Plan News was updated on February 11, 2013.
- 2012 Annual Statements now in My Account
- U.S. Treasury Electronic Payment Notices
- TSP Examines In-plan Conversion Option
- Message from TSP’s Executive Director on the Federal debt limit and the G Fund
- Withdrawals processed December 27, 28, and 31, 2012
- January Processing Schedule
- TSP4gov on YouTube
- New Calculator for Comparing Traditional and Roth Contributions
- Internal Revenue Code (IRC) 2013 contribution limits
Annual participant statements — Your 2012 annual participant statement is now available in My Account. The TSP is also mailing annual participant statements throughout the month of February. The annual statement summarizes the activity in your account during 2012 and provides other useful account information.
U.S. Treasury electronic payment notices — Recently, the U.S. Treasury notified individuals receiving Federal benefit payments via paper check that they would be required to move to electronic payments by March 1, 2013. However, this new program is being phased in and will not apply to TSP participants at this time. You will continue to receive TSP payments as you are currently receiving them.
TSP examines in-plan conversion option — The President approved the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, on January 2, 2013. This law allows the TSP and other qualified plans to give participants the option to convert their traditional account balances to a Roth balance. The amount converted would be taxable to the participant. We are currently waiting for tax reporting guidance from the IRS and will be studying the actions required to offer a conversion option. After that review, we will make decisions on whether to proceed.
Message from TSP’s Executive Director on the Federal debt limit and the G Fund — The Executive Director has issued a message addressing the statutory Federal debt limit and its impact on the issuance of securities by the U.S. Treasury.
Read More.
Withdrawals processed December 27, 28, and 31, 2012 — Withdrawals processed the last 3 business days of December 2012 are considered taxable income for 2013, not 2012. The TSP will report them to you and to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on IRS Form 1099-R by January 31, 2014.
- IRS Forms 1099-R —IRS Forms 1099-R, Distribution from Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc. will be posted in My Account and mailed by January 31 to participants who received withdrawal or other taxable distributions in 2012.
TSP4gov on YouTube — The TSP now has a YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/TSP4gov), where you’ll find a number of informative videos to help you make decisions about the TSP and manage your TSP account:
- Roth TSP for civilian employees and members of the uniformed services
- The difference between contribution allocations and interfund transfers
- How to change your address for your TSP account
- The IRS early withdrawal penalty tax
New videos and other content will be added in the future to help you make the most of your participation in the TSP.
New calculator for comparing traditional and Roth contributions — Visit Planning & Tools from the home page to see the newest TSP calculator, Contribution Comparison Calculator. It allows you to compare the effects—on your paycheck today and your account balance in the future—of making Roth (after-tax) vs. traditional contributions (pre-tax).
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) 2013 contribution limits — You can contribute up to $17,500 in employee contributions to the TSP in 2013. The limit applies to the combined total of your tax-deferred traditional and Roth contributions. (The 2012 limit was $17,000.)
If you are a member of the uniformed services, you can contribute a total of $51,000 in tax-deferred and tax-exempt money. (The 2012 limit was $50,000.)
If you will be age 50 or over in 2013, you can also contribute up to $5,500 in additional catch-up contributions, as long as your regular contributions for the year are expected to reach the $17,500 limit. (This limit did not change for 2013.) If you want to make catch-up contributions in 2013, you have to make a new contribution election.
