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Public  Law  114-26,  the  Defending  Public  Safety  Employees'

                        Retirement Act, was signed by the President on June 29, 2015. This bill
                        amends  the  Internal  Revenue  Code  to  allow  specified  federal  law

                        enforcement officers, customs and border protection officers, federal


                        separate from service during or after the year they turn age 50 to make a

                        withdrawal  from  the  TSP  without  incurring  a  10%  early  withdrawal
                        penalty. This change is effective for withdrawals from the TSP paid after
                        December  31,  2015.  Another  option  is  to  borrow  the  money  (from

                        yourself) and repay yourself with interest.
                            One of the unique features of the TSP plan set up by Congress for
                        federal employees is that if you retire from federal service prior to age

                        59½ and have not paid a penalty for a previous withdrawal, you may roll
                        your  TSP  funds  into  a  qualified  plan  without  penalty.  An  additional

                        problem with the TSP is that the investment options it offers are very
                        low return or very high risk. The past few years point out the dangers of
                        tying  retirement  funds  to  the  market.  If  you  are  a  federal  employee,

                                                                                                        t
                        money in their TSP after October 2007. Many lost more money in 2008



                        were primarily in the G fund and gained around 3%. Remember, one-
                        third of that will be taken out in taxes, so the resulting gain will be slightly
                        less than the cost of living increase over the same period.

                            The traditional TSP option has a tax liability. Taxes will have to be
                        paid on all contributions and  interest.  In  the  event of the  premature

                        death of the employee, those taxes can be at the highest assessed rate.
                        The 401k has proven to be a windfall for the government to collect taxes
                        when an employee dies leaving money in the account. In this case, the




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