Military TSP: How to Make the Most of Your TSP Plan

Congress created the Thrift Savings Plan as part of the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Act of 1986. The TSP offers the same tax and retirement savings benefits that individuals receive from their 401(k) plans through private corporations. Members of the uniformed forces, including those in the ready reserve, became eligible to participate in the military TSP in 2001.

The TSP is a defined contribution plan. This means the retirement income you receive from your TSP account will depend on how much you contribute during your working years, as well as the earnings that accumulate over that time.

By learning about your options and investing according to your personal financial situation, you’ll be able to make the most of your TSP account and help set yourself up for a comfortable retirement.

Why Military Members Need to Invest Beyond Their Retirement Pay

You are responsible for your retirement. You may think your military retirement pay will be enough to live on, but fewer than 20% of service members serve long enough to draw military retirement pay or adequate pay through the Blended Retirement System.

What about Social Security benefits? Yes, Social Security benefits should help. But consider these issues:

According to the 2025 Social Security Trustees Report, the combined trust funds are projected to be depleted by 2034, at which point the program would be able to pay approximately 81% of scheduled benefits. More recent Congressional Budget Office projections suggest depletion could come as early as 2032. Congress has not yet acted to address the shortfall, making this an important factor to consider in your retirement planning.

Chances are you will live longer than you think. According to a 2022 report from the American Academy of Actuaries, many retirees live for at least 20 years after they reach retirement age of 65.

Medical costs in retirement are also significant. According to Fidelity’s 2025 Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate, a 65-year-old individual can expect to spend an average of $172,500 on health care and medical expenses throughout retirement, while an average couple can expect to pay approximately $345,000. Military retirees with access to Tricare will have significantly lower out-of-pocket medical costs than civilian retirees, but it is still important to factor health care expenses into your retirement planning.

Why Starting Your TSP Early Makes a Significant Difference

You’ve probably heard that you should start investing early. This can seem counterintuitive because you may not make that much money between the ages of 18 and 25. But if you start investing early in your lifetime, the effects of compounding can be tremendous.

Let’s say you start setting aside about $19 a week ($1,000 annually) when you are 25 years old. You put it in a retirement account earning 8% a year, compounded monthly. If you stop investing completely when you turn 35, your total investment can still grow to about $165,000 by the time you turn 65 and are ready to retire.

Here’s where it gets interesting.

Let’s say you do the same thing, but instead of starting at 25, you don’t begin investing $19 weekly ($1,000 a year) until you turn 35. But, you continue investing that much every single year until you turn 65 (roughly 30 years).

Assuming an 8% return, compounded monthly, how much would you have when you’re 65?

Only about $123,000.

Even though you contributed three times as much money, you ended up with less because you started investing later in life and couldn’t take advantage of compounding interest for as long. This is why starting early matters so much, and why military members who begin contributing to their TSP from their first paycheck have a significant advantage.

Are You Making the Most of Your TSP Account?

Federal employees who participate in the TSP are automatically eligible for agency matching contributions of up to 5% of their pay. Military members who enlisted after Jan. 1, 2018, and those who opted into the Blended Retirement System (BRS) are also eligible for the same match as their civilian counterparts. At minimum, you should contribute enough to capture the full match, anything less is leaving free money on the table.

While the TSP does allow participants to borrow against their account balance through a TSP loan, this is generally not recommended. Taking a loan reduces the amount invested in your account, costing you potential growth and compound interest on the borrowed amount. In most cases, it is better to build a separate emergency fund rather than relying on your TSP as a source of short-term cash.

Know TSP Plan Investing Preferences

TSP plans have a limited number of investment options. You can’t invest in individual stocks or other publicly traded investments. However, as of 2022, TSP participants who pay additional fees can also invest in available mutual funds through the TSP Mutual Fund Window.

TSP index funds still give investors a sufficiently diversified investment portfolio because they’re made up of a large number of stocks and bonds. Apart from index funds, the TSP also offers a group of Lifecycle, or L Funds, comprising portions of the five main funds allocated according to your target retirement date. These options cover most major indexes and have low administrative expenses and management fees, one of the TSP’s most attractive features since fees eat away at your returns over time.

Save a Percentage Instead of a Dollar Amount

If your salary is low, you may feel like you can’t contribute to your TSP in a way that makes any difference. However, every bit saved helps.

Consider contributing the same percentage of your paycheck per pay period rather than a specific dollar amount. This way, if your compensation increases, the amount you contribute will increase at the same rate. This strategy works especially well for service members. If you receive incentive pay, special pay, or bonus pay, your contributions will adjust automatically in tandem with your paycheck.

Maximize Your Contributions When Possible

Each year, the IRS sets new maximum contributions, known as the IRS elective deferral limit. For 2026, the IRS elective deferral limit is $23,500 in regular contributions and $7,500 in catch-up contributions if you are over age 50. For uniformed services participants, this includes incentive pay and special pay, including bonuses.

If you want to maximize your contributions but are not sure how much to deposit per pay period, use the “How much can I contribute?” calculator on the Thrift Savings Plan website to determine the specific dollar amount you should deduct from each pay period to maximize your contributions for the year.

Make TSP Contributions While on Deployment

If you can, make Roth TSP contributions while you are deployed to a combat zone. By contributing to a Roth TSP while deployed, you will not pay taxes when you contribute or when you withdraw your earnings in retirement, making your contributions and withdrawals completely tax-free. This is one of the best investment benefits available to military members.

Another great deployment TSP contribution benefit is the ability to exceed the $23,500 annual contribution limit. If you max out your Roth TSP, your additional contributions will go into your traditional TSP account. The IRS will classify these traditional contributions as tax-exempt contributions. This means you will only pay taxes on the earnings when you retire. You won’t have to pay taxes on your original contributions.

Should You Choose the Roth TSP Option?

Are you using the right TSP plan? The Roth TSP option became available on May 7, 2012. This option allows TSP participants to contribute money to their plan after paying payroll taxes, rather than before.

Young service members can benefit from the Roth TSP option by paying taxes when they’re in a lower tax bracket, then enjoying longer tax-free growth and more tax diversification. Look at your tax situation to see if the Roth TSP plan makes sense for your retirement goals. If your tax rate is higher now than you believe it will be during retirement, the Roth option may not be right for you.

However, you may want to choose the Roth option if you believe that you will be at a higher tax rate during retirement. When in doubt, consider splitting your contributions between traditional and Roth TSP accounts.

It is also worth understanding how TSP withdrawals work in retirement. Traditional TSP withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income and subject to Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) beginning at age 73. Roth TSP withdrawals, on the other hand, are tax-free in retirement, provided the account has been open for at least five years and you are at least 59.5 years old. However, unlike a Roth IRA, the Roth TSP is still subject to RMDs unless you roll the balance into a Roth IRA before RMDs begin.

Monitor Your Investments

If you want to make the most of your TSP account, you can’t just let it sit there. Just because you have limited investment options with a TSP doesn’t mean that you don’t have to monitor your account at all.

If you are a beginning investor, use the TSP’s quarterly and annual statements to stay on top of your investments. As a TSP plan participant, you can make transactions and access your individual account information online using your TSP user ID or account number.

Another great tool to stay on top of your accounts is The ThriftLine, TSP’s automated telephone service. Call 1-877-968-3778 to access current share prices, TSP news, and loan and annuity rates, or speak with a TSP service representative.

One often overlooked but critical aspect of TSP account management is keeping your beneficiary designation current. Life changes such as marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, or the death of a beneficiary should all prompt a review of your TSP beneficiary designation. You can update your beneficiary designation at any time through your TSP account online, and it is worth reviewing it at least once a year alongside your other account information.

What Happens to Your TSP When You Leave the Military?

When you separate or retire from the military, you have several options for your TSP account:

• You can leave your money in the TSP: The TSP’s low fees and solid investment options make this a reasonable choice for many former service members, and you can continue to manage your account after separation.

• You can roll your TSP into an IRA: This gives you more investment flexibility and access to a wider range of funds, though you will likely pay higher fees than the TSP charges. A Roth TSP balance should be rolled into a Roth IRA, and a traditional TSP balance into a traditional IRA, to avoid triggering a taxable event.

• You can roll your TSP into a civilian 401(k): If your new employer offers a 401(k) with good investment options and low fees, rolling your TSP into it can help consolidate your retirement accounts.

In most cases, leaving your money in the TSP or rolling it into an IRA are the two strongest options. What makes the most sense depends on your individual financial situation. A fee-only financial planner can help you evaluate which path is right for you.

Start Maximizing Your TSP Today

The TSP is one of the most powerful retirement savings tools available to military members, and its combination of low fees, tax advantages, government matching contributions, and deployment-specific benefits make it uniquely valuable for those who serve. The key is to start early, contribute consistently, and take full advantage of the benefits available to you.

For more information on maximizing your TSP, visit the Thrift Savings Plan website or speak with a fee-only financial planner familiar with military benefits.