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| Employees under CSRS, CSRS OFFSET, FERS or Uniformed Services retirement systems
may participate in the Thrift Savings
Plan (TSP). The TSP is a
tax-deferred defined contribution retirement
savings plan, comparable to private
sector 401(k) plans. |
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Public Law 108-469 of 2004 helped changed the traditional employee participation in to the TSP. Pending the changes on the open seasons; this is what is currently implemented. The Open Seasons run from April 15th to June 30th and from October 15 h to December 31st. Employees may also terminate
participation in the TSP at any time
other than an open season. If they do,
they must skip one open season before
they can resume contributions.
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| Employee/Employer Contributions |
| Employees may contribute
to the TSP on a pay period basis in
whole percentage amounts or whole dollar
amounts. CSRS employees may contribute
up to 10% of basic pay while FERS employees
may contribute up to 15% of basic pay.
Only FERS employees receive government matching contributions. Contributions are
matched dollar-for-dollar for the first
3% of pay contributed per pay period
and fifty cents on the dollar for the
next 2% of pay per pay period. An agency
automatic 1% contribution is also made
for eligible FERS employees whether
or not they contribute their own money. |
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| There are 5 investment
funds for the TSP investment accounts: |
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| All employees may elect
to invest any portion of their current
account balances or future contributions
in any or all of the funds. All participants
also may make interfund transfers. An
interfund transfer is the movement of
all or some of the money in a participant's
account among the funds.
You can do this by going to the TSP website. You will need your TSP pin number and social security number to be able to do this. |
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| NOTE: |
When
you invest your money in
the C, F, S, and I funds,
you and your spouse must
sign a statement that you
understand that you are
making an investment at
your own risk. You are not
protected by either the
US Government, or the Federal
Retirement Thrift Investment
Board against investment
loss, nor do they guarantee
a return on your investment.
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Age Based Withdrawal
Age-Based withdrawals are available at age 59½. You do not have to document any need or reason for making the withdrawal and may withdrawal all or part of your vested account balances. Only one Age-Based withdrawal is allowed; however; you do remain eligible for a later TSP loan and financial hardship withdrawal.
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| The Thrift Line is an
automated telephone service for participants
which provides current account information
24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You may
use the Thrift Line for the following: |
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Account
balance |
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Interfund
transfers |
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Loan
information |
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Status
of a withdrawal |
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Most
recent rates of returns on the
5 funds |
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Changing
your PIN number |
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Share Prices |
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Thrift Savings Plan: |
1-(877) 968-3778 |
TDD: |
1-(877) 847-4385 |
Other Callers: |
1-(504) 255-8777 |
TDD: |
1-(504) 255-5113 |
TSPwebsite: |
www.tsp.gov |
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| The Downside |
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Lump
sum contributions are not accepted
into the TSP. |
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The
C, F, S, and I funds can be extremely
volatile resulting in losses of
your money. |
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There
are limits on the amount of money
you can contribute. |
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Funds
are matched up to a certain amount
for FERS employees. |
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CSRS
employees receive no matching
funds. |
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Withdrawal
of funds prior to the age of 59½
can be subject to substantial penalties
and certain restrictions. |
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| The Solution |
| In order to maximize your retirement benefits, we strongly suggest you visit with a Federal Benefits Specialist. |
| To request additional
information, please CLICK
HERE. |
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| Request a Federal Benefit Analysis to help you see and to calculate your returns for your retirement. |
