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Table of Contents
- 2021 Thrift Savings Plan Contribution Limits
- Explanation of Thrift Savings Plan Contribution Limits
- Current & Historic Thrift Savings Plan Contribution Limits
- Types of Thrift Savings Plan Contributions
- Regular Contributions (Elective Deferral Contributions)
- Catch-up Contributions
- Annual Addition Limit Contributions
- Two Thrift Savings Plans – Uniformed Services & Federal Service
- Matching TSP Contributions Chart
- How Contribution Limits Are Impacted With Multiple Retirement Accounts
- Other Notes about TSP Contributions
Thrift Savings Plan officials recently released the 2021 Thrift Savings Plan Contribution Limits. Thrift Savings Plan contribution limits are calculated on an annual basis based on the cost of living indexes and can increase based on rules set by the IRS.
The 2021 TSP contribution limits are set at $19,500 for Elective Deferrals, $6,500 for Catchup Contributions, and $58,000 for the Max Annual Addition.
Let’s do a deep dive into this topic. While contribution limits seem straightforward on the surface, this is actually a very interesting topic. Certain members may have complicated situations that deserve special attention (multiple TSP accounts, multiple retirement accounts, contributions while deployed, participating in both the Roth and Traditional TSP, etc.).
2021 Thrift Savings Plan Contribution Limits
This marks the second year in a row that members are able to contribute more than the previous year. The 2021 TSP contribution limit for employee deferrals is $19,500, the same as 2020, and up from $19,000 in 2019.
The catch-up contributions also remain the same as last year, set at $6,500 per year. (Catch-up contributions are only available to persons aged 50 and up).
There is also a $1,000 increase in the Max Annual Addition Limit, which increases from $57,000 to $58,000.
The 2021 Thrift Savings Plan Contribution Limits are as follows:
Elective Deferral Limit: $19,500
This is the limit employees can defer from their paychecks. It applies to Traditional and Roth TSP accounts (they share the same limit, so you can’t contribute $19,500 to each). This includes your base pay, special pay, and bonuses.
To max out your TSP, you would need to contribute $1,625.00 per month from your paychecks. That is very aggressive, but it can be possible for some, depending on your rank / pay grade, and living expenses.
Catch-up Contribution Limit: $6,500
Members age 50 and over can contribute an additional $6,500 per year to their elective deferral limit (total of $26,000) and Annual Addition Limit ($64,000).
Annual Addition Limit: $58,000
This is the maximum amount you can put into your Thrift Savings Plan from all sources (except catch up contributions). Deployed military members can exceed the $19,500 annual Elective Deferral Limit through payroll deductions while deployed.
Excess contributions made while deployed count toward the Annual Addition Limit (contributions above $19,500 automatically go into the Traditional TSP). This limit also includes Agency contributions (matching contributions made by the Civil Service, or matching contributions from the military, as part of the Blended Retirement System, starting in 2018).
Explanation of Thrift Savings Plan Contribution Limits
The following chart displays the 2021 Thrift Savings Plan contribution limits, with notes about each type of contribution. The combined maximum one can contribute, including all agency matching contributions, contributions from special pay and bonuses, and contributions while deployed, is $58,000 ($64,000 for those who are eligible for catch-up contributions).
| 2021 Thrift Savings Plan Limits | Max Contribution | Internal Revenue Code | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elective Deferral Limit* | $19,500 | IRC §402(g) | Applies to combined total of traditional and Roth contributions. For members of the uniformed services, it includes all traditional and Roth contributions from taxable basic pay, incentive pay, special pay, and bonus pay, but does not apply to traditional contributions made from tax-exempt pay earned in a combat zone. |
| Max Annual Addition Limit | $58,000 | IRC §415(c) | An additional limit imposed on the total amount of all contributions made on behalf of an employee in a calendar year. This limit is per employer and includes employee contributions (tax-deferred, after-tax, and tax-exempt), Agency/Service Automatic (1%) Contributions, and Matching Contributions. For 415(c) purposes, working for multiple Federal agencies or services in the same year is considered having one employer. |
| Catch-up Contribution Limit | $6,500 | IRC §414(v) | The maximum amount of catch-up contributions that can be contributed in a given year by participants age 50 and older. It is separate from the elective deferral and annual addition limit imposed on regular employee contributions. |
Current & Historic Thrift Savings Plan Contribution Limits
| Year | Annual Contribution Limit | Max Catch-Up Contribution Limit | Annual Addition Limit | Annual Addition Limit w/ Catch-Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $19,500 | $6,500 | $58,000 | $64,500 |
| 2020 | $19,500 | $6,500 | $57,000 | $63,500 |
| 2019 | $19,000 | $6,000 | $56,000 | $62,000 |
| 2018 | $18,500 | $6,000 | $55,000 | $61,000 |
| 2017 | $18,000 | $6,000 | $54,000 | $60,000 |
| 2015 – 2016 | $18,000 | $6,000 | $53,000 | $59,000 |
| 2014 | $17,500 | $5,500 | $52,000 | $57,500 |
| 2013 | $17,500 | $5,500 | $51,000 | $56,500 |
| 2012 | $17,000 | $5,500 | $50,000 | $55,500 |
| 2009 – 2011 | $16,500 | $5,500 | $49,000 | $54,500 |
| 2007 – 2008 | $15,500 | $5,000 | $46,000 | $51,000 |
Types of Thrift Savings Plan Contributions
There are three types of TSP contributions:
- Regular Employee Contributions (including automatic enrollment contributions)
- Catch-up Contributions (for participants age 50 or older)
- Annual Addition Limit Contributions
Regular Contributions (Elective Deferral Contributions)
Eligible TSP participants can begin making regular employee contributions at any time. These contributions, also known as Elective Deferral Contribitions, are made from basic pay.
Traditional contributions are made before taxes are withheld and Roth contributions are made after taxes have been paid. Your contribution election will remain in place until you elect to stop or change the contribution amount, reach the contribution limit, or take a Thrift Savings Plan financial hardship withdrawal.
Catch-up Contributions
Catch-up contributions are only available to those aged 50 and above. You must elect to make catch-up contributions each calendar year. If you don’t elect to make catch-up contributions each year, they will automatically stop. You can make regular and catch-up contributions at the same time.
If you plan the amounts you contribute carefully, you will maximize both the $19,500 regular contributions and the $6,500 in catch-up contributions during the last pay period of the year. This is much simpler than having to keep track of when your regular TSP contributions will max out, stopping the regular contributions, and then starting catch-up contributions.
In addition, if you are eligible to make catch-up contributions and you are deployed to a designated combat zone, you will not be able to make any traditional catch-up contributions from your tax-exempt pay. However, Roth catch-up contributions from tax-exempt pay are allowed.
Annual Addition Limit Contributions
Annual Addition Limit Contributions include all contributions made on behalf of the employee during the applicable calendar year. This limit includes all employee contributions, as well as employer matching contributions.
The annual addition limit also applies to contributions above the annual Elective Deferral Limit (contributions above $19,500, in 2021) made by service members who are deployed to a tax-exempt zone.
The Internal Revenue Code §415(c) states the annual addition limit is per employer. However, for 415(c) purposes, working for multiple Federal agencies or services in the same year is considered having one employer. (This would apply to members of the Guard/Reserves who are also employed by a federal agency, or those who change jobs in a given calendar year).
Two Thrift Savings Plans – Uniformed Services & Federal Service
There are two separate Thrift Savings Plan accounts –
- one for military members, and
- one for those employed by the federal government.
It is possible for members to have both accounts. This can even be common for members of the Guard or Reserves who also serve as technicians in the civil service.
These two plans share the same annual contribution limits across both accounts. So it is important to understand how to balance having multiple retirement accounts. See the section below, titled, “How Contribution Limits Are Impacted With Multiple Retirement Accounts.”
Uniformed Services TSP Contributions
The Thrift Savings Plan is available to all military members. Military members are eligible to contribute any whole percentage of basic pay, as long as the annual total of the tax-deferred investment doesn’t exceed the maximum contribution limit. Military members also have the option of contributing any portion of their incentive pay, bonuses, or special pay so long as they contribute a portion of their basic pay.
Roth TSP Contributions for TSP members. Roth Thrift Savings Plan contributions are limited to the $19,500 elective deferral limit. All additional contributions toward the Annual Additions Limit must be made into a Traditional TSP account, even if the contributions come from tax-exempt pay.
Tax-free combat zone contributions. Military members serving in tax-free combat zones are allowed to contribute up to $58,000. This total includes regular deferred contributions, tax-exempt combat zone contributions, and special pay and bonuses.
Note regarding catch-up contributions and tax-free pay: Military members who are receiving tax-exempt pay while serving in an eligible combat zone must make catch-up contributions into a Roth Thrift Savings Plan account.
TSP Federal Agency Contributions
Federal Civil Service members can also participate in the Traditional or Roth TSP. They have the same contribution limits. However, the section above regarding tax-free combat zones does not apply.
Matching TSP Contributions Chart
Members of the uniformed services only receive matching contributions if they participate in the Blended Retirement System. Otherwise, they do not receive matching contributions. FERS Employees are eligible for matching contributions from the government.
Thrift Savings Plan participants who are eligible to receive a matching contribution receive an automatic 1% contribution from the federal government, then a 100% match for the first 3% they contribute, followed by an additional 0.5% match for the next 2% the contribute, bringing the maximum agency contribution to 5%.
Participants can contribute as high of a percentage of their salary as they wish, so long as they don’t exceed total contribution limits, including the catch-up limits allowed for those age 50 and above.
The following chart can be used by military members and Federal Employees to determine the total amount of their contributions including agency match.
How Contribution Limits Are Impacted With Multiple Retirement Accounts
The TSP is similar to a 401k plan, and they share the same annual contribution limit per person. This means if you cannot contribute more than $19,500 ($26,000 with catch-up contributions) across both accounts in any given calendar year.
This doesn’t impact most active duty members or civil service employees with only one job. However, this is very important to note for anyone who transitions to or from the military or civil service in any given year. And it’s important for traditional members of the Guard and Reserves, as they often have another retirement plan through their full-time job.
Note – Be careful! TSP participants should be careful not to exceed their annual contribution limits across whichever retirement accounts they have. The TSP system will not allow you to contribute too much to the TSP. If you do, the TSP will refund you the difference, and reject future contributions through the end of the calendar year. But the TSP doesn’t have insight into your other retirement accounts.
Military TSP + Federal TSP
Many members of the Guard and Reserves are also Technicians and have access to both a military TSP account and a civil service TSP account. They can make contributions to both TSP accounts in the same tax year. However, these accounts share the same annual limit across both accounts. It’s very important not to exceed these contribution limits.
The only time you can go above the annual employee deferral limit is when you are called to active duty and deploy to a tax-exempt zone. At this point, you will be able to contribute up to the Annual Addition Limit shown above ($57,000, or $63,000 with catch-up contributions).
TSP + 401k (or similar retirement account).
Again, the TSP and 401k plans share the same annual limit. In theory, it seems like one should be able to contribute up to the Annual Addition Limit if you have contributed to the maximum allowed between your other retirement account and the TSP. But the TSP won’t be able to track this on their own. So you will need to contact them and verify that it is possible, and request they allow it. Again, this is a theory. I have not seen it in practice.
Other Notes about TSP Contributions
The following information should help you determine how to allocate your TSP contributions:
Contributing by a percentage of your pay.
If you elect to contribute a percentage of pay to the TSP and the amount is more than your remaining salary after mandatory deductions (e.g. Federal income tax, state taxes, TSP loan payments, etc.) and other voluntary deductions that are processed before TSP contributions, then the resulting pay will be the amount withheld and contributed to your TSP account.
Contributing by dollar amount.
If you designate a whole dollar amount that is greater than your remaining salary, then no employee contributions will be made for that pay period, and if you are FERS you will not receive Agency Matching Contributions for that pay period.
If this occurs, you will need to lower your contribution level by electing to contribute either a lower percentage or dollar amount. No TSP contributions will be withheld from your pay until your new election is effective. Neither the new election or any matching contributions will be applied retroactively.
Automatic contributions.
The Thrift Savings Plan offers Automatic TSP Contributions for new employees. The military will also have automatic enrollment for members participating in the blended retirement plan.
Roth TSP. Here is more information about the Roth Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).
The Thrift Savings Plan is a great opportunity to save money for retirement and you should take advantage of it if you are eligible to participate. You can read more about the contribution rules at the TSP page.
Comments:
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Adam says
Ryan, According to TSP bulletin at tsp.gov “The combined total of traditional (tax-deferred) and Roth contributions made during the year cannot exceed the elective deferral limit. However, the elective deferral limit does not apply to Agency/Service Automatic (1%) contributions…” If a person reached the contribution limit in their civilian work and did not actively contribute to TSP, but was awarded that 1% Automatic contribution, are they considered over the elective deferral limit? My read of that statement is, they are not bound to the 1% over contribution, but it does not seem clear across different information sources.
Ryan Guina says
Hello Adam,
Elective deferrals only refer to the contributions made by the employee. You can make elective contributions up to the limit ($19,500 in 2021). Any agency matching contributions are made in addition to the elective contributions and do not count toward that limit.
So in the situation you mentioned, the employee could continue earning the 1% automatic agency contribution, even if they have already maxed out their elective deferrals.
I hope that helps!
BARBARA VISCARDI says
What is the percent we can contribute to the maximum?
Ryan Guina says
Barbara, the number is different for each person and is based on their salary. You will need to run some numbers to determine how much you need to contribute each month to reach the maximum contribution limit. For example, if you earn $100,000 per year, then you need to contribute 19.5% of your salary to max out your contributions ($19,500/$100,000). You can figure it out for your specific salary by replacing X with your salary ($19,500/X). That is the percentage you will need to contribute.
Michael Munitz says
Hello Ryan,
Are all TSP contributions to be made from government salaries? In other words, can I divert some funds from a personal trust fund into my TSP as long as I don’t exceed the addition or overall annual TSP limit? I hope you didn’t already address this question and I glanced over it.
Great stuff, thanks so much.
Ryan Guina says
Hello Michael,
Thank you for contacting me. Yes, all TSP contributions must come directly from your paycheck. However, you can also roll other retirement funds into your TSP, such as funds from another employer’s 401k, and IRA, etc.
If that isn’t an option, one strategy would be to increase your contributions from your paycheck to ensure you max out your TSP each year, and if you need more money for living expenses, pull a corresponding amount from savings or a personal trust fund. That would have the same impact as moving the amount directly from your trust fund into the TSP. Just don’t use that as an excuse to raid the fund. You would have to maintain the discipline to only withdraw the corresponding amount that you contributed to your TSP.
I hope this helps!
Barbara V. says
I don’t think that is a correct statement. I was told by the TSP people we can send them money to put into our account if we wanted to. It does not have to come from a government paycheck. I had asked this question to put away funds for my retirement without having to touch them and that was a good way to do it. I called them up and asked if I could send them funds to put into my account and they said yes.
Ryan Guina says
Hello Barbara,
Yes, it is possible to send funds to your TSP account. However, it can only be done in a certain manner. You can roll in or transfer in funds from another retirement account such as another TSP account, a 401(k) plan, an IRA, or a similar retirement account. However, you cannot simply write a check to make contributions. All employee contributions must come directly from your paycheck and can only be made during the calendar year for which the contributions are designated.
If you call the TSP customer service representative back, you can ask for clarification regarding which types of contributions can be made to your TSP and how they can be made.
Crystal Cui says
Dear Ryan,
My son is an new Marine just graduated from Boot camp on Jan 31, 2020. I want to know which retirement plan he is eligible participated from military automatically?( because I don’t see his checking account statement showing any contribution payroll deduction for each pay period ), second, where he can set up TSP account with? it seems TSP contribution has to deducted directly from his account. No ideas about how it works. Can you please possible advise? thanks. thanks for taking your valuable time!
New Marine’s Mom
Ryan Guina says
Hello Crystal,
Your son should be in the Blended Retirement System. There is no payroll deduction for his military retirement plan – only for the Thrift Savings Plan. He can sign up for the Thrift Savings Plan through his MyPay account.
The military will automatically contribute 1% of his base pay to his TSP account once he reaches 60 days of service. Matching contributions from the military will begin after 2 years of service and will continue through 26 years of service.
He can receive the maximum matching contribution from the military by contributing up to 5% of his pay (the military will also contribute 5% of his base pay).
Of course, he doesn’t need to limit his contributions to 5% of his pay. The more he puts away now, the more money he will have in his retirement years.
Best wishes.
Bill says
I am now confused about my TSP contributions and annual catch up contributions. For tax year 2018 my tax preparer told me that since my TSP is a retirement account and block 12 of my W2 had an amount in it, it counted as income for the taxable year? This has not occurred in past years. Is this something in the new tax law(s)? I looked at several tax publications and the 1040, am I missing or overlooked something? Are my TSP contributions taxable annually? If so, then why am I saving to be taxed again when I begin to take withdrawals. Isn’t that being taxed twice? I am understanding that this is pretax money? Please cite the reference that you are speaking of for the explanation.