Maximize Your Retirement Income – Tracy Mitchell, Federal Employee Benefit Advisors

The FERS employee pension will grow by 1% each year, adding
about $40/month in retirement income. In addition, the FERS employee
who delays drawing Social Security until age 66 will generally
add $300-400/month in retirement income. Working 2 or 3 extra
years also gives time to add to TSP and other investment funds, which
will increase future income. Working into your retirement years may
not be your first choice, but sometimes it simply becomes a necessity.
No matter what your situation, the closer we get to retirement, the
more important it becomes to get the most out of every dollar. I have
already suggested that the best way to grow your TSP account is to
contribute the amount needed to receive the 5% match. Don’t miss
out on free money, it’s probably the only free money you will ever
Maxing Your Retirement Income
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The Informed Fed
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receive in your lifetime! When taking the funds out you need to seek
the highest return with little or no risk.
During your separation and retirement process, Shared Services
will offer you two options for distributing funds out of your TSP account.
First, you can cash it out and pay the total amount owed in
taxes in one year. Depending upon the TSP value, this can put you
into a higher tax bracket and further reduce any gains. High taxes and
lump sum can negatively affect your retirement income.