Agency Automatic Contributions

The agency automatic contribution is a very specific retirement savings item open to federal government employees.

Employers commonly offer matching funds for some of the money employees set aside for retirement. The federal government has this kind of program as well (See "Agency Matching Contributions" for more details), but the agency automatic contribution works a little differently. Federal government employees who participate in its thrift savings plan get the extra benefit of agency automatic contributions.

In this program, the government makes an automatic contribution equaling 1% of the worker's pay. This comes not as matching funds, but as an auto add-on. Employees get it even if they don't make a contribution on their own.