[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by BPRICE1234

I just moved from OH to FL. I have both ROTH AND TRADITIONAL TSP. I thought ROTH already paid tax? What advantage would be rolling it into the traditional TSP?

Correct. There would be no advantage to rolling over a Roth into a Traditional IRA. But, I think after you retire, you can liquidate both the Roth and the Traditional TSPs and do a direct transfer to an investment company like Vanguard or Fidelity. Then, you would have two IRAs that you could control where the money is invested.

[Marmaduke]

Originally Posted by BPRICE1234

My TSP account is doing well but unfortunately I got a really late start. Maybe 5 to 10 years left to work. Simply looking to maximize while I can afford to make up any losses.

As I approached retirement, as you are now, I did EXACTLY as Warren Buffett suggested with my TSP and it has paid off dearly.
90% into low-cost S&P Funds
10% into short term bonds.

I could afford to put the max in to get the match from my employer all along. Do it!

Warren knows.

[Marmaduke]

Originally Posted by Lisadiabb

I have TSP and so far this year at 24% returns. I do move funds around based on the markets. I moved to G last week based on trends. There are some great Facebook pages to help with buy and hold or using strategies for growth.

I have 24.68 return so far this year on my TSP this year too.

[BlueStarAirlines]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Another thing you can do is to front load your TSP contributions in the last year of work. So, you can contribute 100 percent of your salary in January and Februrary to the TSP, and then retire in March. So, you will have no taxable income in that final year.

Please, PLEASE DO NOT follow this advice. If you do this you will miss out on matching for the remainder of the year. Matching is done by pay period, so front loading will ensure that you miss out on any matching above the 1%.

[BlueStarAirlines]

Current Fed who is 100% C fund.

Lots of great info on here but some is dated, some is from Feds who were never in FERS, some from folks who were never Feds, etc.

A good place to get general TSP information is to follow Chris Barfield (google Barfield Financial and look for his TSP section). He doesn't sell anything or want you money...just straight up Federal employee info that includes TSP.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by BlueStarAirlines

Please, PLEASE DO NOT follow this advice. If you do this you will miss out on matching for the remainder of the year. Matching is done by pay period, so front loading will ensure that you miss out on any matching above the 1%.

I guess it depends on when you want to retire, whether you are a FERS or CSRS employee, and your tax bracket. I was under CSRS, and by retiring in March, I saved a lot of money on income taxes by front loading my TSP contributions. Do the math and time your retirement date to your best advantage.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by BlueStarAirlines

Please, PLEASE DO NOT follow this advice. If you do this you will miss out on matching for the remainder of the year. Matching is done by pay period, so front loading will ensure that you miss out on any matching above the 1%.

You missed the statement about retiring in March. There would be no matching for the remainder of the year since retiring in March ends the year right there.

Contributing as much as possible (to include your full salary) to a tax-deferred TSP account immediately prior to retiring will lower your taxable income while maximizing your retirement savings.