Anonymous wrote:The difference between CSRS and FERS isn't as big as many people think because FERS retirees get SS-- in fact employees earning under 100k may be better off under FERS.

My impression is that health insurance for retired feds (if you meet the requirements to stay in FEHBP) is exactly like health insurance for employed feds except the premium is not paid pre-tax.

Anonymous wrote:The difference between CSRS and FERS isn't as big as many people think because FERS retirees get SS-- in fact employees earning under 100k may be better off under FERS.

My impression is that health insurance for retired feds (if you meet the requirements to stay in FEHBP) is exactly like health insurance for employed feds except the premium is not paid pre-tax.

Anonymous wrote:Withdrawals from any retirement account (such as TSP or 401k) are taxed at ordinary income rates, not cap gains.

"Most" people consider 4% withdrawal to be a perfectly fine/conservative withdrawal rate. Bogleheads tend to be savers, and there are a lot of them who tend to be conservative in their assumptions, so you can certainly find discussions there about lower "safe withdrawal rates" but I think they are overstated.

I don't think the SS supplement plays a big role in retirement planning for most people--i think it runs about half of your SS benefit and only lasts from retirement to age 62.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would keep track of your actual expenses-- use YNAB or mint for a while to do that. Figure out what you need every month to pay your bills. That times 12 is what you need annually.

I would not plan on taking out more than 2-3% of your TSP per year or you could run out, depending on how long you and your spouse live.

I have a pretty similar scenario as you, pension is 33% of income, which should give me about $48,000 pretax per year, plus the SS benefit (not sure what that would be but I assume something like $1200 per month). Post-tax for the pension would be about $36,000 per year or $3000 per month (taxed as regular income @25% or so). So that's an estimated $4200 per month, pension with the supplemental SS.

My living expenses right now are $7000/month. So my shortfall would be about $3200 per month, or more like $40,000 per year (due to paying capital gains taxes). So my TSP account, to sustain 30 years of about that amount, would need to be, rounded up, about $1,300,000. But that's not including inflation-- the pension will be tied to a COLA but $3000 won't be enough per month in the future so there would have to be some growth to account for inflation.

To make up that shortfall, if I retire at 55 I could work at another job. Or maybe lower expenses more... If I don't have $1.3M in my TSP which I'm thinking I won't...

You can do similar math to figure out your situation.

OP again. Thanks this is very useful not least because we seem to be in a similar situation but also because you seem to have a better handle on how to estimate how much you'll need per year as well as in your TSP. If you don't mind may I ask:
1. Your expected SS benefit seems on the low side
2. Is the pension and SS benefit taxed as ordinary income and the TSP annuity at capital gains tax rates?
3.. You are assuming you can only take out 3% of your TSP every year. That seems low. Is it because you plan to pick the 100% survivor benefit?[/quote]

Hi, PP here again---

On the SS benefit-- what I'm referring to is the SS supplemental that you get between Fed retirement age and 62, if you do retire at your age. And to be honest I have not been able to figure out what that # is-- is it the same as what SS is estimated to be at age 62? Or figured differently? I actually don't know which is why I estimated it on the low side. My estimated SS at this time is more like $1700 per month so it might be higher.

On taxes -- the pension and SS are both taxed at your ordinary rate (estimated at 25% but could run higher). I'm not planning on taking the TSP annuity if I can help it. I prefer to leave it and not touch it until 59.5 yrs and then take 3% or so per year-- that would be taxed at 15% I believe (but I'm not sure!).

Re: the 3%, most finance people (see www.bogleheads.org for example) believe that to make a nest egg last you really can't take out more than 2-4% in a year. Think about it-- let's say average return (but not guaranteed!) is 7% and inflation is 3%-- that only leaves 4% to take out or you'll be eating your nest egg. If you need that money to take care of you at the end (nursing home or what have you) you simply can't deplete it by, say, going on vacation in your 60s.

Retirement is really complicated-- if you can, OP, take one of those retirement seminars that are offered through the work place. Usually they are held a couple of times a year. There are early, mid and end of career seminars but it's really all the same info for the most part. They help a lot. GL!

Op again. Thanks for the clarifications- it helps a lot. You really seem to have a handle on how best to make an informed decision.