Q. I sent TSP Form 77 to the Thrift Savings Plan requesting that funds be withdrawn from my account and sent to a non-TSP IRA. When I returned from overseas, I discovered that a mistake had been made on the forms and instead of all of the requested funds going to the IRA, TSP sent 50 percent of the funds to the IRA and 50 percent to me less a hefty amount to the Internal Revenue Service. I asked for a reversal of the action, but the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board turned me down, saying that TSP had not made a mistake. How can I get them to reverse the action and send 100 percent to the IRA?
A. I can’t tell you how you can force the TSP to correct your mistake. If you can manage it, you may want to make up the tax withholding with other funds and roll over the gross distribution to the IRA within the 60-day time limit to do so. You’ll recover the tax withholding when you file your 2013 tax return. It would be smart to seek the help of a CPA to make sure don’t make any costly mistakes.
