I’m a thrifty person who aggressively saved for retirement. I am now retired. It is hard for me to spend the money.

My goal was always to “maintain my standard of living” into my retirement.

So far so good. But things like redoing the bathroom or taking 2/3 vacations a year are problematic for me.

I have done every retirement calculator known to man. I’m good. But paying a contractor for installing new gutters on the house gives me pause. Maybe I can watch some YouTube videos and do it myself?

Anybody else deal with this?

I retired at 58. My birthday is June. When after I turn 62 would I see a cost of living increase in my pension? Thanks.

After reading a lot of the discussions about Roth TSP, I’m considering a decade-long strategy to gradually convert my Traditional TSP to Roth TSP.

Here’s my situation:

• Currently have $700K+ in Traditional TSP
• $0 in Roth TSP currently
• Already contributing to a Roth IRA and have a taxable brokerage account
• Married filing jointly (MFJ)
• Live in a no-state-income-tax state
• About 15 years until retirement eligibility

My plan starting in 2027

1. Direct my employee TSP contributions entirely to Roth TSP
2. Continue receiving the 5% agency match, which would go into Traditional TSP
3. Each year, convert an amount from Traditional TSP to Roth, targeting approximately $40,000/year
4. Rather than making $40K a fixed annual amount, I would adjust the conversion each year based on my actual taxable income and available room within the 22% federal marginal tax bracket
5. Pay the conversion taxes through additional payroll withholding rather than taking the taxes out of the conversion itself
6. Continue the strategy for roughly over a decade

Why target the 22% bracket?

The goal is to take advantage of the 22% federal marginal tax bracket while I'm still working, without intentionally pushing additional income into the 24% bracket.

The thinking is that gradually moving money from Traditional → Roth while I'm working could reduce the amount eventually subject to RMDs and give me more tax-free money in retirement.

I've also been using LLMs/ChatGPT to model different scenarios, including future RMDs, retirement income, and the potential tax impact of doing larger conversions later.

My goals are::

1. To substantially reduce or eliminate my Traditional TSP before RMDs begin, currently expected at age 75 under current law.
2. To avoid leaving family with large tax bill when I am not around.
3. Survivor situation, and Medicare considerations.
4. Deciding whether paying ~$8,800 on $40,0000 today is worthwhile to permanently eliminate future federal income tax on the converted principal and its future qualified growth.
5. Is paying 22% today worth avoiding potentially higher taxation on this money later?
6. How much Traditional money do I want to have when I retire?

What would you change about this strategy?

Are there any TSP rules, tax issues, or other considerations I'm overlooking?

For those who have done a similar Traditional → Roth conversion strategy over several years, what did you wish you had known before starting?

I'm particularly interested in hearing from FedRetirees who have actually done this with a TSP.

I apologize if this is the wrong place to ask but I am hesitant to ask elsewhere. I am hoping others may be able to share their experience .

I am currently on FMLA. I have decided I want to retire when I turn 62. Can my agency revoke my FMLA if I apply for retirement? I will have to return for 4 days after the FMLA expires unless they are able to cancel it. I can handle 4 days. Two months would be rough. I have plenty of SL for the FMLA.

I haven’t told my supervisor yet. How long after I submit my application does my supervisor find out? I do plan to tell him but we don’t have a good relationship so I’m not looking forward to that conversation.