Frequently Asked Questions

If you have forgotten your existing user name or password, you can select the ‘Forgot User ID or Password?’ link on the login screen to have your password reset and to receive an email allowing you to access your account with this reset information. Our customer service department is available by phone at (800) 943-9179 from 8 AM to 6 PM CST, Monday through Friday, to provide additional assistance as needed.

The Internal Revenue Code allows distribution of funds only upon retirement, termination of service with the participating employer, or attainment of age 70 ½. At the time you terminate service you may:

*Not available in plans of private non‐profit employers

Distribution forms can be sent to our office by fax to our toll-free fax number, 888-989-9247, or by mail, to 900 S. Capital of Texas Hwy, Suite 350, Austin, TX 78746. They can also be emailed to 457b@tcgservices.com.

As participants elect their own investment providers, TCG Administrators relies on you to provide us with this information and to tell us who the funds are coming from and to whom you want the funds sent after the request is processed, especially if you have contributed to multiple vendors. Please indicate the investment provider in Section C of the distribution form. Once TCG Administrators completes a request, TCG Administrators will send the paperwork to the party that is listed in Section C. If this section is blank, the paperwork will be returned to the participant when processing is complete. For security reasons, TCG Administrators is not able to assume where you want your request sent; it must be explicitly stated in Section C.
If you are requesting a rollover or exchange, sometimes the paperwork must first be sent to the receiving vendor so that they can issue a Letter of Acceptance. If this is required, the vendor listed in Section C should be the vendor receiving the funds, rather than the vendor issuing the funds. TCG Administrators relies on you to let us know if this step is required.

Balance statements are required for loans. You can get your balance statements directly from your vendor. Most vendors will send out statements on a quarterly or monthly basis. If you do not already have a copy of your statement, your vendor should be able to provide you with one or send one directly to TCG Administrators. TCG Administrators requires ALL PAGES of a balance statement, even if some of the pages are blank. Screenshots of balances are not sufficient; you must submit the complete statement. If you have 403(b) accounts with several vendors in the same plan, TCG Administrators must have statements from all the vendors in order to finish processing the request. TCG Administrators uses these statements to calculate the total allowable loan amount and confirm that there are no previously defaulted loans.

Whether or not a vendor requires original signatures is up to the vendor. If original signatures are required, you must mail in the documentation to TCG Administrators and TCG Administrators must mail the documentation to the vendor to maintain the original signatures. If a vendor has told you that you may fax in their forms, it is usually safe to assume that the vendor does not need original signatures. The majority of vendors accept faxed or electronic signatures, but TCG Administrators relies on the information you provide to confirm this information for your request.

You should only ever select ONE reason for request on the distribution form. This reason should be the same reason that is listed on any vendor forms. If multiple reasons apply, you must only select one. While TCG Administrators can help explain the different options available, it is entirely up to you to decide what your reason for request should be.

This question refers to the Employer under whom the 403(b) was set up. This may be your current Employer or your previous Employer, depending on the type of request. Even if a participant is retired and no longer has an Employer, they need to fill in this line with the name of the Employer they were working with when they were making contributions to their 403(b). Only the first line of Section A deals with the Employer. All the other information in Section A is the participant’s information: their name, address, phone number, date of birth, social security number, etc.

A participant’s spouse does not need to sign the TCG Administrators form unless the spouse is requesting a Death of Participant distribution. For Death of Participant distributions, the beneficiary (often the spouse) must sign on the signature line in Section D. The vendor may require a spousal signature on their forms.

While TCG Administrators can approve a request with just the TCG Administrators distribution form and any hardship, or appropriate supporting documentation, because the nature of TCG Administrators’ role as TPA is to approve the vendor to distribute the funds, in most cases, the vendor will have forms that TCG Administrators must sign. While TCG Administrators can complete a request without vendor forms, this is usually not sufficient for you to get your funds from your vendor. Please include any paperwork required by your vendor with your request.

The distribution form is designed to allow you to request the forms to be sent to your vendor and one additional party. However, with your authorization, TCG Administrators can send copies of the paperwork to as many parties as requested. You can write this information into Section C or call and request additional copies to be sent.

Because 403(b) plans are meant to be retirement accounts, not savings accounts, there are restrictions on when and for what reasons participants can take money out of their accounts. If you meet one of the qualifying reasons for a distribution, you may request one by submitting the TCG Administrators distribution form, along with any required vendor paperwork. The appropriate form for your request can be found on our website in the Plan Information section by searching for your employer, then selecting the applicable plan type and choosing the appropriate distribution form from the Forms section. TCG Administrators will ensure that your paperwork is in good order and sign off on the forms, approving the request. Once our review is complete, we will forward the paperwork on to the designated party, whether that is your investment provider, a financial representative, or yourself.

No. All enrollments and contribution changes are done online through our secure web portal. If you are having difficulty navigating the site or would prefer not to use the portal, you can set up elections over the phone with our Retirement Services Agents by calling (800) 943-9179.

You may enroll in a new Plan by visiting www.tcgservices.com and clicking on ‘Enroll’ on the top right hand corner of the website. You will then search for your employer in the search box. You will then select the plan you want to enroll in by clicking the orange Enroll button. You will use your existing TCG Login credentials to enroll in your new plan. If you do not remember your login credentials, please give our Retirement Services department a call at (800) 943-9179.

If you have not yet enrolled in our system, please follow Step 12 – How do I enroll for a new plan.
If you have already enrolled on our system, you can make changes online by clicking the “Login” button on the menu and accessing your account.
The following transactions can be made online:

You can also call the Retirement Services department at (800) 943-9179 for help making contributions to your account.

Contribution changes can take up to an hour to appear on our website. They will show up in the TCG Administrators’ system by 10 AM the next business day.
Because your funds are held with an elected investment provider and not with TCG Administrators directly, your account balance is not always visible through your TCG Administrators web portal. If you wish to confirm your account balance, please reach out to your investment provider directly.

If you have forgotten your existing user name or password, you can select the ‘Forgot User ID or Password?’ link on the login screen to have your password reset and to receive an email allowing you to access your account with this reset information. Our Retirement Services department is available by phone by calling (800) 943-9179 from 8 AM to 7 PM CST, Monday through Friday, to provide additional assistance as needed.

The Approved Vendor List can be found on our website in the Plan Information section by searching by your employer, then selecting the plan type.

To ensure it remains secure, please call or email our customer service team to receive this information.

If you are logging on for the first time, you will need to register and create your own username and password for your account. You may register for the Plan at any time by clicking the ‘Enroll’ button on the top right corner of the website and searching for your employer and clicking on the Enroll button next to the type of account you would like to create. You will need to enter your Social Security Number to start the enrollment. 

If you have forgotten your existing user name or password, you can select the ‘Forgot User ID or Password?’ link on the login screen to have your password reset and to receive an email allowing you to access your account with this reset information. Our Retirement Services department is available by phone by calling (800) 943-9179 from 8 AM to 6 PM CST, Monday through Friday, to provide additional assistance as needed.

For a 457(b) plan, you are eligible to withdraw your funds once you have reached age 59 ½ or terminated employment. A beneficiary is eligible to withdraw the funds upon the death of the participant.

The Internal Revenue Code and the Plan contain three provisions that allow withdrawal of funds while still employed. These three provisions are limited and have strict requirements, which must first be met. They are:

• An unforeseen emergency must be documented, meet the Internal Revenue Code definitions and criteria, and be approved by the Plan Administrators.
• A ‘de minimis’ withdrawal – this provision allows a withdrawal while employed if your balance is $5,000 or less, you have not deferred for the last 24 months, and have never used this provision before.
• Attainment of age 59 ½

Because the 457(b) account is invested, it does not have an associated interest rate. The balance of the accounts reflects that day’s market fluctuations. There is no guaranteed rate of return with these plans. 

Because this is a retirement account, there are restrictions on when and for what reasons participants can take money out of their accounts. If you meet one of the qualifying reasons for a distribution, you may request one by submitting the TCG Administrators distribution form. The appropriate form for your request can be found on your plan’s corresponding website (see below) in the Plan Information section by searching for your employer, then selecting the applicable plan type and choosing the appropriate distribution form from the Forms section.

www.tcgservices.com

www.region10rams.org

www.calstrs403bcomply.com

The Internal Revenue Code allows distribution of funds only upon retirement, termination of service with the participating employer, or attainment of age 59 ½. At the time you terminate service you may:

• Keep your money invested in the Plan and if desired, continue to manage your money within the offered investment options*;
• Withdraw your money ‐ subject to ordinary income tax; or
• Roll your money to an IRA or to another qualified retirement account*

*Not available in plans of private non‐profit employers

Distribution forms can be sent to our office by fax to our toll-free fax number, 888-989-9247, or by mail, to 900 S. Capital of Texas Hwy, Suite 350, Austin, TX 78746. They can also be emailed to 457b@tcgservices.com.

Participants may stop contributions at any time by logging in to their account on the TCG Administrators’ site. To withdraw funds from the account, you must qualify for a distribution.

No. All enrollments and contribution changes are done online through our secure web portal. If you are having difficulty navigating the site or would prefer not to use the portal, you can set up elections over the phone with our Retirement Services department by calling (800) 943-9179 after you have enrolled in your account.

You may enroll in a new Plan by visiting www.tcgservices.com and clicking on ‘Enroll’ on the top right hand corner of the website. You will then search for your employer in the search box. You will then select the plan you want to enroll in by clicking the orange Enroll button. You will use your existing TCG Login credentials to enroll in your new plan. If you do not remember your login credentials, please give our Retirement Services department a call at (800) 943-9179. 

If you have forgotten your existing user name or password, you can select the ‘Forgot User ID or Password?’ link on the login screen to have your password reset and to receive an email allowing you to access your account with this reset information. Our customer service department is available by phone at (800) 943-9179 from 8 AM to 6 PM CST, Monday through Friday, to provide additional assistance as needed.

If you have forgotten your existing user name or password, you can select the ‘Forgot User ID or Password?’ link on the login screen to have your password reset and to receive an email allowing you to access your account with this reset information. Our customer service department is available by phone at (800) 943-9179 from 8 AM to 6 PM CST, Monday through Friday, to provide additional assistance as needed.

The Internal Revenue Code allows distribution of funds only upon retirement, termination of service with the participating employer, or attainment of age 70 ½. At the time you terminate service you may:

• Keep your money invested in the Plan and if desired, continue to manage your money within the offered investment options*;
• Withdraw your money ‐ subject to ordinary income tax; or
• Roll your money to an IRA or to another qualified retirement account*.

*Not available in plans of private non‐profit employers

Distribution forms can be sent to our office by fax to our toll-free fax number, 888-989-9247, or by mail, to 900 S. Capital of Texas Hwy, Suite 350, Austin, TX 78746. They can also be emailed to 457b@tcgservices.com

When submitting any type of form of paperwork, please use one of the methods below:

Direct Mail:

900 S Capital of Texas Hwy, Ste 350

Austin, TX 78746

Email:

info@tcgservices.com

Fax:

888.989.9247

TCG Administrators is a subsidiary of TCG Group Holdings that serves as the third-party administrator of plans for hundreds of employers across the country. In cooperation with Region 10 RAMS, we work to deliver an excellent customer service experience.