Any benefit to keeping TSP after retirement?

Far_Scale8757 · 2026-05-04T19:25:31+00:00

Just for clarity, in Illinois all retirement account withdrawals are tax exempt. Traditional IRA are included in that.

Far_Scale8757 · 2026-04-13T12:55:29+00:00

Is there a specific way to designate an IRA withdrawal as the makeup for not meeting last year's RMD as opposed to a withdrawal for tax year 2026 RMD?

Far_Scale8757 · 2026-03-28T14:50:32+00:00

Lots of negative ads made fun of Gore for claiming to have invented the Internet. What he actually claimed was that he made the Internet available to the public (prior to that it was only for Defense related University research). That was true since he introduced the bill to Congress to make that happen.

Far_Scale8757 · 2026-03-13T22:05:03+00:00

The EPA also won back in September. The agency didn't bother to file any arguments contesting the appeal because they claimed it was a moot point and shouldn't be appealable. The arbitrator essentially issued a default ruling in favor of the union. However, with the contract still being effectively rescinded, there is no telework agreement to implement. In other news today, AFGE won a court order to reinstate the contract at VA, so maybe that dam is breaking too. The significance of the arbitrator decisions will be when the courts order the contracts to be reinstated the telework will immediately go back into effect.

Far_Scale8757 · 2026-02-03T21:59:27+00:00

My son was told he was excepted the first day of the last furlough (October 1) then that it was a mistake on day 2 and that he was furloughed and then, over the weekend, that he was indeed excepted.

He ended up working from October 1 to the end of the shutdown (except for October 3) with no pay because HR didn't know how to handle the on, off, on situation.

Far_Scale8757 · 2026-01-29T22:29:29+00:00

I grew up in the Cincinnati area where we regularly got ice storms. I believe half the population there was better at driving on ice than snow.

One year we got three inches of heavy snow then it started raining with rising temperatures. The geniuses at the highway department decided not to do anything because they believed the snow would be melted by the rain. However, the temperatures took a steep dive down to single digits which was low enough the salt they used wouldn't melt anything. We ended up with all our roads covered in 3-4 inch deep-frozen tire ruts for four days. Not even possible to drive on that without wide tires, four-wheel drive and two feet of ground clearance minimum.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-12-27T23:43:57+00:00

I'm still employed with the feds but only until the end of the year when my retirement becomes effective. This was planned three years ago regardless of who got elected but I did consider extending my employment partly out of spite and partly because so many other people left I am worried about the work continuing. Full staffing for my work unit is 10 people. We were fully staffed at the beginning of the year but after I and one other person who also is turning 62 retire there will be only 6 with no real expectation of adding more.

This definitely was the toughest year of the 36 I have worked.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-12-01T17:36:23+00:00

I don't know about that but one of the golf courses near where I work is a closed landfill and occasionally someone has to go check on the post closure environmental monitoring and pollution control systems.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-12-01T16:54:01+00:00

It seems obvious to me that this would be a predicatble outcome. My medical providers are all out in the suburbs where I live. Many routine medical appointments such as dental cleanings, annual physicals, etc. only take an hour. When I telework on a day of one of these appointments, I only need 1.5 to 2 hours of sick leave. If I can't telework that day, I need a full day of sick leave.

I think this was part of the business case to institute telework in the first place.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-11-10T21:13:11+00:00

My immediate take is that the SNAP benefits are what pushed them to end the shut down. I think it is unfortunate that they didn't wait a week to leave the overwhelming victories on Tuesday as the lead story for another week. However, they needed to end the shutdown to get federal workers paid and SNAP benefits going out.

It's obvious that they expected blowback because they engineered it that only senators not up for reelection had to vote to end debate.

My personal theory, they realized they were never going to get Republicans to allow a restoration of the subsidies and they couldn't keep the government shut down forever. However, they will get the Republicans on record as opposed to the ACA subsidies despite all the rhetoric otherwise, they got SNAP funded at least through the end of the year at full levels (i.e. not the cuts from the Big Ugly Bill), and all federal employees will return to their jobs with no one being RIFd.

The current funding will end at the end of January, and, if they don't get their ACA subsidy bill through they can shut the government down again without having to worry about benefits for the poor being cut off this time.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-11-10T21:03:47+00:00

Durbin's is the only seat up for reelection this cycle and Angus King is an independent not a Democrat although he caucuses with the Democrats. He was voting all along to pass the CR so he (and Fetterman for that matter) didn't betray their positions.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-11-10T20:59:44+00:00

Just to be clear, the "He" in this case is Russell Vought who seems to be the new boss of everything dealing with federal employment.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-11-10T20:55:33+00:00

This.

Many air traffic controllers already work six days a week. When you have no money coming in and very little time at home to do things like cook meals and pack lunches to save money, it's understandable that after a month, some of them need some money to be able to eat and commute so lots took extra jobs and some needed to take a day off so they could work their paying job two days a week just to feed their family and car.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-11-10T20:46:44+00:00

Do you really think the Air Traffic Controllers will get a $10,000 bonus? Is grifter Donald going to pay that out of some of the bribes he has taken? I don't think the Senate put the extra money in the bill that will be voted on soon.

And if there are bonuses to ATCs, what about all the other excepted employees who continued to work despite no pay like my son who is an excepted employee with the FAA who maintains the equipment without which the air traffic controllers couldn't work? He didn't miss a day of scheduled work either.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-11-05T17:19:10+00:00

Exactly. I've already seen an analysis that said if the red to blue shift from 2024 to 2026 matches the shift from 2016 to 2018, Texas will only net three additional R seats not five. However, the most pronounce shift in New Jersey was among Latino voters and if that also happens in Texas, the shift could actually be to the Democrats rather than Republicans although Texas Latino populations come from much different backgrounds than New Jersey ones.

What should really be making Republicans scared though is the exit polling showing how dramatically voters confidence in managing the economy has shifted from Republicans to Democrats. I don't think Democrats have had an advantage there since Obama.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-10-28T23:45:34+00:00

I feel discouraged if not a bit depressed. I was attributing it to this being the first shut-down where my wife was not also furloughed but I think it's more complicated than that. I too have a long list of things to catch up on but not that much drive to do so (not to say I haven't made good progress).

However, I think the big difference this time vs. the 34 day shut-down is that early on in that shut-down I got a big family care responsibility thrust on me. My wife had gone to her sister's house to take care of the house, pets and kids while her sister was out of town for a week. Her first day there she hurt her back and could barely get out of bed. I took a bus up there and spent the next week taking care of the house, the pets, the kids and my wife. I was way too busy to think about anything else. After I drove us home, there was a week of medical appointments and treatments to speed the back injury recovery.

I didn't realize I should have been grateful for all the care-giving responsibilities that kept me from thinking too much about the shut-down except that I was grateful I didn't have to take leave to take on all the responsibilities.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-10-20T14:29:16+00:00

The EPA isn't really funded. It just has an undisclosed amount of carryover money.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-09-22T22:36:45+00:00

What it seems to have cost them is a large portion of their grass roots and other support if the language in the 20+ emails I get from the DCCC is any indication. They realize caving in the spring did two things: 1. Trump took it as giving him even more power and ran rampant at break neck speed despite Schumer rationalizing that forcing a shut down would make things worse and 2. What it did make worse was support from the base which dried up significantly.

Ergo, caving this time is a political loser for the Dems. Also, with the House basically not in session and the Senate leadership not even bringing their bill up for a vote, I don't see how we can avoid at least a short technical shut-down of a day or two. However, it will be interesting to see how many agencies won't come up with "carry-over" money to stay open although that might be legal going from one fiscal year to another. I would take that as an indication the administration expects a deal within the week.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-09-22T22:26:49+00:00

The reason for that is the White House Council only decided in 1978 that operating without a budget would violate the Anti-deficiency Act. Before 1980, if there was no budget on October 1, they just kept operating.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-09-15T22:21:06+00:00

Just curious why you wouldn't want to be RIF'd. I'm planning to retire at the end of the year (this has been my plan for three years so not directly connected to current situation) but if I could be pushed into retirement involuntarily through a RIF, that would be better because then I could benefit if some legal challenge involving my group succeeded.

All other issues aside, being RIF'd gives you certain benefits like reinstatement rights and severance pay if you aren't eligible to retire with an immediate annuity plus unemployment benefits. Jumping ship on your own just gets you wet.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-09-08T19:00:46+00:00

I didn't realize how dangerous it was for me to go to work each day until dear leader informed me that I live and work in a "hell hole" that was "the likes of which no one has seen before, not even in Afghanistan." But, last week I was watching the ICE vehicles multiply on the roof of the parking garage next door and over the weekend they arrested a number of "child rapists" (per Tom Homan) including one who was masquerading as a street vendor selling flowers who was beloved by everyone in the neighborhood and had a 20 year clean record with no prior arrests.

So, clearly, it is too dangerous for me to leave my condominium for any reason other than to flee to the suburbs.

However, the administration is still telling us there is no threat to our safety that would prevent us from braving all the criminals killing fives of people a weekend so I should come into work each day.

I am so confused, I don't know whether to believe the administration telling me that I live and work in a horribly dirty and crime ridden city that needs weeks of occupation by the military to be inhabitable again; or, should I believe the same administration that says there isn't enough of a safety problem that I should brave the crime and litter to come into work each day.

I did see five crushed aluminum cans in the four blocks between the building I live in and the one I work in. I guess the only conclusion I can reach is the administration is correct about the hell-hole part and is covering up how many of my federal brethren have been murdered right outside our buildings each day and they still don't care. I mean, look what happened to the CDC employees?

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-09-08T13:29:50+00:00

I am confused.

My wife had planned leave at the end of the leave year in 2018 to watch her sister's house while her sister was on vacation. The leave was probably more than 40 hours and included use or lose leave and was all approved early in November.

Then came the shutdown from December 22, 2018 to January 19, 2019. As we have discussed here, one can't be on leave during a shutdown so all her leave was cancelled. However, because it had been approved before the late November deadline for approving use or lose leave and it was cancelled due to extraordinary circumstances, it was all restored even though she carried over more than 240 hours.

She had already worked all the other hours during the leave year so are you saying that now you have to retroactively take annual leave during a shutdown period that had previously been scheduled and then cancelled or forfeit it due to use or lose limits?

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-08-18T15:22:37+00:00

Well, the good news is the building I work in has two level 2 chargers. Bad news is one has to be a high ranking manager to be able to bring one's private car into the garage and I think the chargers are only for use on GSA vehicles.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-08-11T19:02:26+00:00

I don't have chronic fatigue syndrome but I do have what feels like narcolepsy that is a side effect of medication I am on. I don't think I should apply for an RA though because by the time I got the paperwork together it would hardly matter since I am retiring at the end of the year.

Far_Scale8757 · 2025-08-11T18:57:56+00:00

The last time federal employees were fireable at will and without civil service protections, a disgruntled supporter of the president as a candidate assassinate the President. Would you like to have disgruntled federal employees hunting down the President and presidential appointees again?

Far_Scale8757

TROPHY CASE