FERS 4.4% payroll deduction

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think yiu can get your 4.4% contributions back with interest when you leave, if you give up your pension. I don’t think many people do it and not sure about the mechanics.

This is not true.

There IS something where you can request your contributions back. https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/fers-information/former-employees/

I have one year of service and had to resign due to moving. if I am unable to find something else at some point, I am going to request my contributions for that year be rolled over to my roth IRA.

Thanks, this is helpful. Is there any scenario when it would make sense to request the FERS contribution back if you had around 15 years of service and retired at 62? Other than having a terminal illness and thinking the lump sum is a better deal due to longevity I can’t think of why anyone would ask for the lump sum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you receive your FERS pension in retirement, you'll be able to claim your after tax contributions and not pay taxes on them again.

New poster here- I want to make sure I understand this comment. Is the 4.4% FERS contribution after-tax?

No, it is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think yiu can get your 4.4% contributions back with interest when you leave, if you give up your pension. I don’t think many people do it and not sure about the mechanics.

This is not true.

There IS something where you can request your contributions back. https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/fers-information/former-employees/

I have one year of service and had to resign due to moving. if I am unable to find something else at some point, I am going to request my contributions for that year be rolled over to my roth IRA.

Thanks, this is helpful. Is there any scenario when it would make sense to request the FERS contribution back if you had around 15 years of service and retired at 62? Other than having a terminal illness and thinking the lump sum is a better deal due to longevity I can’t think of why anyone would ask for the lump sum.

if the person has already retired with 15 years service then there is no electing a lump sum as they should already be receiving a pension, and also they would have only been contributing less than 1% of their salary, so that makes no sense whatsoever. also also surviving spouse is entitled to a 50% pension payment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think yiu can get your 4.4% contributions back with interest when you leave, if you give up your pension. I don’t think many people do it and not sure about the mechanics.

This is not true.

There IS something where you can request your contributions back. https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/fers-information/former-employees/

I have one year of service and had to resign due to moving. if I am unable to find something else at some point, I am going to request my contributions for that year be rolled over to my roth IRA.

Thanks, this is helpful. Is there any scenario when it would make sense to request the FERS contribution back if you had around 15 years of service and retired at 62? Other than having a terminal illness and thinking the lump sum is a better deal due to longevity I can’t think of why anyone would ask for the lump sum.

Never. The only way to come out ahead would be to have your contributions refunded, blow it all in a weekend, and then immediately off yourself. Doesn’t sound like a win to me.

Regular FERS 0.8% contribution retirees fully receive back what they paid in by about their tenth month of retirement.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you receive your FERS pension in retirement, you'll be able to claim your after tax contributions and not pay taxes on them again.

New poster here- I want to make sure I understand this comment. Is the 4.4% FERS contribution after-tax?

No, it is not.

Yes, it is. Your FERS contribution is paid with dollars that were subjected to income tax aka “after-tax”. Since you already paid tax on your contributed dollars, it’s why a tiny slice (~2-5%) of a monthly FERS pension payment doesn’t show up as taxable income on a 1099-R.

https://plan-your-federal-retirement.com/taxation-of-federal-retirement-benefits/