TSP -should I move $ or let it ride

[Anonymous]

My TSP is not far from $2m. I don't say this to brag as I generally don't think about it but my DH asked me what it was up to given the stock numbers.

I'm retired from gov (took VERA amid trump 2.0 turmoil/DOGE). I have a combo of lifecycle shares and C/G/I shares. I'm working in the private sector now. I'm obv happy with the growth and want to ride it as much as I can and I know you can't time a slide.

What are the tea leaves showing? Would you move more to the G fund? My I fund is doing really, really well.

[Anonymous]

Don’t try to time the market— figure out your risk tolerance and when you need the money and make a decision you can live with (one you won’t regret and try to undo the minute the markets change). For example, you haven’t explained how much you have in stocks or when you plan to retire.

[Anonymous]

i also took DRP and retired (62) and i am letting it ride. just passed 2.8 mark. i am finding SS + pension is enough to support our retirement so far.

[Anonymous]

For 30+ years, I have left it all in C fund. I will keep it there. I do separately have maybe 8 months of living expenses outside TSP in a money market fund (mostly as insurance against unexpected issues).

[Anonymous]

Put 4 or 5 years of expenses in G and let the rest ride. You will have sequence of return risk covered and not have to worry. Start looking at Roth conversions if it makes sense of if you are planning on passing money down to future generations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Put 4 or 5 years of expenses in G and let the rest ride. You will have sequence of return risk covered and not have to worry. Start looking at Roth conversions if it makes sense of if you are planning on passing money down to future generations.

I'm OP and obviously not savvy about this stuff. What do you mean by this? I know what a roth is but I don't know about conversion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Put 4 or 5 years of expenses in G and let the rest ride. You will have sequence of return risk covered and not have to worry. Start looking at Roth conversions if it makes sense of if you are planning on passing money down to future generations.

I'm OP and obviously not savvy about this stuff. What do you mean by this? I know what a roth is but I don't know about conversion?

You can convert funds from your existing TSP account into a Roth TSP account. You will have to pay tax on the money you convert both Federal and State and you can’t use your TSP funds for the tax. You can then withdraw or rollover the Roth TSP money tax free when eligible 59 1/2 generally and your heirs will have 10 years to withdraw any money you pass on to them tax free as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Put 4 or 5 years of expenses in G and let the rest ride. You will have sequence of return risk covered and not have to worry. Start looking at Roth conversions if it makes sense of if you are planning on passing money down to future generations.

I'm OP and obviously not savvy about this stuff. What do you mean by this? I know what a roth is but I don't know about conversion?

Don’t worry about this at least until you are retired (and have decided you won’t need all your savings)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Put 4 or 5 years of expenses in G and let the rest ride. You will have sequence of return risk covered and not have to worry. Start looking at Roth conversions if it makes sense of if you are planning on passing money down to future generations.

I'm OP and obviously not savvy about this stuff. What do you mean by this? I know what a roth is but I don't know about conversion?

the "problem" is that if you don't take anything out of the TSP before you get to age 75, by the time you turn 75 your account could be 5mil or more. your required minimum distributions (RMDs) might start out at $200,000 per year and go up from there. add to that your pension and social security and your husbands RMDs, social security and any pension and you may be in the 35% tax bracket or higher.

if you convert the TSP to roth you will owe taxes NOW on those converted funds (and have to pay that tax from outside cash) but they and all growth from those funds will be tax-free when you or your heirs pull from the account later.

the actual problem is that if you do that, you are paying real money today to potentially avoid an unknown amount of taxes later. tax rules can always change, your account may not grow as expected, you may need to draw down enough starting when you hit 59.5 that your RMDs at 75 are less than you need to pull anyway. no way to know your personal situation and future cash needs.

[Anonymous]

OP- how old are you and how far from retirement are you?

[Anonymous]

Depending on your life cycle funds, you might already have a lot in G.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP- how old are you and how far from retirement are you?

53.
Retired (VERA) fed but working Pt in private sector now.

[Anonymous]

The L funds manage to keep mix and return on their own targets. My L2020 did great thru 2008 recession compared to anything else.
Pick an L

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- how old are you and how far from retirement are you?

53.
Retired (VERA) fed but working Pt in private sector now.

are you also contributing to a retirement fund in the private sector? if you are, is it going to Roth? is there a match? are you doing max contribution + catch-up? if you are, then the Roth/RMD issue may be more pressing. at 53 with $2mil already, if you continue to contribute at full amount without leveraging Roth, you will definitely run into an RMD problem when you hit 75. if you do have a retirement account in the private sector, you might want to roll over, say, one years salary worth from the TSP to the private sector plan--if you decide to leave after 55, the rule of 55 means you can access funds from your most recent employer's plan before 59.5 without penalty.

how much are you getting from the pension after VERA?

[Anonymous]

Near 2 mil at 53. You have done very well. Good job, OP.