(a)(1) A judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims who is covered by section 178 of title 28 may elect to contribute an amount of such individual‘s basic pay to the Thrift Savings Fund.

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(2) An election may be made under paragraph (1) as provided under section 8432(b) for individuals subject to this chapter.

(b)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the provisions of this subchapter and subchapter VII shall apply with respect to Court of Federal Claims judges who make contributions to the Thrift Savings Fund under subsection (a) of this section.

(2) The amount contributed by a Court of Federal Claims judge for any pay period shall not exceed the maximum percentage of such judge’s basic pay for such pay period allowable under section 8440f.

(3) No contributions shall be made under section 8432(c) of this title for the benefit of a Court of Federal Claims judge making contributions under subsection (a) of this section.

(4)(A) Section 8433(b) of this title applies to a Court of Federal Claims judge who elects to make contributions to the Thrift Savings Fund under subsection (a) of this section and who retires entitled to an annuity under section 178 of title 28 (including a disability annuity under subsection (c) of such section).

(B) Section 8433(b) of this title applies to any Court of Federal Claims judge who elects to make contributions to the Thrift Savings Fund under subsection (a) of this section and who retires before becoming entitled to an annuity under section 178 of title 28.

(5) With respect to Court of Federal Claims judges to whom this section applies, any of the actions described in paragraph (4)(A) or (B) shall be considered a separation from service for purposes of this subchapter and subchapter VII.

(6) For purposes of this section, the terms “retirement” and “retire” include removal from office under section 178(c) of title 28 on the sole ground of mental or physical disability.

(7) In the case of a Court of Federal Claims judge who receives a distribution from the Thrift Savings Plan and who later receives an annuity under section 178 of title 28, such annuity shall be offset by an amount equal to the amount of the distribution which represents the Government’s contribution to that person’s Thrift Savings Account, without regard to earnings attributable to that amount. Where such an offset would exceed 50 percent of the annuity to be received in the first year, the offset may be divided equally over the first 2 years in which that person receives the annuity.

(8) Notwithstanding paragraph (4), if any Court of Federal Claims judge retires under circumstances making such judge eligible to make an election under section 8433(b), and such judge’s nonforfeitable account balance is less than an amount that the Executive Director prescribes by regulation, the Executive Director shall pay the nonforfeitable account balance to the participant in a single payment.