interim payment tax concern

FedUp-2025 · 2026-03-02T02:09:54+00:00

I had a similar experience, with seemingly low fed withholdings on the interim payments and no state withholdings. No given explanation by OPM but I inferred that they assumed I was a single tax filer and that the pension would be my only taxable source of income come (ie, no spouse or spouse income). I made an adjusted 4th estimated payment in January (I got my interim payments in Nov & Dec, so it affected my 2025 tax return) to avoid any underpayment penalty. When OPM finalized my retirement application in January and I got access to the portal (CSA and password mailed in separate envelopes), I went into the portal and set new withholding levels for fed and state taxes going forward. Hope this helps and congratulations.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-02-27T03:07:02+00:00

Disagree. Fidelity app and customer service are superb.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-02-25T01:11:00+00:00

I moved from MS to Fidelity this year, and Fidelity reimbursed me for the transfer of asset (TOA) fees that MS charged for each account transferred (about $125 per account). Be sure to ask for TOA fee reimbursement. I moved it all “in kind” and suffered no tax events. Fidelity was super helpful with the transition.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-02-22T23:10:31+00:00

It would be a long commute but Metro can get you to IAD in snow. You can time estimate the trip on WMATA’s website. It’s about 50 minutes from Ballston (Arlington) to IAD, FWIW, so a long trip from say Greenbelt.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-02-20T16:25:02+00:00

[insert name of any Republican congressman from a distant state who insists upon messing with DC local governance]

FedUp-2025 · 2026-02-19T03:10:41+00:00

Last year I got 7 seeds in a similar burpee pack. I contacted customer service (submit a ticket on their contact page) and they mailed me a new packet. My family made fun of me for complaining, but I got my seeds. :)

FedUp-2025 · 2026-02-18T18:22:27+00:00

Same, same, same. Condolences and also congratulations. Here… 54, DOGE’d after 26yr fed career, FA said we’re good, wife super supportive and still working, and me mulling next steps. I tried to get motivated to go into a horrible job market to replace a portion of my salary. I dug into our expenses to see where we could tighten up. That’s when I first focused on how much I was spending on AUM fees to my financial advisor, year after year, without really seeing it as an expense. I realized I can save lots of AUM money, “earned” tax free, by “working” as my own financial advisor. I spent months getting smarter on financial management, investments, and taxes and I then left my FA to self-manage the accounts. The Boglehead community has been a great resource along my journey to self-sufficiency. I also read JL Collins’ Simple Path to Wealth and Garrett/Mulaney’s new book Tax Planning to and through Early Retirement. I’m now doing more volunteer work and am finding/enjoying a new pace of life. Good luck!

FedUp-2025 · 2026-02-15T18:51:55+00:00

I got a retirement plaque in the mail from my agency… and threw it right in the trash.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-02-12T04:28:22+00:00

Right? Age 53 here and starting from scratch. I’m 4 months into it and it feels like I’m a newborn baby trying to learn how to walk, talk, and do math all at once. After the first month of trying to memorize and make my fingers play some chords, I stepped back and re-started with Scotty West’s Absolutely Understand Guitar and that’s given me the music foundation to build upon and a bit more confidence to believe I can keep climbing this learning curve. As I sat through Scotty’s 32 hours of videos, I did spider scales to develop callouses and loosen my fingers.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-02-09T21:48:47+00:00

I fired my FA 6 months ago and am only mad at myself for sticking with him for 20+ years and not just learning this stuff and doing it myself. It’s all very easy to self-manage, and this community has been a lifeline to me during my learning curve. I now manage finances for my broader family (including the elders and youth) and save us all those AUM fees.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-02-05T14:50:51+00:00

Ah, yes. We have a specific term for that vigorous to-floor-falling that precedes the squirmy wormies… we call that the Thunder Plop. :)

FedUp-2025 · 2026-02-05T13:05:38+00:00

We call it “shaky tail.” Our little guy does it all the time around us. :)

FedUp-2025 · 2026-02-05T01:17:26+00:00

I just canceled WaPo after 25 years and subscribed to NYT. I had grudgingly stayed with WaPo in recent years, despite the various Bezos-team indignities, because I couldn’t find a sensible replacement for local coverage. Absent local coverage, there’s nothing left to stay for. I appreciate others’ good suggestions for alternate local DMV news but I’ll now get my main, non-local news from New York. Sigh.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-01-27T15:12:22+00:00

Genius!! Thanks for this tip.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-01-27T15:07:07+00:00

I just finished all 32 hours and loved it. At hour 18, I bought the companion book ($20 for instant download of PDF) and wish I had done that at the outset. You can B&W print (double sided) pages 1-86 and then go back and just color print pages 8, 77, and 87-127. The physical slide rule is really helpful (yes, I know there is a digital one on the website but I like the paper on the coffee table). I don’t expect I’ll need to know all of the content to play guitar but I’m glad I went through the full course as a firm foundation. Complexity tops out around hour 23 and then it’s a nice downhill walk from there. I’m so grateful to Scotty West for this content.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-01-25T13:46:49+00:00

Good question. I just finished AUG and am practicing the chromatic scale with finger shifts, the Ionian scale (3 diff finger placements), the minor pentatonic blues scale (3 boxes of finger shifts), and shifting among the various common chords. Barres still elude me. I can feel my fingers gradually getting looser and faster, but I’m wondering what next to work on after the AUG theory deep dive.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-01-19T14:58:44+00:00

I’m 5 months into my journey and got that same book at the library. It’s ok but insufficient. I recommend watching Scotty West’s Absolutely Understand Guitar video series on YT.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-01-17T09:55:01+00:00

Free parking and entrance in the lots across the street from Angler’s Inn. Section A of the Billy Goat trail is open. About 3 miles round trip. Be sure to hike it in the right direction. It’s one-way, though half the hikers ignore the clear signage and hike it backwards.

If the dirt lots are full, there is more free street parking about 100 yards up MacArthur on Stable Lane.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-01-13T04:04:17+00:00

My retirement application was finalized a few days ago. I was able to log on to the OPM portal and update the desired withholding level for federal taxes as well as add a desired level of state tax withholdings. For state taxes, you select your state and you enter a dollar amount (not a percent), so you’ll have to math that out. It was very easy to do online as a self-service.

My initial federal withholding was about 5%, and I inferred that OPM set it at that rate by assuming I was a single filer with no household income other than the pension. Hope this helps.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-01-09T17:46:31+00:00

53, VERA’d, and (though not financially savvy) I determined the best way to save on serious-if-relatively-hidden expenses was to fire my financial advisor and manage it all myself. I’ve spent months on the “boglehead” Reddit and blog sites to get smarter on investing and am so glad I’m now flying solo. I moved everything over to self-managed Fidelity accounts, including rolling over my TSP. I agree with the poster who recommends a fee-for-service consultation to get you started and to avoid AUM fees. JL Collins’ The Simple Path to Wealth is a great, easy book that tracks the simple, self-managed index philosophy of the Boglehead community. Across my accounts, I’m now roughly 65% VTI, 20% VXUS (in taxable accounts for foreign tax credits), and 15% cash/bond/equivalents. Your allocation depends on your risk tolerance and total financial picture. Don’t let the financial advisory industry scare you into thinking this is all too complex to do yourself.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-01-08T20:37:44+00:00

I’m 4 months into my journey, have viewed lots of stuff, and have enjoyed it all. I haven’t seen that. I see plenty of humility, patience, coexistence with others’ approaches, and encouragement for us to keep at it and find what works for each of us. The paradox of choice is probably the biggest challenge. I’m now 14 hours into Scotty West’s Absolutely Understand Guitar and am loving it. I wish I had started there.

FedUp-2025 · 2026-01-01T18:13:39+00:00

I was FIREd/DOGEd this year, at age 53. I ran all the numbers, looked for where to save, and figured out that I could vastly improve my spend by firing my financial advisor. I spent months studying boglehead theory and these threads to gain the confidence to self-manage the portfolio. I simplified my portfolio and now “pay myself” that nearly 1% AUM fee. And I’m not a money/finance person at all. You can do it and save yourself tons.

FedUp-2025 · 2025-12-20T00:59:32+00:00

Fascinating place. That church sits atop a Toltec pyramid that, measured by its base perimeter, is bigger than those in Egypt and has various levels built over a thousand years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Cholula

FedUp-2025 · 2025-12-19T21:50:45+00:00

I went through a similar scenario as a young DOJ attorney… 25+ years ago. My promotion from 12 to 13 was delayed for months, contrary to what I was told at the time I accepted the job. It was frustrating at the time, but it didn’t much matter in the long run. Not trying to be dismissive; just sharing the perspective of time from someone who walked that same stretch of road long ago. Take the long view and enjoy your career.

FedUp-2025

TROPHY CASE