[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 2, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 22088-22092]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-10962]



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Part IV





Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board





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5 CFR Parts 1600, 1601



Employee Elections to Contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan; 
Participants' Choices of Investment Funds; Final Rules

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 2, 2001 / Rules 
and Regulations

[[Page 22088]]


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FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD

5 CFR Part 1600


Employee Elections to Contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan

AGENCY: Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Executive Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift 
Investment Board (Board) is amending the regulations on employee 
elections to contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) to provide for 
employee participation in the TSP to begin immediately upon the 
employee's appointment to a position covered by FERS or CSRS, or an 
equivalent retirement plan. Beginning July 1, 2001, participants also 
will be able to transfer into their TSP accounts funds from certain 
qualified retirement plans or conduit individual retirement accounts 
(IRAs). In addition, the limitations on employee contributions (as a 
percentage of basic pay) are phased out over the next 5 years.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 2, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Salomon Gomez on (202) 942-1661; 
Merritt A. Willing on (202) 942-1666; or Patrick J. Forrest on (202) 
942-1659. FAX (202) 942-1676.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board administers the TSP, which was 
established by the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986 
(FERSA), Public Law 99-335, 100 Stat. 514, which has been codified, as 
amended, largely at 5 U.S.C. 8351 and 8401-8479. The TSP is a tax-
deferred retirement savings plan for Federal employees, which is 
similar to cash or deferred arrangements established under section 
401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. Sums in a TSP participant's 
account are held in trust for that participant.
    On October 27, 2000, Congress passed Public Law 106-361. In it, 
Congress eliminates the waiting period for new and rehired employees to 
begin making employee contributions. The Act also permits participants 
to transfer moneys from certain qualified retirement accounts and 
conduit IRAs into their TSP accounts. Also, on December 21, 2000, 
Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 
2001, Public Law 106-554, which includes a provision changing the 
limits on FERS and CSRS TSP employee contributions (i.e., 10 and 5 
percent of basic pay, respectively) by raising the percentage 
limitation one percent each year until 2006, when the limits are 
removed altogether. However, the Internal Revenue Code annual limits on 
elective deferrals, I.R.C. sections 402(g) and 415(c), will continue to 
be applicable to TSP contributions.
    On March 26, 2001, the Board published a proposed rule with a 
request for comments in the Federal Register (66 FR 16415). The Board 
received two comments on the proposed rule, one from a Federal agency 
and the other from a Washington, D.C., attorney who represents federal 
employees in domestic relations disputes.
    The Federal agency commenter suggested that Sec. 1600.13(a), 
describing the effective date of TSP contribution elections made after 
May 15, 2001, be clarified by omitting redundant language. The Board 
accepted the suggestion and revised Sec. 1600.13(a).
    The other commenter suggested that the rule be amended to permit 
Federal employees to transfer into their TSP accounts retirement funds 
they received through a domestic relations court order, either from the 
spouse's TSP account or other qualified retirement plan or from an IRA 
set up to receive funds transferred from a qualified retirement plan. 
Public Law 106-361 authorizes the TSP to accept any eligible rollover 
distribution that a qualified trust can accept under the Internal 
Revenue Code. A qualified trust can accept a transfer of funds received 
pursuant to a qualified domestic relations court order, and the 
proposed regulation is sufficiently broad to permit the TSP to accept a 
similar transfer. There is nothing in the Board's current court order 
regulation at 5 CFR Sec. 1653.5(b) which would lead to a contrary 
result. Thus, the Board believes that the proposed regulation is 
sufficiently broad to include the transfers contemplated by the 
commenter. The Board will, however, include a more specific description 
of these transfers when it revises its court order regulations at 5 CFR 
part 1653.
    Therefore, with the one exception discussed above to Sec. 1600.13, 
the Board adopts the provisions of the proposed rule as the final rule.

Analysis

    Subpart A includes definitions that are relevant to contributions; 
the definition of highly compensated employee in the existing 
regulation is deleted because it is obsolete.
    Subpart B combines the provisions that relate to contribution 
elections. The rule deletes obsolete references to the initial open 
season in 1987, and makes changes necessary to permit immediate 
employee contributions. It eliminates the requirement that an employee 
who was previously eligible to participate in the TSP must wait until 
an open season to make a contribution election. Under the amended rule, 
an employee is immediately eligible to make a contribution election for 
employee contributions. If the employee was previously eligible to 
receive employer contributions, the employee will also be immediately 
eligible to receive employer contributions. The amendment makes other 
changes to differentiate between contribution elections, provided for 
in this part, and contribution allocations, provided for in part 1601.
    In subpart C, the Board has reorganized the provisions that 
describe the contributions program in general. The amendment phases out 
the limits on employee contributions as a percentage of basic pay and 
explains the Internal Revenue Code's limitations on TSP contributions, 
which still apply.
    Subpart D describes the kinds of qualified retirement accounts and 
conduit IRAs that may be transferred to the TSP, the method by which a 
transfer may be made, and the treatment accorded such funds in the TSP.

                         Cross-Reference Tables
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              Old section                          New section
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1600.1.................................  1600.1.
1600.2(a)..............................  Deleted.
1600.2(b)..............................  1600.12(b).
1600.2(c)..............................  1600.15.
1600.2(d)..............................  1600.16.
1600.3.................................  Deleted.
1600.4(a)..............................  1600.11(a).
1600.4(b)..............................  Deleted.
1600.5.................................  1600.12(c).
1600.6.................................  1600.14.
1600.7.................................  1600.13.
1600.8.................................  Deleted.
1600.9.................................  1600.21.
1600.10................................  1600.22.
1600.11................................  1600.23.
1600.12................................  1600.18.
1600.13................................  Deleted.
1600.14................................  Deleted.
1600.15................................  Deleted.
1600.16................................  Deleted.
1600.17................................  Deleted.
1600.18................................  Deleted.
1600.1.................................  1600.1.
1600.11................................  1600.4.
1600.12................................  1600.2(b), 1600.5.
1600.13................................  1600.7.
1600.14................................  1600.6.
1600.15................................  1600.2(c).
1600.16................................  1600.2(d).
1600.17................................  New.
1600.18................................  1600.12.
1600.21................................  1600.9.
1600.22................................  1600.10.
1600.23................................  1600.11.
1600.31................................  New.
1600.32................................  New.

[[Page 22089]]

 
1600.33................................  New.
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Regulatory Flexibility Act

    I certify that these regulations will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. They will 
affect only employees of the Federal Government.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    I certify that these regulations do not require additional 
reporting under the criteria of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    Pursuant to the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 602, 
632, 653, and 1501-1571, the effects of this regulation on state, 
local, and tribal governments and the private sector have been 
assessed. This regulation will not compel the expenditure in any one 
year of $100 million or more by state, local, and tribal governments, 
in the aggregate, or by the private sector. Therefore, a statement 
under section 1532 is not required.

Submission to Congress and the General Accounting Office

    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A), the Board submitted a report 
containing this rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, 
the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the 
United States prior to publication of this rule in today's Federal 
Register. This rule is not a major rule as defined at 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 1600

    Employment benefit plans, Government employees, Pensions, 
Retirement.

Roger W. Mehle,
Executive Director, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 5 CFR part 1600 is revised 
to read as follows:

PART 1600--EMPLOYEE ELECTIONS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE THRIFT SAVINGS 
PLAN

Subpart A--General
Sec.
1600.1  Definitions.
Subpart B--Elections
1600.11  Types of elections.
1600.12  Period for making contribution elections.
1600.13  Effective dates of contribution elections.
1600.14  Method of election.
1600.15  Number of elections.
1600.16  Belated elections.
1600.17  Timing of agency contributions.
1600.18  Effect of transfer to FERS.
Subpart C--Program of Contributions
1600.21  Contributions in whole numbers.
1600.22  Maximum contributions.
1600.23  Required reduction of contribution rates.
Subpart D--Transfers From Other Qualified Retirement Plans
1600.31  Accounts eligible for transfer.
1600.32  Methods for transferring account from qualified retirement 
plan or conduit IRA to TSP.
1600.33  Treatment accorded transferred funds.

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 8351, 8432(b)(1)(A), 8474(b)(5) and (c)(1).

Subpart A--General


Sec. 1600.1  Definitions.

    Terms used in this part have the following meanings:
    Account or individual account means the account established for a 
participant in the Thrift Savings Plan under 5 U.S.C. 8439(a).
    Agency automatic (1%) contributions means any contributions made 
under 5 U.S.C. 8432(c)(1) and (c)(3).
    Agency matching contributions means any contributions made under 5 
U.S.C. 8432(c)(2).
    Basic pay means basic pay as defined in 5 U.S.C. 8331(3). For CSRS 
and FERS employees, it is the rate of pay used in computing any amount 
the individual is otherwise required to contribute to the Civil Service 
Retirement and Disability Fund as a condition of participating in the 
Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Employees' Retirement 
System, as the case may be.
    Board means the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board 
established under 5 U.S.C. 8472.
    Contribution allocation means the apportionment of a participant's 
future contributions and loan payments among the TSP investment funds.
    Contribution election means a request by an employee to start 
contributing to the TSP, to change the amount of contributions made to 
the TSP each pay period, or to terminate contributions to the TSP.
    CSRS means the Civil Service Retirement System established by 5 
U.S.C. chapter 83, subchapter III, or any equivalent Federal retirement 
system.
    CSRS employee or CSRS participant means any employee or participant 
covered by CSRS.
    Date of appointment means the effective date of an employee's 
accession by the current employing agency.
    Election period means the last calendar month of a TSP open season. 
It is the earliest period during which a TSP contribution election can 
become effective.
    Employee contributions means any contributions to the Thrift 
Savings Plan made under 5 U.S.C. 8351(a), 8432(a), or 8440a through 
8440e.
    Employer contributions means agency automatic (1%) contributions 
under 5 U.S.C. 8432(c)(1) or 8432(c)(3) and agency matching 
contributions under 5 U.S.C. 8432(c)(2).
    Employing agency means the organization that employs an individual 
eligible to contribute to the TSP and that has authority to make 
personnel compensation decisions for the individual.
    Executive Director means the Executive Director of the Federal 
Retirement Thrift Investment Board under 5 U.S.C. 8474.
    FERS means the Federal Employees' Retirement System established by 
5 U.S.C. chapter 84 or any equivalent Federal retirement system.
    FERS employee or FERS participant means any employee or TSP 
participant covered by FERS.
    Open season means the period during which employees may elect to 
make contributions to the TSP, change the amount of contributions, or 
terminate contributions (without losing the right to resume 
contributions during the next open season).
    Separation from Government service means the cessation of 
employment with the Federal Government, the U.S. Postal Service, or 
with any other employer, from a position that is deemed to be 
Government employment for purposes of participating in the TSP, for 31 
or more full calendar days.
    Thrift Savings Plan, TSP, or Plan means the Thrift Savings Plan 
established under subchapters III and VII of the Federal Employees' 
Retirement System Act of 1986, 5 U.S.C. 8351 and 8401-8479.
    Thrift Savings Plan Service Office (TSPSO) means the office of the 
TSP recordkeeper which provides service to participants. The TSPSO's 
address is: Thrift Savings Plan Service Office, National Finance 
Center, P.O. Box 61500, New Orleans, Louisiana 70161-1500.
    TSP recordkeeper means the entity that is engaged by the Board to 
perform recordkeeping services for the Thrift Savings Plan. The TSP 
recordkeeper is the National Finance Center, Office of

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Finance and Management, United States Department of Agriculture, 
located in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Subpart B--Elections


Sec. 1600.11  Types of elections.

    (a) Contribution elections. A contribution election can be made on 
a Form TSP-1, Thrift Savings Plan Election Form, and includes any one 
of the following elections:
    (1) To make employee contributions;
    (2) To change the amount of employee contributions; or
    (3) To terminate employee contributions.
    (b) Contribution allocation. A participant may make or change the 
manner in which future deposits to his or her account are allocated 
among the TSP's investment funds only in accordance with 5 CFR part 
1601.


Sec. 1600.12  Period for making contribution elections.

    (a) Participation upon initial appointment or reappointment. An 
employee may make a contribution election as follows:
    (1) Appointments made during the period January 1 through June 30, 
2001. An employee appointed, or reappointed following a separation from 
Government service, to a position covered by FERS or CSRS during the 
period January 1 through June 30, 2001, may make a TSP contribution 
election during the May 15 through July 31, 2001, open season.
    (2) Appointments made on or after July 1, 2001. An employee 
appointed, or reappointed following a separation from Government 
service, to a position covered by FERS or CSRS may make a TSP 
contribution election within 60 days after the effective date of the 
appointment.
    (b) Open season elections. Any employee may make a contribution 
election during an open season. Each year an open season will begin on 
May 15 and will end on July 31; a second open season will begin on 
November 15 and will end on January 31 of the following year. If the 
last day of an open season falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal 
holiday, the open season will be extended through the end of the next 
business day.
    (c) Election to terminate contributions. An employee may elect to 
terminate employee contributions to the TSP at any time. If an 
employee's election to terminate contributions is received by the 
employing agency during an open season, the employee, if otherwise 
eligible, may make an election to resume contributions during the next 
open season. If the election to terminate contributions is received by 
the employing agency outside an open season, the employee may not make 
an election to resume contributions until the second open season 
beginning after the election to terminate.
    (d) Forced termination of employee contributions due to in-service 
hardship withdrawal restrictions under 5 CFR part 1650. If an employee 
is reappointed to a position covered by FERS or CSRS following a 
separation from Government service and, at the time of separation, he 
or she had been previously ineligible to make employee contributions or 
receive agency matching contributions because of the restrictions on 
participants' ability to make contributions after having received an 
in-service hardship distribution, described in 5 CFR part 1650, the 
employee continues to be ineligible to make employee contributions or 
have agency matching contributions made on the employee's behalf during 
the six-month period described at 5 CFR 1650.32.


Sec. 1600.13  Effective dates of contribution elections.

    (a) Participation upon initial appointment or reappointment. (1) 
TSP contribution elections made pursuant to Sec. 1600.12(a)(1) that are 
received by the employing agency between May 15, 2001, and June 30, 
2001, will become effective the first full pay period in July 2001. TSP 
contribution elections made pursuant to Sec. 1600.12(a)(1) that are 
received by the employing agency during July 2001 will become effective 
no later than the first full pay period after the date the employing 
agency receives the election.
    (2) TSP contribution elections made pursuant to Sec. 1600.12(a)(2) 
will become effective no later than the first full pay period after the 
election is received by the employing agency.
    (b) Open season elections. TSP contribution elections made pursuant 
to Sec. 1600.12(b) that are received by an employing agency during a 
portion of an open season which precedes the election period, except 
for an election to terminate contributions, will become effective the 
first full pay period of the election period. TSP contribution 
elections made pursuant to Sec. 1600.12(b) that are received by an 
employing agency during the election period will become effective no 
later than the first full pay period after the date the employing 
agency receives the election.
    (c) Election to terminate contributions. An election to terminate 
contributions, whenever it is made, will become effective no later than 
the first full pay period after the date the employing agency receives 
the election.
    (d) Elections resulting from transfer to FERS. Elections made 
pursuant to Sec. 1600.18 will become effective no later than the first 
full pay period after the date the employing agency receives the 
election. If the employee submits a contribution election at the same 
time that he or she submits the FERS transfer election, both elections 
will become effective the same pay period.


Sec. 1600.14  Method of election.

    (a) A participant must submit a contribution election to his or her 
employing agency. Employees may use either the paper TSP election form, 
Form TSP-1, or, if provided by their employing agency, electronic media 
to make an election. If an electronic medium is used, all relevant 
elements contained on the paper Form TSP-1 must be included in the 
electronic medium.
    (b) A contribution election must:
    (1) Be completed in accordance with the instructions on Form TSP-1, 
if a paper form is used;
    (2) Be made in accordance with the employing agency's instructions, 
if the submission is made electronically; and
    (3) Not exceed the maximum contribution limitations described in 
Sec. 1600.22.


Sec. 1600.15  Number of elections.

    Once a contribution election made during an open season becomes 
effective, no further contribution elections may be made during the 
same open season, except an election to terminate contributions.


Sec. 1600.16  Belated elections.

    When an employing agency determines that an employee was unable, 
for reasons that were beyond the employee's control (other than agency 
administrative error, as provided in 5 CFR part 1605), to make a 
contribution election within the time limits prescribed by this part, 
the agency may accept the employee's election within 30 calendar days 
after it advises the employee of its determination. The election will 
become effective no later than the first full pay period after the date 
the employing agency receives the election.


Sec. 1600.17  Timing of agency contributions.

    (a) Employees not previously eligible to receive agency 
contributions. An employee appointed or reappointed to a position 
covered by FERS who had not been previously eligible to receive agency 
contributions is eligible to receive agency contributions the full 
second election period following the effective date of the appointment. 
If an

[[Page 22091]]

employee is appointed during an election period, that election period 
is not counted as the first election period.
    (b) Employees previously eligible to receive agency contributions. 
An employee reappointed to a position covered by FERS who was 
previously eligible to receive agency contributions is immediately 
eligible to receive agency contributions.
    (c) Agency matching contributions that are attributable to the 
employee contributions made to the account of a FERS participant must 
change or terminate, as applicable, when the employee's contribution 
election becomes effective.


Sec. 1600.18  Effect of transfer to FERS.

    (a) If an employee appointed to a position covered by CSRS elects 
to transfer to FERS, the employee may make a contribution election 
simultaneously with the election to transfer to FERS, or within 30 
calendar days after the effective date of his or her transfer.
    (b) Eligibility to make employee contributions, and therefore to 
have agency matching contributions made on the employee's behalf, is 
subject to the restrictions on making employee contributions after 
receipt of a financial hardship in-service withdrawal described at 5 
CFR part 1650.
    (c) If the employee had elected to make TSP contributions while 
covered by CSRS, the election continues to be valid until the employee 
makes a new valid election.
    (d) Agency automatic (1%) contributions for all employees covered 
under this section and, if applicable, agency matching contributions 
attributable to employee contributions must begin the same pay period 
that the transfer to FERS becomes effective.

Subpart C--Program of Contributions


Sec. 1600.21  Contributions in whole numbers.

    Employees may elect to contribute a percentage of basic pay or a 
dollar amount, subject to the limits described in Sec. 1600.22. The 
election must be expressed in whole percentages or whole dollar 
amounts.


Sec. 1600.22  Maximum contributions.

    (a) Percentage of basic pay. (1) Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c) 
of this section, the maximum FERS employee contribution for 2001 is 11 
percent of basic pay per pay period. The maximum contribution will 
increase one percent a year until 2005, after which the percentage of 
basic pay limit will not apply and the maximum contribution will be 
limited only as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section.
    (2) Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, the maximum 
CSRS employee contribution for 2001 is 6 percent of basic pay per pay 
period. The maximum contribution will increase one percent a year until 
2005, after which the percentage of basic pay limit will not apply and 
the maximum contribution will be limited only as provided in paragraphs 
(b) and (c) of this section.
    (b) Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) limit on elective deferrals. 
Section 402(g) of the I.R.C. (26 U.S.C. 402(g)) places a limit on the 
amount an employee may save on a tax-deferred basis through the TSP. 
Employee contributions to the TSP will be restricted to the I.R.C. 
limit; the TSP will not accept any contribution that exceeds the I.R.C. 
section 402(g) limit. If a participant contributes to the TSP and 
another plan, and the combined contributions exceed the I.R.C. section 
402(g) limit, he or she may request a refund of employee contributions 
from the TSP to conform with the limit.
    (c) I.R.C. limit on contributions to qualified plans. Section 
415(c) of the I.R.C. (26 U.S.C. 415(c)) also places a limit on the 
amount an employee may save on a tax-deferred basis through the TSP. 
Employee contributions, described in this section, and employer 
contributions, described in Sec. 1600.17, made to the TSP will be 
restricted to the I.R.C. section 415(c) limit. No employee contribution 
may be made to the TSP for any year to the extent that the sum of the 
employee contributions and the employer contributions for that year 
would exceed the I.R.C. section 415(c) limit.


Sec. 1600.23  Required reduction of contribution rates.

    (a) The employing agency will reduce the contribution of any FERS 
or CSRS employee who has elected a whole dollar amount but whose 
elected contribution for any pay period exceeds any of the applicable 
maximum percentages set forth in Sec. 1600.22. The employing agency 
will reduce the whole dollar amount to the highest whole dollar amount 
that does not exceed the applicable maximum percentage.
    (b) An employing agency will not contribute to a participant's TSP 
account any amounts in excess of the limits referred to in 
Sec. 1600.22(b) or (c).

Subpart D--Transfers From Other Qualified Retirement Plans


Sec. 1600.31  Accounts eligible for transfer.

    Effective July 1, 2001, participants may transfer funds in the 
following types of accounts into their existing TSP accounts. This 
option is not available to participants who have already made a full 
withdrawal of their account or who are receiving monthly payments.
    (a) Qualified retirement plan. For the purposes of this part, a 
qualified retirement plan is a qualified trust, described in section 
401(a) of the I.R.C. (26 U.S.C. 401(a)), which is exempt from taxation 
under I.R.C. section 501(a) (26 U.S.C. 501(a)), or an annuity plan, 
described in section 403(a) of the I.R.C. (26 U.S.C. 403(a)).
    (b) Conduit individual retirement account (conduit IRA). For the 
purposes of this part, a conduit IRA is an individual retirement 
account, described in I.R.C. section 408(a) (26 U.S.C. 408(a)), or an 
individual retirement annuity, described in I.R.C. section 408(b) (26 
U.S.C. 408(b)), that contains only funds transferred or rolled over 
from a qualified retirement plan (and earnings on those amounts).
    (c) Eligible rollover distribution. In order to be eligible for 
transfer to the TSP, distributions from accounts that qualify under 
either paragraph (a) or (b) of this section must also be eligible 
rollover distributions pursuant to I.R.C. section 402(c)(4) (26 U.S.C. 
402(c)(4)).


Sec. 1600.32  Methods for transferring account from qualified 
retirement plan or conduit IRA to TSP.

    (a) Trustee to trustee transfer. Participants may request that the 
administrator of their qualified retirement plan or the custodian of 
their conduit IRA transfer any or all of their account directly to the 
TSP by completing and submitting a Form TSP-60, Request for a Rollover 
into the TSP, to the administrator or custodian and requesting that the 
transaction be completed.
    (b) Rollover by participant. Participants who have already received 
a distribution from their plan or conduit IRA may roll over all or part 
of the distribution into the TSP in accordance with the following 
requirements:
    (1) The participant must complete a Form TSP-60, Request for a 
Rollover into the TSP.
    (2) The administrator of the qualified retirement plan or the 
custodian of the conduit IRA must certify on the TSP transfer form the 
amount and date of the distribution, and that the distribution is an 
eligible rollover distribution in accordance with I.R.C. section 
402(c)(4) (26 U.S.C. 402(c)(4)).
    (3) The participant must submit the completed Form TSP-60, together 
with a certified check, cashier's check, cashier's draft, money order, 
or treasurer's check from a credit union, made out to the Thrift 
Savings Plan for

[[Page 22092]]

the entire amount of the rollover. A participant may roll over the full 
amount of the distribution by making up, from his or her own funds, the 
amount that was withheld from the distribution for the payment of 
federal taxes.
    (4) The transaction must be completed within 60 days of the 
participant's receipt of the distribution from the retirement plan or 
conduit IRA. The transaction is not complete until the TSP recordkeeper 
receives the Form TSP-60, executed by both the participant and plan 
administrator or IRA custodian, together with the guaranteed funds for 
the amount to be rolled over.


Sec. 1600.33  Treatment accorded transferred funds.

    (a) All funds transferred to the TSP pursuant to Secs. 1600.31 and 
1600.32 will be treated as employee contributions.
    (b) All funds transferred to the TSP pursuant to Secs. 1600.31 and 
1600.32 will be invested in accordance with the participant's 
contribution allocation on file at the time the transfer is completed.
    (c) Funds transferred to the TSP pursuant to Secs. 1600.31 and 
1600.32 are not subject to the limits on contributions described in 
Sec. 1600.22.

[FR Doc. 01-10962 Filed 5-1-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6760-01-U