statement

Career, that is correct, but agencies can still give out incentive awards, so I don't know why they wait till the end of the year for employees in this situation. In this case, the best date to retire (if you have use or lose to be paid out) if you are CSRS is 2 Jan 2010.