Thrift Savings Plan hardship withdrawals hit a record high last month, showing how hard last month’s 16-day government shutdown hit federal employees, Federal Times reports.
More than 14,000 feds made early withdrawals — the highest monthly total in the 26-year history of the TSP. The average amount taken out was $9,300.
The IRS imposes a 10 percent penalty for early retirement account withdrawals.
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board also withholds 20 percent for income taxes and bars those participants from making new contributions to their accounts for six months.
