Retirement TSP Tips/Tricks

[Mike Kilo]

I'll withdrawal 5% a year when I retire and be able to leave my kids/grandkids a few million after I'm gone.

Feel like adopting a 12 year old stuck in a 30 year olds body?

 

[breakaway2000]

Feel like adopting a 12 year old stuck in a 30 year olds body?

haha man... at this point, what's one more, hop on board.

 

[MJ]

MJ if you want I can scan in the briefing binder they gave me to add to the site. I’ll try and find it at work tomorrow.

Sure

 

[rugbydog11]

Also, there are 27 pay periods in 2018, so math that out for max instead of 26.

 

[MikeDelta]

Slightly off topic, but can I roll my 401K into the TSP? I haven't really been able to find anything on that.

 

[breakaway2000]

Also, there are 27 pay periods in 2018, so math that out for max instead of 26.

Great point. If you're currently maxing out and don't adjust accordingly, you'll miss out on the government matching portion during the 27th pay period.

 

[Super Salt]

You can view past fund performances and gauge how you want to move your money around:
TSP: Share Price History

I know lots has been said about the C and S funds, but don’t forget about the I fund either. It’s been my biggest money maker this year alone, with a current PIP of 22.45%. Like MJ said, you have to choose what suits your needs best. I personally move my funds around a bit but for a majority of the years it’s been 50% I, 30% S, 20% C.

 

[Super Salt]

Also, if you're prior military and contributed to TSP while in the service, get that money transferred over to your federal TSP. Granted, you can only transfer traditional contributions, it'll give you more money to manage in your federal TSP.

 

[Move78]

Slightly off topic, but can I roll my 401K into the TSP? I haven't really been able to find anything on that.

Yes. I did mine a few years ago. I forget the procedure. I assume the info is on the TSP site.

 

[breakaway2000]

You can view past fund performances and gauge how you want to move your money around:
TSP: Share Price History

I know lots has been said about the C and S funds, but don’t forget about the I fund either. It’s been my biggest money maker this year alone, with a current PIP of 22.45%. Like MJ said, you have to choose what suits your needs best. I personally move my funds around a bit but for a majority of the years it’s been 50% I, 30% S, 20% C.

The current 12 month pip is calculated based on the date range 11/01/16 - 10/31/17. The % pip takes into account contributions, share price when bought/moved, etc. During that time if you look strictly at the fund performance...
S Fund - 26.9%
C Fund - 24.5%
I Fund - 23.8%

I'd encourage anyone to also check out the long term performance of the funds here.
TSP: Summary of Returns

The C and S funds have greatly outperformed the I since it's inception.

Going as far back as the historical prices allow to account for an even starting point (not all funds inception date is equal). Each fund was roughly $10 per share in June of 2003. Since then...
S fund - 11.2% annualized return
C fund - 9.2% annualized return
I fund - 7.7% annualized return
F fund - 4.2% annualized return
G fund - 3.0% annualized return

Rough estimate based on average annualized return on a 100k investment (with no other contributions) in June 2003.
S fund - $469,135.30
C fund - $361,406.78
I fund - $293,795.48
F fund - $180,942.83
G fund - $154,993.00

 

[GulfBravoPapa]

Great point. If you're currently maxing out and don't adjust accordingly, you'll miss out on the government matching portion during the 27th pay period.

This drives me nuts... Why isn't there just a button I can click that says I want to contribute 100% that they allow me to? Why do I have to keep doing the math and changing it?

 

[Mike Kilo]

This drives me nuts... Why isn't there just a button I can click that says I want to contribute 100% that they allow me to? Why do I have to keep doing the math and changing it?

So they can not match your full amount. Just like any business. Imagine how much they save across the whole federal government when people miscalculate. It’s gotta add up.

 

[chaos]

At a minum

This drives me nuts... Why isn't there just a button I can click that says I want to contribute 100% that they allow me to? Why do I have to keep doing the math and changing it?

Would be nice. They do the math for you though in EEX. Also, you don't have to wait till the new year to change your election since you can do it up to 90 days in advance. I just did mine.

From EEX-

"Example to follow for deducting equal payments:
Number of Pay Periods in tax year: 27
Pay Period Deduction Amount: $686
(i.e. $18,500/27 = $686 rounded up)

The 27th payment will round to $664 to ensure the deduction amount does not exceed the limit for the year.This will ensure you will reach the annual limit on the last pay period of the tax year and continue to receive applicable agency contributions.

 

[DankVectorz]

What's the date of the new pay year this year?

 

[MJ]

What's the date of the new pay year this year?

Dec 10 is pp1

 

[DankVectorz]

Dec 10 is pp1

Ugh that's early. Damn FICA is going to sneak up on me again

 

[Bravo Delta]

Tip- take out the biggest tsp loan you can afford and spend it all on bitcoin.

 

[ajmezz]

Don't forget ethereum.

 

[rugbydog11]

i got added to a closed group on facebook recently for TSP stuff... and found TSPcalc.com. it pretty much shows you tons of different strategies that define the mean return, the deviation, when to transfer funds. i sort of designed my own basically replacing anything that happens to be G fund with a lifecycle... i would certainly check it out. many strategies showing more than 25 percent yearly. take some time, watch the intro video, and see if its something you are interested in. no sign up or cost or anything like that.

 

[Bravo Delta]

i got added to a closed group on facebook recently for TSP stuff... and found TSPcalc.com. it pretty much shows you tons of different strategies that define the mean return, the deviation, when to transfer funds. i sort of designed my own basically replacing anything that happens to be G fund with a lifecycle... i would certainly check it out. many strategies showing more than 25 percent yearly. take some time, watch the intro video, and see if its something you are interested in. no sign up or cost or anything like that.

Did it tell you when to invest in bitcoin? Because it just hit 14000