If you max out your TSP but go slightly over, how does the excess get reimbursed?

[carlawalker]

Air Force O-2 with 3 years TIS and no debt. This is the first year I’ll fully max out my Roth TSP, currently contributing 35%. I pin on O-3 in Aug, so around Jun I’ll probably submit a change in MyPay to decrease the percentage slightly. The extra I’ll just use to buy S&P 500 shares, which I also started recently doing, along with maxing a Roth IRA.

Either way, the overall 2024 TSP contribution will be a hair over 23K if my math is right. How does the DOD go about returning excess funds from the Roth TSP? Would I just see it on my Jan 2025 LES as a refund, or do I have to do paperwork with Finance to receive it back?

 

[kitty346]

@carlawalker Your contributions should be automatically adjusted to stop when you hit the limit. The system was messed up for a couple of years and people were getting refunded after the fact, but it should be fixed now.

 

[athanas]

@kitty346 It's definitely fixed, last year I maxed in October and then my take home paychecks in November and December were quite a bit higher!

 

[petlove]

@athanas Are you passing up the match for November and December?

 

[burl]

@petlove Could be legacy retirement

 

[athanas]

@burl Yeah I'm one of the oldies in High 3

 

[petlove]

@burl Ah yes I forgot about that

 

[blackmanlov]

@athanas Mine were not stopped automatically. Actually I even tried contacting the pay office weeks before to get it reduced but they never acted. Waiting on check from tsp, not sure what to do about the W2 now.

 

[athanas]

@blackmanlov Hmm I guess it could be service specific too then, maybe?

 

[stefi]

@athanas Definitely not fixed. Trying to get back TSP overpayments for November and December right now.

 

[athanas]

@stefi I'm thinking it might be service specific then.

 

[stefi]

@athanas Possibly. This is USAF Reserves.

 

[john06]

@kitty346 It's still messed up for the Air Reserves. You have to put in a CMS case and wait a few months. Meanwhile you can't file your taxes because your W-2's wrong and shows the over-contribution.

 

[drtvegas]

@carlawalker Just don’t forget if you max before December you’re missing out on matching. Do the math so that you’re at least contributing 5% of your base pay in December for them to match. (I assume you’re BRS and not legacy with 3 years TIS.) Also yes, it will only let you contribute the annual max, mine was automatically adjusted last Dec.

 

[carlawalker]

@drtvegas I didn’t think about the part of them not matching if I max before December, thank you for that info. That makes sense. I’ll re-crunch the numbers to make sure I’m good!

 

[abidingpatri0t]

@carlawalker Yeah don't max early! Set your contributions so you leave at least 5% in December. Here's the contribution math done for you:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MilitaryFinance/s/31YIllpmZm

 

[stefi]

@carlawalker DFAS may automatically stop your contributions when you hit the limit, but for some people they fail to do this and just keep sending money to the TSP.

If this happens, the TSP will not allow that money into your account and you will have to open a ticket with DFAS to get that money back. I am dealing with this for the third year in a row and every year DFAS tells me they've fixed it and it won't happen again.

Good luck OP.

 

[carlawalker]

@stefi Which branch are you?

 

[meepmeep]

@carlawalker Happened to me a few years ago, got mailed a check a few months after, no action on my end