The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a retirement savings and investment plan for Federal employees and members of the uniformed services. If you are covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS, FERS-RAE, and FERS-FRAE), contributing to the TSP is extremely important, as the TSP will be a very large part of your retirement income. To learn about the importance of contributing to the TSP, take a few minutes to view the following short, informative videos:
- How the TSP Fits into the Federal Employees Retirement System
- How Can Compound Earnings Work For Me?
The 2021 IRS annual contribution limit for regular TSP contributions is $19,500. In addition to regular TSP contributions, you may also make TSP Catch-up contributions, if you meet certain criteria. The 2021 IRS annual limit for TSP Catch-up is $6,500. You may start, stop, or change your TSP contributions at any time by using myPay. If you want to make contributions for both regular TSP and TSP Catch-up, you will enter only one election amount into myPay. The election amount you enter is the amount that will be withheld from your pay each pay period. After an election is entered into myPay, it will be effective at the beginning of the next pay period, but it will take 1-2 pay periods before it is visible in myPay and on your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES).
To view additional information, visit the TSP website. If you have questions, refer them to your Benefits Contact or AskBenefits@nih.gov.