Frequently asked questions
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How you change your address with us depends on whether or not you still work for the federal government.
If you’re currently a federal employee, report your correct address to your agency. We can’t accept address changes directly from you.
If you’re an active member of the Air Force, Army, Navy, or Marine Corps, you can update your address through the myPay website. Just make sure that you log in and go to the TSP section to change your TSP address. If you change it in the “Correspondence Address” section of myPay, it will not change your TSP address. Members of the Coast Guard and NOAA Corps can use Direct Access. Select “Home and Mailing Address” under Tasks, then choose “TSP” from the drop-down menu next to “Address Type.”
If you’re no longer a federal employee or uniformed services member, visit My Account: Profile Settings to change the address. Or while you’re logged in, use our Change in Address for Separated Participants, Form TSP-9, and fax or mail it to us.
To change or validate your contact information such as your phone number or email address, visit My Account: Profile Settings.
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In most cases, you’ll use your agency’s or service’s electronic payroll system to start, change, or stop your TSP contributions. For example, civilian payroll systems include Employee Express, EBIS, LiteBlue, myPay, or NFC EPP. Uniformed services can use myPay (Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps) or Direct Access (Coast Guard and NOAA Corps).
If your agency or service accepts the paper form, download and complete the Form TSP-1, Election Form (or Form TSP-U-1 for uniformed services members), or call the ThriftLine at 1-877-968-3778 and choose option 3 to have it mailed to you.
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Starting in the year you turn 50, you may be eligible to make catch-up contributions to your TSP account in addition to your regular employee contributions.
Here’s what you should know:
- You must already be contributing an amount that will reach the IRS annual contribution limit. To see the current limits, visit Contribution Limits.
- You may start, change, or stop making catch-up contributions at any times.
- There are no matching contributions for catch-up contributions.
- You must make a new election each year—they do not restart automatically.
Uniformed service members cannot use incentive pay, special pay, or bonus pay to make catch-up contributions. If you’re in a combat zone, catch-up contributions must be Roth.
To make a catch-up contribution election, use your agency’s or service’s payroll website (e,g., Employee Express, EBIS, LiteBlue, myPay, and NFC EPP) or complete Form TSP-1-C, Catch-Up Contribution Election (TSP-U-1-C for uniformed services members) and submit it to your payroll office. You may also download the form or call the ThriftLine at 1-877-968-3778 and press 3 to request a copy.
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You may be able to reset your password online.
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If you successfully complete the entire loan process online and are approved, you’ll receive your money within 7–10 business days in the form of a check mailed to the address we have on file for you. You will not have the option of receiving your money by electronic funds transfer (EFT).
If you submitted a paper loan agreement, your request make take several weeks to process.
You may track the status of your loan online or by contacting us.
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For participants who received a withdrawal or other taxable distribution during the calendar year, 1099-Rs are mailed by January 31 each year, and electronic versions are available online the first week of February in My Account: Statements.
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You can check My Account or call the ThriftLine to find out the status of your withdrawal request, including whether the payment has been made. We’ll also notify you after your payment has been disbursed. It generally takes between 7 to 10 business days to process your request once you’ve properly completed and submitted it. We disburse withdrawals each business day.
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Private parties offering assistance with your TSP account have not been approved, endorsed, sponsored, or authorized by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, the independent federal government agency that administers the TSP.
If you’re unsure whether correspondence or telephone calls claiming to be from the TSP are authentic, DO NOT provide any personal or financial information. Contact us directly at 1-877-968-3778 and choose option 3 to speak to a Participant Service Representative if you have questions or if you need to report any suspicious activity involving your TSP account.
Learn more about how to protect your TSP account.
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No, you cannot make loan payments online. When we pay out your loan, we will notify your payroll office immediately to begin deducting loan payments from your salary each pay period.
Check your leave and earnings statement to be sure that loan payments have started and that they are in the correct amount. Contact your agency or service if payments have not started or if they’re in the wrong amount.
Be aware that you’re responsible for the repayment of your loan regardless of whether your agency or service misses a payment. Additional information is available under Repaying Your Loan.
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Yes, you can leave your entire account balance in the TSP when you leave federal service if the balance is $200 or more. You can continue to enjoy tax-deferred earnings and low administrative expenses. Once you separate, you will no longer be able to make employee contributions. However, you can transfer money into your TSP account from IRAs (although not from Roth IRAs) and eligible employer plans. Your account will continue to accrue earnings, and you can continue to change the way your money is invested in the TSP investment funds by making interfund transfers.
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To change which fund(s) you invest in, there are two transactions you can make:
A contribution allocation tells us how you want to invest NEW money coming into your account. An interfund transfer (IFT) allows you to change the way money ALREADY in your account is invested. You are allowed two IFTs in a calendar month. After that, you can only transfer money into the G Fund.
You may request a contribution allocation or an IFT by visiting the Online Transactions section of My Account. You can also call the ThriftLine at 1-877-968-3778 and follow the automated prompts.
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In the event of your death, your TSP account would be distributed this way:
- To your spouse
- If none, to your child or children equally, and to the descendants of deceased children
- If none, to your parents equally or to your surviving parent
- If none, to the appointed executor or administrator of your estate
- If none, to your next of kin who is entitled to your estate under the laws of the state you lived in at the time of your death
For most people, this is the best option because it accounts for life changes like births, deaths, divorce, or marriage that may happen after you open your account.
If you’d like to make an exception, you may complete Form TSP-3, Designation of Beneficiary. The easiest way to do this is to use the online tool, which you’ll find by logging in here: My Account: Beneficiaries.
Don’t remember whether you’ve submitted a Designation of Beneficiary or you’re not sure who you named as your beneficiaries? Look at your annual statement, check the online tool, or call the ThriftLine at 1-877-968-3778.
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TSP web pages and documents are best viewed with one of the following browsers:
- Chrome
- Firefox
- Safari
- Internet Explorer 11 (compatibility view disabled)
Older browsers often cannot support modern web standards and, in some cases, have been known to cause distortion of the information on the screen.
Note: For all browsers listed above, we recommend using the current version with auto update enabled.