TSP basics.
Start here for the Thrift Savings Plan: the funds, the match, how balances grow, and the fundamentals every federal saver should have down cold.
Every guide in this cluster
2027 TSP Contribution Limits: The Projection and the Per-Pay-Period Math
Projected $25,500 / $8,000 / $11,750, how the limits are indexed, per-pay-period amounts for every scenario, the mandatory Roth catch-up, and the December election that protects all 26 matches. Updated when the IRS announces.
Your C Fund Is a Tech Bet: Diversifying With the S and I Funds
A third of the C Fund is one sector and ten companies are 40% of it. What the S and I Funds actually add, three allocations and the exposure each delivers, and how to rebalance inside the TSP’s two-transfer limit.
L Funds for Feds With a Pension: Which One, and the Glide-Path Problem
The L Funds glide to 72% bonds because they assume the TSP is your whole retirement. Why the target-date label is the wrong way for a fed to pick one, how to count your pension as the bond allocation, and three ways to use L Funds with a pension.
Five TSP Mistakes in Your Last Five Years Before Retirement
The allocation cliff, the lost match, the loan that becomes a tax bill, the Roth clock nobody started, and the rollover pitch — what each costs, the fix, and a year-by-year checklist.
Why Maxing the TSP First Can Be a Mistake
Match first, then a Roth IRA, then max the TSP — the right order to fund a federal retirement in 2026, plus the front-loading trap that costs you free match money.
TSP Funds Explained: A 2026 Complete Guide to G, F, C, S, and I
What each fund holds, current returns and 10-year history, expense ratios, and the career-stage allocation framework. The best place to begin.
2026 TSP Contribution Limits: The Per-Pay-Period Math
$24,500 regular, $35,750 for ages 60–63, and the per-pay-period math that protects your full agency match. Plus the front-load trap that costs high earners thousands.
The TSP Balance You Should Have at Every Age
Age-based balance targets at 30, 40, 50, 60, 62, and 67 — adjusted downward because federal employees have a pension the generic calculators ignore.
Half of Americans Have No Retirement Account. Feds With TSP Are Already Ahead.
Context for federal employees who don’t realize how unusual their position is. The TSP plus a FERS pension is one of the strongest retirement structures available to any U.S. worker.
The TSP Millionaire Club Just Lost 10,000 Members
Millionaires peaked near 195,000 at year-end, then fell to ~185,000 when stocks dipped. How the average one did it in 27.87 years, the three levers, and a "how long to your million" calculator.
Back to the full pillar
This is one cluster of the TSP pillar. Explore Roth & catch-up, withdrawals & income, and rollovers in the full pillar.
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