Anyone familiar with Thrift Savings Plan?

[BPRICE1234]

My TSP account is doing well but unfortunately I got a really late start. Maybe 5 to 10 years left to work. Simply looking to maximize while I can afford to make up any losses.

[retiredguy123]

Not the TSP, but one thing I did was to deposit an amount equal to 10 percent of my entire career income (about $170K) into a "voluntary retirement account" just before retirement, and then transferred in into an IRA after retirement. That greatly increased my IRA balance that was able to grow tax deferred. It is a little known benefit that I think is only available to CSRS employees. Look it up.

[CarlR33]

I do not have a TSP (had to look it up) but with any type of plan you have an elective deferral limit of 23,5K (are you doing that), and then a 7,5K catch up and 11,2K higher catch up if your 60-63 years old (according to the internet). I would not depend on the interest making up (maximizing) for any late start but instead you should defer as much income as possible till retirement? My 2 cents.

[Topspinmo]

It’s been about 15 years since I was in thrift saving plan under furs retirement plan. IMO first make enough contributions (more if possible ) so you get maximum employer contributions. My last few year I was all in G fund which was no risk but minimum return. The stock market back 20 years ago was bouncing all over the place I didn’t want chance my money invested where I couldn’t have enough money to retire on when I turned 62. You have set goal more risk possible more return or little risk with smaller return. I my case we wasn’t too needy and live comfortably on modest income.

[retiredguy123]

I never used stocks in a tax deferred account because you get no benefit from the lower capital gains tax rates. I always deposited bonds in a tax deferred account and stocks in a non-tax deferred account.

[retiredguy123]

Another thing you can do is to front load your TSP contributions in the last year of work. So, you can contribute 100 percent of your salary in January and Februrary to the TSP, and then retire in March. So, you will have no taxable income in that final year.

[rsmurano]

The only way to make $$$ is to invest it, and that’s in stocks, and funds. The younger you are, the more risk you can take. I never never invested in bonds, and never will, I want to make $$$ not have my money just sitting around making nothing.
We invested 60% (at a minimum) of our income over the last 15 years of our careers, even when my wife retired at 53 and I retired at 61. Dollar cost averaging in good stocks and index funds are the way to make $$$$.

[Rocksnap]

My TSP account is doing well but unfortunately I got a really late start. Maybe 5 to 10 years left to work. Simply looking to maximize while I can afford to make up any losses.

I had the 2 “riskier” plans. Was doing really well until it lost 25% quickly about little over 3 years ago. After that, I couldn’t yank my money out fast enough and moved it to a totally different investment broker. But I’m thinking it would probably those TSP funds will soon again do very well again, real soon.

[Bill14564]

My TSP account is doing well but unfortunately I got a really late start. Maybe 5 to 10 years left to work. Simply looking to maximize while I can afford to make up any losses.

- Contribute the maximum each year which should also get any matching
- Contribute any "catch up" maximums you are eligible for also
- Learn how to take full advantage of matching funds, which could mean spreading contributions throughout the year (my matching was up to X% of my contribution each paycheck. If I hit my yearly maximum in July then I had no contributions in the last half of the year and therefore no matching the last half of the year)
- If you live in a state with state income tax, think hard before electing Roth contributions. If you convert funds to Roth after you've established residency in Florida then you won't have to pay state income tax
- If you can afford it, open another investment account and fund that too
- Live below your means. "If you have it you might as well spend it" is a recipe for never being able to retire.

[wawriwwawriw]

My wife last years she max out her contributions to include the additional $5,000 (I think) she was allowed. Research the allowable maximum amount you can contribute, this amount increases during the last few years.

[bmcgowan13]

My TSP account is doing well but unfortunately I got a really late start. Maybe 5 to 10 years left to work. Simply looking to maximize while I can afford to make up any losses.


Lots of great advice above.

I was federal 34+ years. CSRS and later a TSP. When I retired and my wife and I were consolidating all our accounts our manager at Schwab was very impressed with the TSP performance--and low fees. Told me he really couldn't match it.

On a side note the GPO/WEP is set to be repealed within the week. For CSRS retirees with outside or pre/post retirement income it is great win for us. I was told for 40 years it would never be repealed. Don't forget to consider this in your plans.

WEP/GPO Repeal Has Retroactive Benefits (https://www.napa-net.org/news/2024/12/wepgpo-repeal-has-retroactive-benefits/)

Welcome to the other side...

[Lisadiabb]

I have TSP and so far this year at 24% returns. I do move funds around based on the markets. I moved to G last week based on trends. There are some great Facebook pages to help with buy and hold or using strategies for growth.

[txfan]

My TSP account is doing well but unfortunately I got a really late start. Maybe 5 to 10 years left to work. Simply looking to maximize while I can afford to make up any losses.

I’m very familiar. Max your deposits 50/50 in the C & S Funds. Make sure your balance is 100% in the two stock funds: 50% C & 50% S. Now, don’t look at it until you file for retirement.

There will be ups and downs, but your share numbers will only increase with each bi-weekly deposit. There share value will fluctuate here and there, but overall, you’ll be increasing shares and value. Stay out of the G & F until you retire, and even then some people keep a high percentage in the stock funds.

You only lose shares when you start taking withdrawals.

[sharonl7340]

My TSP account is doing well but unfortunately I got a really late start. Maybe 5 to 10 years left to work. Simply looking to maximize while I can afford to make up any losses.

Contribute the max yearly (or as close as you can each year). Check your statement online every quarter to see your distribution and the return on investment for that quarter. Watch the markets regularly and redistribute accordingly, but don't panic if your high-risk investments show minor losses. You need to give it some time to see how it does in a year (unless you are bleeding investment during a quarter). If you are not familiar with the funds, get familiar with them to see which ones are low-risk, mid-risk, and high-risk, and only put the percentage of funds you can afford to lose in the high-risk funds.

You can lose lots of money in a short time, but you can make lots of money as well. You just need to be aware of what is happening in the stock market. If the bottom falls out, then change your redistribution accordingly.

You are in a long-term retirement strategy with a TSP, so use it to your advantage if you have 5-10 more years to contribute. Become intimately familiar with the funds and how they will work for you. Use all the tools on the TSP website to help you.

[nn0wheremann]

My TSP account is doing well but unfortunately I got a really late start. Maybe 5 to 10 years left to work. Simply looking to maximize while I can afford to make up any losses.
Make the maximum contribution you can while you are working, keep it in the fund that is earning the most, and use your fund switching facility if needed.

[jaclou]

It was not available when I was in the FAA but I would put as much as I could in a Roth TSP.
No taxes or RMD's (Required Min Distibution) in your retirement. Or a mix of both regular and Roth. Below is from TSP website

"With Roth TSP, your contributions go into the TSP after tax withholding. That means you pay taxes on your contributions at your current income tax rate. The advantage of the Roth TSP is that you won’t pay taxes later when you take out your contributions and any qualified earnings.

You may consider splitting your contributions between Roth and traditional. Note that if you receive automatic or matching contributions from your agency or service, those contributions will always go into your traditional TSP balance and cannot be converted to Roth within your TSP account."

[Nbquack]

Good advice, my husband did same for both of us. Worked out well.

[Peachbelle]

[With regards to your TSP and which fund to place it in and at what time, there is an advisory service you can sign up for and they will tell you what finds to invest in and when to change funds. This is an independent service outside of the TSP and yes they do charge a yearly fee. I have used them for several years now and it has kept me 'out of trouble.

[USNA87]

My TSP account is doing well but unfortunately I got a really late start. Maybe 5 to 10 years left to work. Simply looking to maximize while I can afford to make up any losses.

Retired Naval officer and current Navy Civilian employee. When I retired I transferred my TSP into my Civilian TSP, around 13 years ago, and have stayed 100% in the C Fund. There is automatic match of 1% to my Traditional, and I add an additional 4% to the Traditional to get the full match. The rest goes to the Roth. It has been doing very well since I started.

[Biker Guy CJI]

My TSP account is doing well but unfortunately I got a really late start. Maybe 5 to 10 years left to work. Simply looking to maximize while I can afford to make up any losses.

G 10%
F 10%
C 30%
S 30%
I 20%

Still that way 14 years after retirement.

[retiredguy123]

G 10%
F 10%
C 30%
S 30%
I 20%

Still that way 14 years after retirement.
When I retired, the first thing I did was to transfer my entire TSP account into my traditional IRA. I didn't want Congress to have any control of my money. By the way, they have used the TSP as a way to borrow and spend more money.

[DAVES]

My TSP account is doing well but unfortunately I got a really late start. Maybe 5 to 10 years left to work. Simply looking to maximize while I can afford to make up any losses.

BEWARE. Financial advice often comes from people who are SELLING SOMETHING. Even people trying to offer helpful OPINIONS we do not know you and I would not POST necessary information. An old expression is man plans and god laughs. "A late start?" REALITY there are no do overs. Five to ten years left to work. People and how they think. Reminds me a guy I knew fro Jamaica. He had a diary in his pocket plotting the next 7 years savings etc. They ne was going to move back to Jamaica.

Contrarian or REALIST-not sure what the truth is. All you need to know is when you will pass, what will be your cause of death, tax rate till you pass, inflation rate till you pass. return on you money till you pass. NO ONE KNOWS. ALL WE HAVE IS OPINIONS.

Reading financial STUFF since like High School. WOW A LONG TIME AGO. There is always the disclaimer-my OPINION so that people cannot SUE them if they are wrong. IF, I KNEW, Buffet would be calling me for advice.

I watch Payne. HUH his advertised FREE BOOKS only cost you twenty dollars each. Sort of lost my faith in him due to that. He has said that older people, US are investing like far younger people-taking on far more risk. Right thing to do? We will ge the answer as a shoulda, coulda, mighta but didn'ta

[DAVES]

When I retired, the first thing I did was to transfer my entire TSP account into my traditional IRA. I didn't want Congress to have any control of my money. By the way, they have used the TSP as a way to borrow and spend more money.

Truth I don't know what a TSP account is. Apparently from a government job. I live in the REAL WORLD. Government accounting-huh. We had no choice but to pay a TAX called social security. We had no choice but to let government hold OUR MONEY. What did they do with OUR MONEY that we gave them to hold for us? THEY SPENT IT. Imagine we pay TAXES to a BUSINESS the United States that owes 37 TRILLION DOLLARS.

iNVESTMENTS-both parties have said we should be able to invest part of OUR Social Security into the stock market. We ALL should know from experience. Some would do better than others. VOTERS would scream the government should take from those that did well and give to those who did not.

[DAVES]

When I retired, the first thing I did was to transfer my entire TSP account into my traditional IRA. I didn't want Congress to have any control of my money. By the way, they have used the TSP as a way to borrow and spend more money.

Far as government control of you money. Endless articles about budgets and where your money goes. Imagine a service from the IRS. Perhaps like a blood test result. Travel. You spent $$$$$$$
normal for you age and income is. HUM-you are normal, high or low. .

[retiredguy123]

Far as government control of you money. Endless articles about budgets and where your money goes. Imagine a service from the IRS. Perhaps like a blood test result. Travel. You spent $$$$$$$
normal for you age and income is. HUM-you are normal, high or low. .
I just "feel" better knowing that my money is in my Vanguard Investment IRA being invested and controlled by me. I would do the same thing if I retired from a private company and had a 401K account. I don't want someone else controlling my money, especially the Government. When I retired, it took me about 2 days to send in the form directing my TSP account to be liquidated and moved out of the Government's hands.

[Mrprez]

Truth I don't know what a TSP account is. Apparently from a government job. I live in the REAL WORLD. Government accounting-huh. We had no choice but to pay a TAX called social security. We had no choice but to let government hold OUR MONEY. What did they do with OUR MONEY that we gave them to hold for us? THEY SPENT IT. Imagine we pay TAXES to a BUSINESS the United States that owes 37 TRILLION DOLLARS.

iNVESTMENTS-both parties have said we should be able to invest part of OUR Social Security into the stock market. We ALL should know from experience. Some would do better than others. VOTERS would scream the government should take from those that did well and give to those who did not.

Federal employees have no choice but to pay SS, the FERS system was enacted in 1987. Prior to that there was CSRS and employees did not contribute to or collect SS. A TSP, Thrift Savings Plan, is a voluntary system similar to a 401K in the private sector.

We moved my wife’s TSP funds to an IRA in preparation for her taking RMDs starting in 2025.

[BPRICE1234]

I am FERS but will look into it.




QUOTE=retiredguy123;2396484]Not the TSP, but one thing I did was to deposit an amount equal to 10 percent of my entire career income (about $170K) into a "voluntary retirement account" just before retirement, and then transferred in into an IRA after retirement. That greatly increased my IRA balance that was able to grow tax deferred. It is a little known benefit that I think is only available to CSRS employees. Look it up.[/QUOTE]

[BPRICE1234]

I just moved from OH to FL. I have both ROTH AND TRADITIONAL TSP. I thought ROTH already paid tax? What advantage would be rolling it into the traditional TSP?

[BPRICE1234]

I saw the TSP website to help maximize your returns.
I have been 100% C fund and it looks like this year will end around 22%





[With regards to your TSP and which fund to place it in and at what time, there is an advisory service you can sign up for and they will tell you what finds to invest in and when to change funds. This is an independent service outside of the TSP and yes they do charge a yearly fee. I have used them for several years now and it has kept me 'out of trouble.

[BPRICE1234]

We pay SS as well.



Truth I don't know what a TSP account is. Apparently from a government job. I live in the REAL WORLD. Government accounting-huh. We had no choice but to pay a TAX called social security. We had no choice but to let government hold OUR MONEY. What did they do with OUR MONEY that we gave them to hold for us? THEY SPENT IT. Imagine we pay TAXES to a BUSINESS the United States that owes 37 TRILLION DOLLARS.

iNVESTMENTS-both parties have said we should be able to invest part of OUR Social Security into the stock market. We ALL should know from experience. Some would do better than others. VOTERS would scream the government should take from those that did well and give to those who did not.

[retiredguy123]

I just moved from OH to FL. I have both ROTH AND TRADITIONAL TSP. I thought ROTH already paid tax? What advantage would be rolling it into the traditional TSP?
Correct. There would be no advantage to rolling over a Roth into a Traditional IRA. But, I think after you retire, you can liquidate both the Roth and the Traditional TSPs and do a direct transfer to an investment company like Vanguard or Fidelity. Then, you would have two IRAs that you could control where the money is invested.

[Marmaduke]

My TSP account is doing well but unfortunately I got a really late start. Maybe 5 to 10 years left to work. Simply looking to maximize while I can afford to make up any losses.
As I approached retirement, as you are now, I did EXACTLY as Warren Buffett suggested with my TSP and it has paid off dearly.
90% into low-cost S&P Funds
10% into short term bonds.

I could afford to put the max in to get the match from my employer all along. Do it!

Warren knows.

[Marmaduke]

I have TSP and so far this year at 24% returns. I do move funds around based on the markets. I moved to G last week based on trends. There are some great Facebook pages to help with buy and hold or using strategies for growth.
I have 24.68 return so far this year on my TSP this year too.

[BlueStarAirlines]

Another thing you can do is to front load your TSP contributions in the last year of work. So, you can contribute 100 percent of your salary in January and Februrary to the TSP, and then retire in March. So, you will have no taxable income in that final year.

Please, PLEASE DO NOT follow this advice. If you do this you will miss out on matching for the remainder of the year. Matching is done by pay period, so front loading will ensure that you miss out on any matching above the 1%.

[BlueStarAirlines]

Current Fed who is 100% C fund.

Lots of great info on here but some is dated, some is from Feds who were never in FERS, some from folks who were never Feds, etc.

A good place to get general TSP information is to follow Chris Barfield (google Barfield Financial and look for his TSP section). He doesn't sell anything or want you money...just straight up Federal employee info that includes TSP.

[retiredguy123]

Please, PLEASE DO NOT follow this advice. If you do this you will miss out on matching for the remainder of the year. Matching is done by pay period, so front loading will ensure that you miss out on any matching above the 1%.
I guess it depends on when you want to retire, whether you are a FERS or CSRS employee, and your tax bracket. I was under CSRS, and by retiring in March, I saved a lot of money on income taxes by front loading my TSP contributions. Do the math and time your retirement date to your best advantage.

[Bill14564]

Please, PLEASE DO NOT follow this advice. If you do this you will miss out on matching for the remainder of the year. Matching is done by pay period, so front loading will ensure that you miss out on any matching above the 1%.

You missed the statement about retiring in March. There would be no matching for the remainder of the year since retiring in March ends the year right there.

Contributing as much as possible (to include your full salary) to a tax-deferred TSP account immediately prior to retiring will lower your taxable income while maximizing your retirement savings.