It’s beginning to look a lot like retirement season.
Based on historical data, many federal employees submit their retirement applications in January and February, meaning workers are thinking now about getting their paperwork and finances together.
Around this time, employees may look to estimate their Thrift Savings Plan annuities and survivor benefits to budget for retirement and ensure they’re complying with rules that take effect upon reaching retirement age.
At the same time, the TSP will be closing certain services for the upcoming federal holidays, and some transactions may be delayed as a result depending on when an account holder initiates them.
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The TSP last month saw positive returns after having fallen in October, with the S fund performing the best with an 11% jump in returns. Year to date, the S fund is up 17.01% and the C fund is up 20.83%, as of Dec. 4.
All nine lifecycle funds also had positive returns in November, coming back from negatives the month prior.
Here are dates and deadlines to know if you plan to take any withdrawals in the coming weeks or expect any planned transactions over the Christmas holiday, courtesy of the TSP.
Dec. 20
Any 2023 required minimum distributions amounts for civilian, uniformed services or beneficiary participants who have a remaining RMD balance will be processed.
For income tax purposes, these payments will be reported to the IRS as income for 2023.
Dec. 25 (Christmas Day)
Monday, Dec. 25 is a federal holiday, so the TSP will be closed.
Transactions that would have been processed Monday night will be processed Tuesday night at Tuesday’s closing share prices.
Dec. 27
Withdrawals processed through Dec. 27 will be disbursed and reported to the IRS as income for the current year, 2023.
Dec. 28 - 29
Withdrawals processed on Dec. 28 and 29 will be reported to the IRS as income for 2024.
Jan. 1 (New Years Day)
Monday, Jan. 1 is a federal holiday, so the TSP will be closed.
Transactions that would have been processed Monday night will be processed Tuesday night at Tuesday’s closing share prices.
Molly Weisner is a staff reporter for Federal Times where she covers labor, policy and contracting pertaining to the government workforce. She made previous stops at USA Today and McClatchy as a digital producer, and worked at The New York Times as a copy editor. Molly majored in journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
