The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) provided employees with two additional types of leave: Emergency Paid Sick Leave, and Expanded Family and Medical Leave for child care needs. This leave benefit became effective April 1, 2020, and continues through December 31, 2020.
Since the introduction of the new leave types, the Office of Personnel Management has provided official guidance that leave payments under the FFCRA are not eligible for retirement and Thrift Saving Plan (TSP) deductions.
If you took leave under FFCRA, any deductions withheld for TSP or retirement as a result of FFCRA leave will be refunded to you in pay period 20-2020, retroactive to April 1, 2020. Retirement refunds will show on your October 2, 2020, paycheck. These refunds will not impact creditable service time towards retirement eligibility.
If you wish to keep your retirement and TSP contributions, you must change your FFCRA leave to a different leave type. Contact your supervisor to request an adjustment of your FFCRA leave to annual or sick leave. These adjustments must be in line with leave policies, covered by earned leave balances, and be entered in AdjustPay before September 11, 2020, to prevent a refund of retirement and TSP deductions. Employees receiving the TSP refund can increase their TSP election for the remainder of the year. All TSP eligible employees may change their TSP election at any time during the year.
Additional details about the FFCRA and other COVID-19 information can be found on the special COVID-19 pages of our employee websites, Blue or LiteBlue.
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