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Home > Plan Participation > Loans and Withdrawals > Automatic Enrollment Refunds

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Forms:

  • TSP-3, Designation of Beneficiary
Remote and electronic notarization
We accept electronic and remote notarization in addition to traditional, in-person notarization for TSP forms that require a notarized signature.

If you were automatically enrolled in the TSP, you may request a refund of your employee contributions that were made under the automatic enrollment program during the first 90 days of your automatic enrollment period.


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Requesting Your Refund

To request a refund, you must submit Form TSP-25, Automatic Enrollment Refund Request, before the expiration of your 90-day refund period. When the TSP receives your first contribution, you will receive a "welcome letter" from the TSP. The information in the letter includes the date your refund request must be received in order to be processed, as well as other details related to your refund.

If you make a contribution election to change your automatic contributions in any way, you are no longer in the "automatic enrollment period." Therefore, you cannot request a refund of any contributions you made after that change.
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Your Refunded Amount

Upon processing your properly completed and timely submitted request, the TSP will refund your employee contributions (plus earnings or minus losses) associated with the automatic enrollment period.

If you are a FERS or BRS participant, you will forfeit all Agency/Service Matching Contributions when your refund is processed; however, your Agency/Service Automatic (1%) Contributions will remain in your account.
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Refund Requests for Rehired Participants

If you are a FERS, CSRS, or BRS participant who was rehired after a break in service of 31 or more full calendar days, you will be automatically enrolled in the TSP. If you had been automatically enrolled in the TSP prior to your break in service, your eligibility for a refund of your contributions depends on whether or not your previous refund period had expired and the length of time since your last automatic enrollment contribution.

If the refund deadline from your prior automatic enrollment period has expired, you will not be eligible to request a refund of your automatic enrollment contributions until one full calendar year (January to December) has passed since your last automatic enrollment contribution. If one full calendar year has passed, you will be issued a new refund deadline date.

If the refund deadline from your prior automatic enrollment period has not expired, you will have up until that date to request your refund.

Requesting a refund of your automatic employee contributions will not stop your agency from deducting future contributions from your pay each pay period. If you also want to stop your automatic contributions, you must make a contribution election. For more information, visit Starting, Changing, and Stopping Your Contributions on this website.
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No Refunds of Automatic Reenrollment Contributions

Some BRS participants will be automatically reenrolled if they stop contributing to their TSP accounts. If in the final pay period of a calendar year such a participant shows no contributions to the TSP, that participant will be reenrolled in the first pay period of the new year. These participants will have the opportunity to stop the automatic reenrollment from taking place. If they fail to do so, however, they are not eligible for refunds of the contributions that result from it.

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Refund Requests for Separated Participants

If you separate from service within the first 90 days of becoming automatically enrolled, and your balance is $200 or more, you can request a refund of your automatic enrollment contributions or a withdrawal from your account.

CSRS Participants

Use Form TSP-25, Automatic Enrollment Refund Request. Your own contributions (plus earnings or minus losses) will be refunded to you. There will be 10% withholding for Federal income tax, and you'll pay no early withdrawal tax penalty.

FERS and BRS Participants

You can make a regular withdrawal request as a separated participant instead of using Form TSP-25, Automatic Enrollment Refund Request, to obtain your refund. You'll receive your own contributions (plus earnings or minus losses) and all Agency/Service Matching Contributions (plus earnings or minus losses). There will be 20% tax withholding and you may be subject to the 10% IRS early withdrawal tax penalty. You will forfeit your Agency/Service Automatic (1%) Contributions, unless you were vested (entitled to keep them).

Changing your contributions? Save at least 5% to get your full match.

Don't walk away from free money! If you are a FERS or BRS participant, your agency or service matches your contributions — up to 4% if you contribute 5% each pay period. Furthermore, when you add the Agency/Service Automatic (1%) Contributions to your matching contributions, you'll double your 5% investment instantly.

See how easy it is to complete this form.

Let our online wizard help you with your beneficiary designation. Based on your answers to a series of questions, it will prefill the appropriate sections of your form and help you avoid mistakes that could cause your form to be delayed or rejected.

Are you separated from federal employment?

If you are separated from federal employment, you may change your address online at My Account: Profile Settings. You will need to enter your TSP account number and your web password to make this change. You may also call the ThriftLine to change your address. Active participants must notify your agency or service when you have an address change.

You cannot use this form to change your address. As a current federal employee or service member, you must change your address through your agency or service.

Are you separated from federal employment?

To change your name, you will need to provide documentation to the TSP. See the instructions on the form for documentation requirements.

You cannot use this form to change your name. As a current federal employee or service member, you must change your name through your agency or service.

Thinking of taking a loan? Please watch this first.

  • Log in to My Account and access the online wizard under "TSP Loans" to help you with your loan request.

Automatic Enrollment Refund Request

You must submit this form within 90 days of the date of the first contribution of your automatic enrollment. Has it been less than 90 days since your first contribution?

You are ineligible to receive an automatic enrollment refund. Please call the ThriftLine if you have any questions.

See how easy it is to complete this form.

Let our online wizard help you complete your court order. Based on your answers to a series of questions, it will prefill the appropriate sections of your form and help you avoid mistakes that could cause your form to be delayed or rejected.