Best Times to the Call the TSP’s ThriftLine

Investors in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) were notified Tuesday by the plan’s administrators of extremely heavy call volume to the TSP phone number. “Due to high call volume, you may experience delays when calling the ThriftLine. We appreciate your patience,” the notice said.

TSP spokeswoman Kim Weaver told GovExec this week that the day following President’s Day always has the highest number of calls.  “Our hypothesis is that people spend time over the long weekend working on [or] thinking about taxes, and then they want to talk to the TSP about their 1099-R or other tax-related questions,” she said.

In late January, the Thrift Savings Plan reminded participants of the best times to call:

“Our highest call volume is on Monday and Tuesday mornings. If you want to minimize your wait time to speak to a Participant Services Representative, consider calling outside of those peak hours. Participant Service Representatives are available Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., eastern time.”

The TSP Thriftline phone number is 1-TSP-YOU-FRST (1-877-968-3778) and the website is www.tsp.gov.