Maxing Out the Thrift Savings Plan in 2018

Employees of the F Hey Hey, heed my warning…Don’t miss out on the agency match in 2018. Maxing out the Thrift Savings Plan in 2018 is easy…if you pay attention to the details. In 2018 there will be 27 pay periods…yes 27. Hey AX, there can only be 26 pay periods in a year, you say? Wrong, some years there are 27 (and stop being a dick, I’m trying to help people).

Understanding the Payroll Calendar

See, there it is…1, 2, 3, 4, 27. Count em up if you don’t believe me. Every F Hey Hey employee should have a copy of this hanging in their locker, or saved on their phone. This is important information y’all. Look at it and digest it.

The Devil is in the details.

For 2018, the contribution limit to your TSP is $18,500. An employee needs to divide that contribution limit number ($18,500) by 27. The answer you need is $686 (the TSP will round the 27th payment down to $664 so you don’t contribute too much). The TSP has a nifty little worksheet to help you:

Making it happen:

Now (if you remember your employeeexpress password) log in and click on the TSP tab on the left side of the screen. You’ll need to decide if you want to contribute solely to the “Traditional” path, the “Roth” option, or a combination of both. I’m 34, with about 15 years till retirement eligibility, so I’m balls deep in the “Roth” option. We can argue about which is better, in the comments section.

There you have it. If you’re interested in maxing out the Thrift Savings Plan in 2018, you have all the info you need. If you say “Ehh, screw it…that’s too much work”, then fuck you. Miss out on all the agency match you can get. I don’t care. For those of you that found this information helpful, please share it, retweet it, or whatever. Getting this out to the people is important. Also, and I’m gonna go all caps for a moment…REMEMBER TO CHANGE IT BACK TO A 26 PAY PERIOD CALCULATION FOR 2019…you don’t wanna mess that up.

AX is a regular contributor to the site and is pretty good with money. The sources of all this information came from the TSP website, and Employee Express.

Have you ever thought about transferring to Tampa? Check out AX’s article on Tampa Tower