How to Complete a TSP Withdrawal Request: Partial Withdrawals Online

Form TSP-77, the old Request for Partial Withdrawal When Separated, was retired in September 2019 and the Thrift Savings Plan no longer accepts it.¹ A TSP-77 partial withdrawal today is done through the online withdrawal tool at tsp.gov, which walks you through the choices and produces a replacement document called Form TSP-99 (WEB) at the end. Any paper TSP-77 (or the uniformed-services version, TSP-U-77) mailed in will be rejected.

How to Request a Partial Withdrawal Online

Log into My Account at tsp.gov, click “Withdrawals and Changes to Installment Payments,” then select “Withdrawal Request for Separated and Beneficiary Participants.” The system asks how much you want to withdraw, where to send the money, and how to handle taxes. When you finish, it generates Form TSP-99 (WEB) summarizing every election you made. You submit the request electronically; there is no field-numbered paper form to complete by hand.

If you cannot use the online system, call the ThriftLine at 1-877-968-3778 to ask about alternative submission methods. Supporting documents, such as a signed spousal consent, can be uploaded through the secure document upload feature in My Account or faxed to 1-276-926-8948.

Requests entered before noon Eastern time are generally processed the same business day. Electronic transfers usually arrive within a few business days; paper checks take longer. You can track the status inside your online account.

Who Can Take a Partial Withdrawal

You must be separated from federal civilian service or the uniformed services, and your former agency or service branch must have reported your separation date to the TSP record keeper. Until that electronic notification posts, your account still shows active-employment status and the tool will not let you proceed. If the reporting is slow, follow up with your former personnel office; the TSP cannot override a missing separation record.

Each partial distribution must be at least $1,000.² There is no cap on how many partial withdrawals you can take over time, and the old 30-day waiting period between withdrawal requests was removed.³

A few situations block a partial withdrawal:

You were rehired into a TSP-eligible federal position within 31 calendar days of separating. Post-employment withdrawals are unavailable until you separate again.²
Your account is frozen by a pending retirement benefits court order, a child support enforcement order, or another administrative hold.²
Your total vested balance is under $200. The TSP automatically pays out that balance in a single check, so there is nothing left to withdraw in pieces.²

Spousal Consent

The rules depend on your retirement system. FERS and uniformed services participants must obtain the spouse’s written consent to the partial withdrawal, along with a waiver of the right to a joint-and-survivor annuity for the amount being distributed. The spouse’s signature normally must be notarized, though the TSP has at times temporarily waived that requirement, so check the current status at tsp.gov before submitting.⁴ Once received, that consent is irrevocable for that specific withdrawal.

CSRS participants do not need spousal consent. The TSP simply notifies the spouse that a withdrawal was requested, so you provide the spouse’s email or mailing address for the notice.⁴

If you cannot locate your spouse or your spouse refuses to consent, you can apply to the TSP for an exception. The regulation allows exceptions granted within 90 days of the distribution request being processed.

Traditional or Roth: Choose Your Source

If your account holds both traditional (pre-tax) and Roth (after-tax) money, the online tool lets you direct the partial withdrawal to come only from the traditional balance, only from the Roth balance, or pro rata across both in the same ratio as the account.⁵ The choice matters for taxes. A withdrawal from the traditional side is fully ordinary income; a qualified Roth distribution can be tax-free.

Tax Withholding

A partial TSP distribution is classified as an eligible rollover distribution, which means the plan is required to withhold 20 percent of the taxable portion for federal income tax. You cannot opt out of that withholding or request a lower rate.⁶ A $10,000 withdrawal from your traditional balance sends $8,000 to your bank account and $2,000 to the IRS. Roth contributions you already paid tax on are not subject to withholding; Roth earnings that have not yet met the qualified-distribution requirements are.⁷

You can skip the 20 percent withholding by requesting a direct rollover into an IRA or another employer plan. The money never passes through your hands, so no withholding is taken. The online tool also lets you split a single withdrawal, sending part to your bank and rolling the rest directly into another retirement account. State income tax may apply on top of federal; all withdrawals are reported on Form 1099-R.

The 10 Percent Early Withdrawal Penalty

If you are under 59½ when the money leaves the plan, the IRS generally adds a 10 percent early distribution penalty on top of income tax. Two exceptions matter for separated federal employees:

If you separated during or after the calendar year you turned 55, the penalty does not apply to withdrawals from the TSP. It applies only while the money stays inside the plan; rolling those funds into an IRA before 59½ eliminates the exception.⁸
Law enforcement officers, firefighters, customs and border protection officers, and air traffic controllers qualify for the same penalty exception if they separated during or after the year they turned 50.

This is the single biggest reason to think twice before rolling a TSP into an IRA if you plan to tap the money before 59½. The IRA does not carry the age-55 or age-50 rule the TSP does.

Required Minimum Distributions

Separated participants aged 73 or older must take a Required Minimum Distribution each year. A partial withdrawal counts toward that year’s RMD, but only the traditional portion satisfies the requirement; Roth money in the TSP is not subject to RMDs.⁵ If your withdrawals fall short, the TSP issues a supplemental payment for the remainder before the annual deadline. The RMD age rose to 73 on January 1, 2023, and is scheduled to increase to 75 beginning January 1, 2033.⁹

Why Requests Get Rejected

Most rejections trace back to a short list of fixable problems:

Your agency has not reported your separation. The tool will not let you start the request. Contact your former personnel office.
Spousal consent is missing, unsigned, or lacks a required notarization. FERS and uniformed services requests come back for this often.
The amount is under the $1,000 minimum per partial distribution.²
The account is frozen by a court order or support enforcement order. All distributions are blocked until the hold is released.²
You were rehired into a TSP-eligible federal job within 31 full calendar days after separating. The account reverts to active status and post-employment withdrawals are unavailable.²

If a payment goes out and comes back undeliverable, the record keeper will try to locate you. Funds not claimed within 90 days are forfeited to the plan; you can still reclaim the principal later by contacting the TSP, but no investment earnings accrue after the forfeiture date.²

1
Thrift Savings Plan. New Options and Processes for Withdrawal Requests for Separated and Beneficiary Participants
2
eCFR. 5 CFR Part 1650 – Methods of Withdrawing Funds From the Thrift Savings Plan
3
Federal Register. Removal of 30-Calendar-Day Waiting Period Between Withdrawals
4
eCFR. 5 CFR 1650.61 – Spousal Rights Applicable to Post-Employment Withdrawals
5
Thrift Savings Plan. Taking Money From Your Account
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3405 – Special Rules for Pensions, Annuities, and Certain Other Deferred Income
7
Thrift Savings Plan. Tax Rules About TSP Payments
8
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Exceptions to Tax on Early Distributions
9
Thrift Savings Plan. SECURE 2.0 and the TSP