Q. My husband is doing a permanent change of station soon and I haven’t yet found federal employment at his new duty station, so I will more than likely resign before leaving. What are my options with my TSP account? I don’t have three full years yet of federal employment.
A. If your vested balance is less than $200, your account will automatically be cashed out and a check sent to you, which you may roll over to an IRA. If your vested balance is at least $200, then you may (and I recommend that you do consider) leave your money in the TSP and continue to manage it. This gives you all of the advantages of the TSP over its alternatives and will allow you to roll IRA and other retirement plan assets into it in the future. Alternately, you may withdraw your balance and may roll it over to an IRA or other eligible retirement plan.
