TSP to Gold IRA Rollover: Step-by-Step Guide

Money in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) can be rolled into a gold IRA, but the timing rules depend on your status. If you are still working for the federal government or serving in uniform, your only route to an IRA is the TSP’s age-59½ in-service withdrawal. Once you have separated from service, you can request a withdrawal at any time and transfer it directly into a self-directed gold IRA.

This guide covers the eligibility rules, the withdrawal paperwork (which the TSP has largely moved online), how a Roth TSP balance is treated, and the mistakes that cost rollover dollars. It is educational information sourced to official TSP and IRS documents, not tax or investment advice.

Can I Move My TSP While Still Working?

Only two types of in-service withdrawals exist, and only one of them can reach an IRA. The TSP offers financial hardship withdrawals and age-based (age-59½) withdrawals while you remain employed; under the published rules, the age-59½ withdrawal is the version that can be transferred to an IRA.

The age-based in-service withdrawal, per the TSP’s in-service withdrawal rules, works like this:

• Age requirement. You must be at least 59½ and still working for the federal government (or in uniform). There is no separation requirement.
• Vested funds only. You can withdraw only the vested portion of your account, and each withdrawal must be at least $1,000.
• Frequency limit. You may take up to four age-59½ withdrawals per calendar year.
• Spousal consent. Married FERS and uniformed services participants must have their spouse consent to an in-service withdrawal.
• Withholding unless transferred. The TSP withholds 20% federal income tax on the taxable portion unless the money is transferred directly to an IRA or eligible employer plan — one more reason to set up a direct transfer.

Financial hardship withdrawals are different: they are paid to you rather than to an IRA, the earnings portion can carry the 10% early-distribution tax, and they cannot be rolled over. If you are under 59½ and still working, there is generally no penalty-free way to move TSP money into a gold IRA yet. The transfer mechanics themselves are the same as in our guide to how a gold IRA rollover works.

Step-by-Step: TSP to Gold IRA

Once you are eligible — separated for at least 31 days, or aged 59½ and still working — moving TSP money into a gold IRA is a five-step process.

Step 1. Confirm your eligibility and withdrawal type. Post-separation withdrawal requests require that you have been separated from federal service for at least 31 days (with an exception for involuntary separations), according to the TSP’s withdrawal-request bulletin. Still working? You will use the age-59½ in-service withdrawal instead.

Step 2. Open a self-directed gold IRA. Choose an IRA custodian that permits physical precious metals and understand the fee structure: setup, annual administration, storage, and metal spreads. Our comparison of gold IRA rollover companies explains what to look for before you fund anything.

Step 3. Submit the withdrawal request and specify a direct transfer. This is where TSP-specific paperwork matters:

• How requests are made today. The TSP processes withdrawal requests through My Account on tsp.gov; the online tool generates Form TSP-99 (WEB), Withdrawal Request for Separated and Beneficiary Participants. Paper filing exists for those who cannot use the system.
• The legacy paper forms. The older versions still referenced in TSP guidance are TSP-70, Request for Full Withdrawal, and TSP-77, Request for Partial Withdrawal When Separated. Check tsp.gov for the current version and processing times before you rely on a paper form.
• What the request asks for. Payment method (single payment, installments, or annuity); how to divide a mixed account (traditional only, Roth only, or pro rata); whether funds go directly to your IRA custodian or to you; your custodian’s name and address; and spousal consent if you are a married FERS or uniformed services participant. A notarized signature may be required depending on how you sign — an incomplete signature block is a common source of rejected paperwork.
• Timing. The TSP does not publish a guaranteed turnaround; a complete request typically takes several weeks to process and pay. Note that the 30-day waiting period between withdrawal requests was eliminated on May 15, 2024, and balances under $200 are automatically paid by check and cannot be rolled over.

Step 4. Keep it a direct transfer. Ask the TSP to send the money straight to your gold IRA custodian. A check made out to you triggers mandatory 20% federal withholding and starts a 60-day rollover clock (more on this below).

Step 5. Buy IRS-approved metals and store them. Once the IRA is funded, you direct the purchase of eligible bullion and coins — for example, gold bars and certain coins meeting the IRS fineness standards of IRC §408(m) — and the custodian arranges delivery to an approved depository. The asset mechanics from this point are identical to any 401(k) to gold IRA rollover.

TSP Funds vs Physical Gold

The TSP cannot hold physical gold. Its investment lineup consists entirely of paper securities — index funds and government securities — so owning metal means moving money out of the TSP into a self-directed IRA.

Here is what each fund actually holds:

The contrast matters for planning. The G Fund is the closest thing the TSP offers to stability — government securities with interest income — but it is still a bond position, not a commodity. The C, S, and I Funds rise and fall with stock markets. None of them gives you title to a store of value you can hold. A gold IRA is the only vehicle that puts physical metal inside a retirement account.

The trade-off runs both ways. TSP funds carry famously low expense ratios, and a gold IRA adds storage and administration fees on top of gold’s price volatility. A rollover is a portfolio decision, not just a paperwork decision — weigh what you give up against what the metal adds.

What Happens to Your Roth TSP Balance

Roth TSP money goes to a gold Roth IRA; traditional TSP money goes to a traditional gold IRA. Since 2012, participants can hold both types in the TSP, and the two must stay on their own tax tracks when they move. The rules, per the TSP withdrawal bulletin:

• Roth-only or traditional-only payments. When you request a withdrawal, you can choose to be paid from your Roth balance only, your traditional balance only, or pro rata from both.
• Mixed balances become two accounts. A pro-rata payment containing both traditional and Roth money must be split between a traditional gold IRA and a gold Roth IRA; a Roth-only payment moves just the tax-free portion in a single account.
• Tax-free status carries over. Roth TSP contributions were taxed before they went in, so rolling them to a Roth IRA preserves the tax-free growth track. Qualified-distribution rules still apply — generally five years plus age 59½ for earnings — so the clock you built in the Roth TSP is worth protecting rather than resetting.

Our Roth gold IRA rollover guide covers the Roth-specific rules in depth.

Special Rules for Military Members

A service member’s TSP account follows the same rollover mechanics as any other account once they separate, but Blended Retirement System (BRS) members should understand how their government contributions work before moving money.

Under BRS rules, the Department of Defense contributes an automatic 1% of basic pay after 60 days of service and matches member contributions up to an additional 4% once you complete two years of service, at which point you are also vested in the government money. Members who stay in uniform receive a mid-career “continuation pay” bonus — typically around the 12-year mark, in exchange for an additional service commitment. Two points verified on tsp.gov: government automatic and matching contributions stop after 26 years of service (see TSP bulletin 17-U-3), and contributions from tax-exempt combat-zone pay go into the Roth TSP.

For rollover purposes, the sequence is the same as for civilians: separate from service, wait out the 31-day window, request a withdrawal, and transfer directly to the IRA. If you are still serving, only the age-59½ in-service withdrawal applies. Continuation rules for uniformed services accounts may also apply in specific circumstances — confirm current rules on tsp.gov before you file.

Common TSP Rollover Mistakes

Most rollover damage comes from three places: taking the check yourself, missing the 60-day deadline, and triggering the early-distribution tax.

1. Accepting an indirect payment with 20% withholding. If the TSP pays you instead of your IRA custodian, it must withhold 20% federal income tax from the taxable portion. To roll over the full amount within 60 days, you must replace that 20% out of pocket; whatever you do not redeposit is treated as a taxable distribution. A direct transfer avoids the withholding entirely (see IRS Publication 590-A).

2. Missing the 60-day rollover window. With an indirect rollover, the money must reach the new IRA within 60 days. Miss it and the distribution becomes taxable, plus the 10% additional tax under §72(t) if you are under 59½ and no exception applies.

3. Early-withdrawal confusion. Three TSP-specific wrinkles:

• Under 59½ and still working, there is no IRA route except hardship withdrawals — paid to you, not rollable, with the 10% tax on the earnings portion.
• Separated before 59½, a single payment is taxable plus the 10% additional tax unless an exception applies. One exception for employer plans like the TSP: separating in or after the year you turn 55. Verify the exceptions in IRS Publication 590-A and §72(t) or with a tax professional.
• Roth TSP contributions come out tax- and penalty-free, but earnings can be penalized before 59½.

4. Filing incomplete or unnotarized paperwork. Married participants must include spousal consent, and certain signatures require notarization. Rejected forms reset the clock on a transfer you may have timed around a metal purchase.

5. Ignoring the small-balance rule. Accounts left with under $200 after separation are automatically closed out by check — an amount that arrives taxable and cannot be rolled.

The Bottom Line

For separated federal employees and veterans, a TSP to gold IRA rollover is a straightforward direct transfer: open the self-directed IRA, file the withdrawal request through My Account (or the current TSP form), and move the money without touching it personally. For those still working, the age-59½ in-service withdrawal is the gate. Check every form and deadline against tsp.gov before filing, and when you are ready to pick a custodian, our list of custodians experienced with TSP transfers is the place to start.

Sources (checked 2026-10-23): TSP in-service withdrawals, TSP withdrawal-request bulletin 19-6, TSP bulletin 17-U-3, IRS Publication 590-A, IRC §72(t).