Compared to private retirement plans, the federal government has very generous retirement plans for its federal retirees. They are also complicated, particularly with respect to how the various retirement plans are taxed.
Updated for 2019, Taxation of Federal Retirement Benefits helps retirees, annuitants and current federal employees understand how benefits and survivor benefits are taxed upon retirement or death.
Taxation issues covered include:
- Contributions and their tax status for CSRS, CSRS-Offset and FERS employees
- Federal taxation of the entire CSRS or FERS annuity
- Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) withdrawals
- CSRS Voluntary Contribution Program (VCP) annuity payments
- Social Security retirement and disability monthly payments
- FERS Basic Employee Death Benefit
- Child survivor benefits
- CSRS or FERS spousal and non-spousal survivor annuities
- Special tax benefits for federal public safety officers
- Federal gift or estate taxes due upon the death of a federal annuitant
- States that do not tax federal retirement benefits
- Includes real-life examples, sample forms and worksheets
- The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
This guide provides the information you need to plan ahead for retirement and survivor payments.