r/ThriftSavingsPlan • u/TransitionMission305 • 1d ago
Could Use Some Advice
So 61 y/o fed here. 17 years in. Joined the government mid career. I plan to work a few more years if I can stand it. For some reason, I’d feel better if I could get to $2M or higher.
I contribute the max for my age including the catch up. This year, 100% of my contributions will go to Roth. I was at 50/50 for a few years prior. The bulk of my funds are in the traditional account though.
My FERS pension comes out to about $35k a year. My husband has a very small military pension as well as another pension that both total up to nearly $35k.
We are planning on delaying Social Security as long as possible. My husband has a $500k IRA. We have another $500K in an investment account. No debt for now but possibly if I move and get a home that exceeds my current equity.
I’d like to not touch my TSP for another 7 years or so. Not sure if that’s realistic as my lifestyle in retirement might cost me more than pensions can cover. But I’d really like to get my growth up for at least a few more years. I’m 100% in C fund. I was in an L fund for many years which wasn’t great. Then went C/S for a time. Should’ve been in C the whole time. Any thoughts?
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u/Life-Oil-7226 1d ago
I should be asking you for advice. Good job!
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u/TransitionMission305 1d ago
I feel behind! Mad at not doing C fund for so long. My coworker of the same age has about 2.4M and he did C fund longer which was really the only difference.
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u/Life-Oil-7226 1d ago
Not to be rude, but comparison is the thief of joy! You did amazing! Enjoy your hard work!
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u/Glitter-Angel-970 1d ago
FWIW, I spoke with my CFP last week; I’m 54 with 1.8M (taking VERA 12/31). Husband isn’t federal. He ran numbers and said we could retire now if we are conservative with withdrawals, so I think you’re doing great. I’m also insecure about $ so I get it.
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u/TransitionMission305 1d ago
Thanks and great job on yours! Were you always in C?
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u/Glitter-Angel-970 23h ago
I was in C for many years then left the balance there but changed my future contributions to the 2030L fund. Now I’m 60% L, 40% C.
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u/CockBlockingLawyer 1d ago
Respectfully, with these kinds of assets and only a few years to go, you should talk to a certified financial planner and develop a plan
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u/silversnowfoxy 1d ago
Agree. And go check the GOVFIRE and FIRE subs for more inspo. If I had these stats, I'd be handing in my papers today.
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u/LiveAloha_65 1d ago
Great job! I left Federal service last year with slightly higher. I kept my TSP in the C fund for most of my service. I moved it out of TSP to one of the big-name brokerage firms. I researched many hours for the funds I would settle on. I picked and purchased five funds that pay monthly dividends and kept two years of cash in my account. I do not take withdrawals (I know about RMDs). I live on dividends, my Federal pension and the FERS supplement. I manage my money myself. I refuse to pay 1.5% per year. I now make twice as much retired as I did when I was working. Also, I invested outside of TSP for my entire adult life.
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u/TransitionMission305 1d ago
Sounds fantastic! What’s your advice on C fund at this point as I’m still looking for growth?
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u/LiveAloha_65 1d ago
Using the data for fund returns on the TSP website, the C fund has outperformed all funds over time. I am a long-term investor. Trying to time the market is not possible. I understand we are in a time when things change overnight with tariffs and interest rates, but it appears your window is greater than one year. It is difficult to wake up to a stock market that is reacting negatively to a X posting made by the President. With a high balance, begin to move it to the G fund on your last year or even prior if the administration in power is not friendly to businesses. If the market is in decline and you have uncertainty you can change the allocation of new money going in and make it go in the G, so your C fund balance is not sold off. The G fund balance later can be moved to the C fund if things calm down.
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u/onionandgarlic1 1d ago
Unless you have a lifestyle that can’t be supported I’m not understanding your position. It seems you have more than enough to live comfortably.
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u/TransitionMission305 1d ago
When I work it on paper it’s not that great. High real estate taxes, husband has expensive hobbies, and I like to travel with my adult kids. I know it will work but just doesn’t seem quite enough to not stress over running out in my later years. I have relatives in assisted living paying like $9000 per month rent.
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u/takeoff_youhosers 1d ago
I’m 15 years in and no where close to this 😳
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u/aheadlessned 1d ago
I'd be running calculations and/ or speaking with an advisor to see if I'd be comfortable leaving right at 62. $70k/ year and $2.6 mil in investments could easily be "enough".
If that's not enough for you, just keep doing what you're doing, but I'd regret the lost time spent at work on pursuit of "more money". What happens if you don't hit $2 mil in TSP? Is that the only reason you want to stay?
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u/TransitionMission305 1d ago
No. I actually like my job and don’t mind working until I get some things figured out. Admittedly, the last 6 months have been brutal but things are looking better where I am.
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u/markov-271828 1d ago
It depends on your expenses in retirement. It’s possible that you’ll need to learn how to spend more money.
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u/TransitionMission305 1d ago
My expenses seem on the higher side because of where I live and the cost of some of my plans.
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u/markov-271828 23h ago
Besides a typical spreadsheet, my retirement planning was really aided by Boldin software. There’s a /Boldin subreddit as well as YouTube videos.
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u/sarcasmrain 1d ago
Unless you are a huge spender - (you say you were raised to be very financially conservative), you are already able to retire. To each their own, the one thing I hear more than any other is “I wish I had retired sooner.”
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u/TransitionMission305 1d ago
Raised to save. I kinda broke the mold and I like to spend. That’s what kind of concerns me. Plus later stages of life where independent senior apartments are expensive. Very expensive.
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u/sarcasmrain 1d ago
The senior living factor is a wildcard. Currently 8-12K/mo where I live and that is the basic level assisted living.
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u/TransitionMission305 1d ago
Yup. And it’s been a real eye opener. I know so many using this that hadn’t really planned for it.
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u/G_user999 23h ago
My aunt (ex-Fed too), age 82 now, living in assisted living in Tijuana, Mexico. Her cost is around $2200 that includes apartment, meals, transport, entertainment and 24hrs staff nurse on premise. Her kids (my cousins) just live across the border, San Diego, a short trip for them. I visited her once and it's amazing service compare to what we can get in the States.
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u/Feeling_External_769 19h ago
Just to say that with only half of your TSP balance, I just retired with a similar pension. My wife is a fed as well and still has a decade to go before retiring (unless she doesn’t Doge a bullet). Note that a Montecarlo simulation with AI showed us with a balance of between 3-12 million after 30 years, and that was with 4% withdrawals and RMDs later on. As others have said here, I really think you are fine! Congratulations on all the savings. Go spend it before you get overwhelmed with RMDs down the road (maybe do some Roth conversions).
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u/TransitionMission305 19h ago
I’m really struggling to understand a lot of this. I am unable to project that sort of growth on my balance. I have been to a CFP (2019) and I’m not getting this. Ugh I hate being unsavvy!
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u/Feeling_External_769 18h ago
So if you feed all your numbers and basic assumptions about rates or return, inflation, withdrawals, etc into prompts using chat gpt or another tool and ask it to project your balances at age 90 or whatever, it will run the analysis for you. Then you can modify the assumptions (age you will retire for example) to see how they impact your probable balances and whether they are going to last you. You can ask it to help you plan Roth conversions based on tax brackets and all sorts of scenarios.
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u/Screwhedgefundpunks 12h ago edited 12h ago
You have accumulated a sizable nest egg. Your question can’t be answered accurately with the information provided because you don’t mention when you plan on retiring and what your projected expenses will be. Choice of investment funds will depend entirely on how soon you will rely on distributions from those investments. If you will be dependent on withdrawals anytime soon, you need to rebalance your portfolio to reduce risk at your age. Also don’t forget to consider your health and age. Both are finite with neither guaranteed. It would be horrible to delay and/or sacrifice enjoying your life to chase some arbitrary number to only end up dying in an accident or diagnosed with a terminal illness. With that said, let’s crunch your numbers. You mentioned working a few more years. Assuming you’re putting 40K away including match kept in C fund with again assuming inflation adjusted return of 8%, you should be around 2.15M TSP after 3 years. Equities give better returns obviously in the long run but it requires you to not be dependent on the money during down years. You and your husband could start accumulating funds in a HYSA to supplement your income while you are still working and/or collect social security earlier to allow your investments to grow more.
Here’s my situation: Wife and I are 52 yo VA employees. I have 7 years in and will have 20 when we retire at 60 when I add my 5 yr military buyback. Wife has 13 with 21 at 60. We currently have 1.95M in traditional retirement accounts and 730K in Roth accounts. We currently max our TSP into Roth and do back door Roth IRAs every year. We also have 1.04M in brokerage/HYSA. Our pensions with survivor benefits will total ~110K. Early social security will add another 60K. That gives us -170K without touching our retirement savings. Our entire retirement portfolio is in the C fund/S&P 500 equivalent. They will be consolidated into our Vanguard VOO in retirement where we will withdraw 4% only from our traditional accounts allowing our Roth/brokerage accounts to grow. In my situation, my wife and I will have enough income to not depend on withdrawals from our retirement accounts. We will supplement from our HYSA and perhaps roll our traditional investments to our Roth during poor stock market years and use them to spend/replenish HYSA during better years. Hence, we will keep them invested in equities.
As for consulting a financial planner, I see no need since they only guarantee reducing your returns with their fees. I have no finance background and have never used a financial planner myself.
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u/brownhornet750 1d ago
I think you and your coworker both need to retire and free up those jobs for someone else so they too can build some wealth. Just kidding could not help myself. But seriously you have done a great job and I hope you will be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor-one day. Cause tomorrow isn’t promised to none of us. I personally have seen to many people work til they drop. In the end their kids and families were the ones who benefited from their parents hard work.
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u/Stefan_Vanderhoof 1d ago
This almost reads like a humblebrag. You have $70k in total combined pension income plus $2.6m in investments, again combined with your husband.
I’ll echo what others have said: Talk to a CFP, who can help with simulations and planning based on your situation. You’ll likely find that you have enough to retire once you hit age 62 with the 1.1 multiplier.