Financial ills stem from poor decisions Jun 28, 2009
I think I have to cut back my Thrift Savings Plan contribution to 5% or possibly less ... I think I have to cut back my Thrift Savings Plan contribution to 5% or possibly less. (Fresno Bee -- Business)
Sometimes, people just need to be pointed in the right direction financially Jun 28, 2009
I think I have to cut back my Thrift Savings Plan contribution to 5 percent or possibly less. I currently contribute 10 percent. (Boston Globe)
Cash flow change can be helpful to those aiming to pay off an older mortgage Jun 27, 2009
Readers quickly pointed out I had overlooked the same federal Thrift Savings Plan that I have often praised. If you are in the military, check out the plan. (Boston Globe)
Same-sex partners of federal workers receive some benefits -- but not health care... Jun 18, 2009
Federal Eye - Obama Extends Benefits To Same-Sex Partners. Obama Extends Benefits To Same-Sex Partners. (The Drudge Report)
Thrift Savings Plan provides retirement nest eggs Mar 26, 2009
Thursday 26 March, 2009. The TSP, explained Chuck Witschonke, assistant director of military compensation for economic analysis, is a U.S. government-managed, 401(k)-type payroll-deduction program designed to provide tax-deferred retirement nest eggs for service members and federal civilian employees. (The Dolphin, CT)
Military Saves Week will help service members 'Feed the Pig' Feb 19, 2009
Planning for retirement will be the week's final focus as FFSC will hold a Thrift Savings Plan enrollment day on February 27. Personnel will be on hand to answer questions about TSP and explain the advantages of this retirement program. (The Dolphin, CT)
Seniors have questions about tax-law changes Feb 8, 2009
Q: Is there any corresponding information for us federal retirees with TSP (Thrift Savings Plan) withdrawal requirements. I am under an automatic monthly withdrawal plan which, so far, is continuing. (Fresno Bee -- Business)
Columnist: Cut tax bill while saving for retirement Feb 11, 2008
The credit is available for any contributions in 2007 to a 401(k), 403(b), IRA, 457, SEP or SIMPLE retirement plan in addition to a Thrift Savings Plan for government workers. IRA contributions for 2007 made through April 15 of this year are also eligible, so it s not too late to get the credit. (Corvallis Gazette Times, OR)
Major pay reform eyed to support ‘Operational Reserve’ Feb 5, 2008
It should be replaced by a plan offering vesting after 10 years; government contributions to a Thrift Savings Plan; new pay gates to encourage longer careers and annuities delayed until age 57 to 62 depending on years served. Replacement of the up-or-out promotion system, which forces too many experienced members to leave prematurely. (Petersburg Progress Index, VA)
Panic, if you must, but try not to act on it Jan 27, 2008
My husband's federal government Thrift Savings Plan had also dropped 6. 4%, or $20,000, in the same period. (Fresno Bee -- Business)
Afraid you'll never have enough? A cold accounting can ease the fear Dec 11, 2007
"My husband and I are federal employees who make a decent salary, about $140,000 combined per year. I save 15 percent of my salary in the Thrift Savings Plan (a government retirement plan), hubby saves 10 percent. We have about $15,000 set aside for our toddler son's education and contribute another $150 a month to a 529 plan for him.". She and her husband invest another $150 per month in a mutual fund they've designated for retirement. (Boston Globe)
Helping military families face financial challenges Nov 7, 2007
In addition to supplying pension benefits to wartime veterans and their surviving families under certain circumstances, the government also provides the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) to military personnel. TSP shares many features of typical 401(k) plans, including tax-deferred savings that can lower taxable income and therefore, yearly income tax. (Taylor Daily Press, TX)
Couple on road to retirement destination Oct 14, 2007
Tom's Thrift Savings Plan loan: $1,500 ... Tom should work two to four years after Sandyretires; he also shouldcontribute at least10 percent of his salaryto his Thrift Savings Plan ... Tom Garcia could beef up his savings to help them as retirement approaches by first paying off the remaining $1,500 balance of a Thrift Savings Plan loan. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
Making the hard choices pays off Oct 7, 2007
"I have about $75,000 in my Thrift Savings Plan and I am considering stopping my contributions for about three months to pay off my $3,000 credit card bill. I want to be debt-free! I can't come up with the extra money elsewhere. What do you think?". If this person truly can't eke out another penny from his budget (which I doubt, because there's often something that can be cut), then it wouldn't be a financial disaster to stop the contributions. (Boston Globe -- Business)
Your Retirement: Self-Directed IRAs and 401(k)s Sep 21, 2007
If you leave an employer, the funds in the employer plan can be moved into a self-directed traditional IRA. This includes money rolled over from 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, 457 deferred compensation plans, and the federal thrift savings plan. Self-employed people may have their own individual 401(k) plan, which may even include the new Roth 401(k), no matter what their income level. (RealtyTimes)
Your Portfolio: Military couple wants to extend 'life of service' Aug 6, 2007
Government thrift savings plans ... Sources: Lipper, U.S. Government Thrift Savings Plan, TIAA-CREF. ... Combined, the Williamses earn about $153,000 a year and sock away about $1,100 a month in savings, primarily though Eugene's government Thrift Savings Plan, which works much like a 401(k) savings account. (USA Today -- Money)
Government 401(k) creates, protects millionaires (Mike Causey) Jun 13, 2007
After taking a look at the federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), they decided it was the perfect place to harbor some or all of their optional retirement nest egg. The TSP is especially attractive because its investors include people who print, spend and collect U.S. currency; it offers the unique, super-safe Treasury securities investment option; and its administrative fees are the lowest in the business. (Washington Times, DC)
Resist the urge to react to TSP fund fluctuations (Mike Causey) Jun 6, 2007
Their Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) offers funds covering the entire U.S. stock market and an international index fund, as well as a bond fund and a special Treasury securities fund. But when the market dipped briefly led by problems in China in February and March, thousands of feds fled the U.S. and international index funds. (Washington Times, DC)
Deal or no deal: Shop around for life insurance (Mike Causey) May 30, 2007
Feds can purchase a second kind of annuity from their Thrift Savings Plan accounts. Financial planner Arthur Stein says the annuity option is generally better for older people. (Washington Times, DC)
Employees should look into 'automatic' investing (Mike Causey) May 23, 2007
The L-Income fund is for people who are tapping their Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) now or who will in the very near future. It has a larger share of Treasury securities and bonds, but still enough in the stock markets to ensure growth. (Washington Times, DC)
Children of terror victims get 'full ride' to college (Mike Causey) May 16, 2007
Your 401(k) plan in action The value of the federal Thrift Savings Plan jumped more than $5 billion last month. That boosted its worth from $213 billion in March to a record $218. (Washington Times, DC)
Keep your emotions out of investments (Mike Causey) May 9, 2007
Despite a bad couple of days in February and March, the stock-indexed funds of the federal Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) have been rising. Thousands of federal investors bailed out of the C Fund, which tracks the S and even more pulled money out of the international stock index I Fund last month. (Washington Times, DC)
Where do the happiest federal employees work? (Mike Causey) Apr 25, 2007
Millions of Thrift Savings Plan dollars were moved from the stock-index funds into the G-fund last month. People who had paid more for their I-fund shares sold them when they were down, because they were down. (Washington Times, DC)
TSP investors get automatic break on taxes (Mike Causey) Apr 18, 2007
It involves signing up for the federal 401(k), the Thrift Savings Plan ... The vehicle is the Thrift Savings Plan. (Washington Times, DC)
Your tax questions answered Apr 17, 2007
Question 6: I work for the US Postal Service and contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan. As a result of a back pay adjustment, I was eligible to contribute missed prior year contributions to my Thrift Savings Plan account in 2006. (Newsday -- New York City)
Baldfaced benefit or not, WIG tops off pay raise (Mike Causey) Apr 4, 2007
Thanks to the miracle of compounding, each within-grade raise boosts the value of future pay increases, the amount workers and their agencies can contribute to their Thrift Savings Plan accounts, the value of their annual leave if they cash out time when they retire, and the retirement annuity itself. Critics of WIGs, beginning with the Carter administration, call them "being there" raises that people get for showing up for work, rather than for outstanding performance. (Washington Times, DC)
Calculating taxes on stock transactions Mar 19, 2007
What should have happened is that your salary was reduced by the amount of your contribution to the Thrift Savings Plan. When you retire and begin withdrawing these funds, those distributions will be taxed. (SunSpot.net)
What to do with a windfall Mar 11, 2007
For example, one reader wrote: "I recently purchased a used vehicle for $10,300. I have a 6 percent fixed-rate loan on the car with a four-year payoff ($1,268 in interest over four years). I will also get $3,600 for my totaled car and $1,200 from my tax refund. Should I take that money and apply it to my car loan or stash it away in a Roth IRA? Or should I take out a loan from my Thrift Savings Plan with 4 percent interest to pay off the car where the payment and interest would go back to me?''... (The Standard-Times, MA)
Changes in benefits could hurt workers Mar 11, 2007
Under the Federal Employees Retirement System the government currently matches up to 5 percent of a worker's salary contribution to the Thrift Savings Plan ... Here are the Thrift Savings Plan returns for February: C Fund (common stocks) dropped 1. (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, VA)
Aggressive investors can look forward to 2050 (Mike Causey) Feb 27, 2007
The L 2050 fund will be added to the 10 options already available to the 3 million active and retired federal and military personnel who participate in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Like many private-sector 401(k) plans, the federal TSP offers investors an array of stock- and bond-indexed funds, as well as the so-called Lifecycle or L funds. (Washington Times, DC)
Bills mean good news for workers Feb 25, 2007
With the announced resignation of Gary Amelio as executive director of the Thrift Savings Plan, the search is on to find someone to oversee the government's 401(k)-style retirement savings plan. Amelio came to the TSP in 2003 and saw its assets grow to more than $200 billion. (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, VA)
Bare-Bones 401(k) Plan Will Be in Vogue in 2007: John F. Wasik Feb 13, 2007
It's based on the highly regarded Thrift Savings Plan, which is used by the U.S. government for 3. 2 million federal employees. (Bloomberg -- Columnists)
'Best' 401(k) plan is at hand (Mike Causey) Jan 31, 2007
The TSP. The Thrift Savings Plan is available only to government employees and uniformed military personnel. It was designed by Congress -- and includes members of Congress -- to ensure that federal and military personnel, who get inflation-indexed pensions for life, will have enough money to live well in retirement. (Washington Times, DC)
Some pitfalls of searching for a financial planner Jan 29, 2007
Last week, I heard from a Navy retiree who wondered what he should do with the money he built up in his Thrift Savings Plan, the federal government retirement plan that looks a lot like a 401(k). My recent columns on finding a financial planner were fortuitous because he has been grappling with the daunting decisions that face most people when they retire. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
Uncle Sam gives out money, and thousands still pass it up (Mike Causey) Jan 17, 2007
Many companies offer 401(k) retirement plans to employees, but Uncle Sam's Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is considered one of the best. Workers under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), which covers most civil servants, receive an automatic 1 percent contribution plus another 4 percent if the employee in effect will match the match. (Washington Times, DC)
Real estate burden, not boon, to couple Jan 7, 2007
When the Lebodas decided in 2003 to purchase a rental property to make a little extra money, they cashed out of Robert's military Thrift Savings Plan to help make the initial investment. A few more real estate opportunities later and the couple is now responsible for maintaining four properties, not to mention mortgage payments that total about $6,500 a month. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
