Any General Schedule (GS) Employees/Retirees?

[USMC_Anglico]

BRS won't benefit you as you have a .GOV covered by the TSP already with matching. Stick with just contributing on .GOV side as that is your primary paycheck. If you are only doing $9K, no worries. Every year up it by 1%, you won't feel it in the take home as it will be covered by the annual raise/step increases. In several years you will be maxing it out....

[steyrman13]

Whoa, soup sandwich crisis. I’m going to stick with the weekend warrior gig as long as I can, only 15 more years to go.

I was under the impression that junior mil would benefit more with the BRS. Election window begins in 2018 so I have some time to consider which direction - leaning towards opting out from what I’ve read. I really need to speak with a financial advisor as someone else mentioned.

I won’t come close to the $18k contribution cap, more like $9k per year if I can manage.

Yeah definitely check with a financial advisor and if you have a good one on base that understands the system even better. When they came and spoke to us, the calculator was based on max contributions. I saw very few calculations that benefitted a weekend warrior and only a very tiny percentage of active duty enlisted who only had a year and half or less that t could possibly benefit.

The biggest thing I see is if you only do like 4 or five years and don't plan to stay for retirement, then you get a few extra bucks in your tsp that you didn't pay into but that's about it.

[qsy]

Whoa, soup sandwich crisis. I’m going to stick with the weekend warrior gig as long as I can, only 15 more years to go.

I was under the impression that junior mil would benefit more with the BRS. Election window begins in 2018 so I have some time to consider which direction - leaning towards opting out from what I’ve read. I really need to speak with a financial advisor as someone else mentioned.

I won’t come close to the $18k contribution cap, more like $9k per year if I can manage.

Make sure that you understand the Reserve retirement process and system before you make any decisions. I know many individuals who made decisions based on what they "thought" and what people "said" that turned out to be inaccurate. There may be advantages/disadvantages of one system versus the other when you factor in the deferment to age 60 on receiving benefits.

[dwhitehorne]

Good advice on getting the facts not the "my buddy told me " Also be careful with the financial advice. I had a gentleman after I got married try to tell me to put the minimum in TSP and invest the rest with him. I ran away from him quickly. David

[Dienekes]

There is an outfit called NARFE for current and retired federal employees that deals with these issues all the time. You might want to check them out to see what they can do for you by way of valid info. http://www.narfe.org/home/index.cfm

Beware of all the hearsay even if well meant. Your specific info may not match up with what someone else did n their case. When I was getting close to punching out I about memorized the guidebook I was using. I plumb HATE surprises!

Anything I knew then is no doubt totally obsolete now. For one thing, I was and remain the old CSRS which only dinosaurs have...

Just by way of illustration: https://www.amazon.com/You-First-Fed.../dp/0692335668

[CGSteve]

If you are federal LE, ask your MSS or HR person about getting a payment for attending a LE academy after military service. There is a program where they count that as post military employment training, which you can get some $ for.

[contax_shooter]

Thanks for all of your input. I sat down and read all about the TSP information on their website and have decided:

80% of my Reserve pay into traditional, TSP allocation into L2050 at 100%
20% of my civilian FERS pay into traditional TSP.

100% of previous employer's 401K into my civilian FERS traditional TSP.

[rocsteady]

I've been very happy with the way they've managed my tsp. I'm in the L 2030 and like everyone else doing very well with stocks right now. Tsp went up 25% in last 12 months

[qsy]

Thanks for all of your input. I sat down and read all about the TSP information on their website and have decided:

80% of my Reserve pay into traditional, TSP allocation into L2050 at 100%
20% of my civilian FERS pay into traditional TSP.

100% of previous employer's 401K into my civilian FERS traditional TSP.

Good job on getting schooled up on the "system". Make sure you stay up on it and adjust accordingly.

Also, get to know the Reserve retirement system as well. There are a lot of misconceptions and a lot of "experts" giving advice. A lot of guys take the wait 'til later approach and miss opportunities to maximize their benefits along the way.