Thrift Savings Plan - TSP

The “Thrift Savings Plan,” or “TSP,” is kind of like the federal government’s version of a 401(k) for its employees, and for military personnel. Folks choose how much of their pre-tax earnings they want to contribute (up to a certain amount), the government matches it (up to a certain amount), and then it’s invested in various funds according to our retirement investment strategy.

There are several different types of funds to choose from. The TSP also comes with a ROTH option for those who’d rather make their retirement contributions post-tax, but both options are, critics say, nice and efficient private retirement account alternatives to those used by The Man.