The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a retirement savings and investment plan for Federal employees and members of the uniformed services, including the Ready Reserve. It was established by Congress in the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Act of 1986 and offers the same types of savings and tax benefits that many private corporations offer their employees under 401(k) plans.
The TSP is a defined contribution plan, meaning that the retirement income you receive from your TSP account will depend on how much you (and your agency or service, if you’re eligible to receive agency or service contributions) put into your account during your working years and the earnings accumulated over that time. The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) administers the TSP.
For more information please visit: the www.tsp.gov
What's New in TSP
Later this year, TSP will be introducing exciting features to make your TSP experience even better. You’ll have more flexibility in how you access My Account, more options to contact TSP representatives if you need help, and even more transactions you can complete smoothly and securely online. TSP looks forward to sharing details with you and answering any questions you may have during the coming months. Be sure to pay attention to TSP correspondence in the coming months and visit https://www.tsp.gov/new-tsp-features/ for updates.
TSP Catch-up Contribution Update
This year there is an important update to the way TSP Catch-up Contribution elections are made. TSP Catch-up contribution elections effective the first pay period of the 2022 tax year (December 19, 2022) forward will no longer require a separate catch-up contribution election. Eligible employees, who will be age 50 or older at any point during the 2022 calendar year, can combine their regular and catch-up contribution amounts into a single election amount under their regular Traditional and/or Roth accounts. Eligible employees will no longer see a separate TSP Catch-up election option. Additionally, starting at the end of the 2022 calendar year, this combined regular and catch-up contribution will rollover each year.
2022 TSP Contribution Limits
- Employees not participating in TSP catch-up Contributions: The elective deferral limit for Roth and Traditional contributions remains the same as last year at $20,500.
- To contribute the full $20,500 over the course of the year (26 pay periods), and receive the full matching (FERS employees), you should ensure that your biweekly contribution amount is set to $788.46 per pay period.
How Much Can I Contribute Calculator
- Employees who are eligible and plan to participate in the TSP catch-up Contributions: Employees who are eligible and plan to participate in the TSP Catch-up Contributions may contribute the combined elective deferral limit of $20,500, plus an additional $6,500, for a total contribution amount of $26,000. To contribute the full amount over the course of 26 pay periods, employees should elect to contribute $1,000 per pay period. Once the elective deferral limit of $20,500 is reached, the contributions will automatically start counting toward the catch-up contribution limit. If FERS, the matching will continue on the catch-up contribution when the elective deferral limit is reached.
- Please note that this only applies to employees who are, or will be, age 50 or older in the 2022 calendar year. Employees under the age of 50 for the 2022 calendar year are not eligible to contribute beyond the $20,500 elective deferral limit.
More information regarding Catch-up Contributions may be found at https://www.tsp.gov/making-contributions/catch-up-contributions/
***As of October 1st, 2020 employee's newly eligible for TSP, will automatically be contributing 5% in to the traditional TSP***
Update to TSP Guidance as of 10/01/2020.
How to Make Your TSP Election for 2022:
- Ask questions prior to updating your election
- Log on to www.employeeexpress.gov
- Make your election through Employee Express between now and December 19, 2021
- Contribute in all 26 pay periods to maximize the agency matching (FERS employees)
- Be careful to process your changes in the appropriate account type (Roth or Traditional)
- Money cannot be moved between Traditional and Roth accounts, even to correct an error
- Ensure the effective date of your election in Employee Express is 12/19/2021, if contributing for all 26 pay periods
- If you delay in making changes / elections and want to maximize the limits for the year, divide the 2022 limit by the remaining number of pay periods in 2022 to obtain the biweekly amount.
- You may start, stop, or change your TSP election at any time throughout the year using Employee Express.
If you are unable to login to your Employee Express account, please complete a TSP-1 election form and return it to bie-benefits@bia.gov no later than Friday, December 18th to maximize contributions over the full 26 pay periods. The TSP-1 is located on the TSP Website.
If you have questions, please contract your Servicing Benefits Specialist or bie-benefits@bia.gov.
TSP Webinar Schedule
TSP Webinars: TSP has announced August 2022 virtual webinars at no cost. These webinars can help better understand the TSP program and options. Please visit https://www.tsp.gov/online-learning/ to sign up. For a list of topics, times, and dates click here TSP-Webinars-Schedule-Aug-2022
***All times listed are Eastern Standard Time***
