Question 1
I am under law enforcement retirement and will have 25 yrs gov service and be eligible to retire when I’m 47. A co-worker advised me that if I retired before age 50, I would not be able to access my TSP (due to IRS rules) until I turn 59&1/2. Is that true?
Answer 1
Unfortunately, it is true. Under Law Enforcement Retirement if you retire in the year you turn 50 or later then you can access your TSP right away without penalty but if you retire before the year you turn 50 then you’ll have to wait until 59 and ½ to avoid the penalty.
Question 2
Hi Dallen!! On December 4, 2022 (my 65th birthday) I plan on starting the process to retire after 38 years of service. My question is this: How do I start this process?
Answer 2
You will want to reach out to your HR ASAP and they will give you the paperwork to fill out as well as the timeline on when they need the paperwork from you to keep you on schedule.
Question 3
I am single, no children or dependents with basic FEGLI. I will be 64 when I retire. If I choose not to continue FEGLI in retirement what happens to that policy I paid into. Can it be cashed out or do it just reduce in value?
Answer 3
FEGLI is a group term policy. That means that there is no way to “cash out” the policy without dying 🙂
In a nutshell, a term policy does not build up any cash value and if you cancel it then it completely goes away.
Question 4
I’m retired military and my wife and I currently have Tricare prime. I’m working a federal job. Tricare cost is currently around $60 or $70 per month for both of us. If I switch to FEHB, it will cost around $450 per month. When getting close to retiring from federal service, should I keep and or stay on Tricare or start FEHB 5years prior to retirement? Which will benefit me more?
Answer 4
Good question. To be eligible to keep FEHB into retirement the normal rule is that you have to be covered under FEHB for the 5 years before retirement. However, the one exception is if you are covered under Tricare for the 5 years before retirement then the only criteria is that you have to be covered under FEHB at retirement time.
So in practice, you could wait until the last open season before your retirement to jump on FEHB (as long as you were covered under Tricare for the 5 years before retirement) and you would be eligible to keep FEHB into retirement.
