{"id":68659,"date":"2022-10-07T13:51:36","date_gmt":"2022-10-07T13:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/10\/07\/this-coast-guardsman-became-a-millionaire-with-his-thrift-savings-plan\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:34:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:34:12","slug":"this-coast-guardsman-became-a-millionaire-with-his-thrift-savings-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2022\/10\/07\/this-coast-guardsman-became-a-millionaire-with-his-thrift-savings-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"This Coast Guardsman became a millionaire with his Thrift Savings Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In October 2021, a Coast Guard warrant officer hit a major milestone: He crossed the $1 million mark in his Thrift Saving Plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then, his TSP balance has been up and down because of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/pay-benefits\/2020\/07\/30\/dont-let-covid-derail-your-thrift-savings-plan\/\" target=\"_blank\">vicissitudes of the stock market<\/a>, but that hasn\u2019t deterred him. \u201cMy advice to anyone who is worried about the markets is just to ignore them and leave everything alone,\u201d said Steve, who asked that his last name not be used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019re planning for the long game, 40 years or so. Over that time period there will be many ups and downs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Steve, 44, has been investing in his TSP since it first became available to service members in late 2001, when he was an E-5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTime is the secret, really,\u201d Steve said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board couldn\u2019t provide information on how many military members have reached the $1 million mark in their TSP accounts. But there likely aren\u2019t many, since service members have only been able to contribute to TSP since 2001, and the vast majority of that time was without matching funds from the Defense Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Steve hit the $1 million mark in October 2021, there were 98,523 TSP millionaires overall, but that includes all the federal workers in the TSP program, as well as military members. Those millionaires averaged 28 years of contributions. Steve hit the mark in his 20th full year in the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t think you\u2019ll find a lot of TSP millionaires on the military side, because it took a lot of work to get there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are likely few who, like him accumulated most of their balance while enlisted, with a few years as a CWO, without rolling any funds in from an IRA or outside 401k.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2022\/10\/09\/big-changes-in-your-savings-plan-have-taken-effect\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/TSP-web.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Big changes in your savings plan have taken effect<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">There are more options for saving in your Thrift Savings Plan, but there are costs.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDollar-cost averaging will be the winner in the long run, or at least it has been for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dollar-cost averaging means putting money into the investments on a regular basis over time, as you do with the TSP, the government\u2019s equivalent of a 401k retirement plan. Let\u2019s say you\u2019re investing $100 a month. You buy more shares of stocks with that $100 when the price is low and fewer shares when the stock price is high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But there are likely others who are millionaires because they\u2019ve been piling up savings and investments outside the TSP, too. In addition to his TSP, Steve has about $200,000 in an IRA account, which he used to begin saving in 1995, before TSP became available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The TSP landscape changed with the military\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/2017\/12\/19\/retirement-guide-brs-or-legacy-well-help-you-find-the-right-path\/\" target=\"_blank\">Blended Retirement System<\/a>, or BRS, in which DoD now matches up to 5% of TSP contributions. That means those contributing at least 5% of basic pay are, in essence, contributing 10% to their retirement. All those coming into the military as of Jan. 1, 2018, are automatically enrolled in BRS, as well as certain others who converted to BRS from the legacy retirement system before the 2018 deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As of April, there were 1.1 million BRS participants in the TSP; with an average balance of $9,893, according to the TSP board. There were 1.3 million non-BRS military members with TSP accounts, with an average balance of $36,355. (Of those, 638,000 had left the service but still have accounts.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese kids coming in now, they have the match. They could have $2 million, $3 million, $4 million by the time they retire at age 50,\u201d Steve said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He\u2019s in the legacy retirement system, which pays out more in retirement, but there is no government match to his TSP account. He\u2019s done it all on his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As of October 2020 there\u2019s a default 5% contribution rate for federal workers automatically enrolled in the TSP, including BRS members. If service members don\u2019t want to contribute that much, they have to take action to decrease it. But decreasing contributions below 5% means you\u2019re leaving money on the table \u2014 the free money coming with the 5% DoD match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The vast majority of troops are getting that full match:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Troops contributing at least 5% to get the full TSP match<\/th><th><b>As of April, 2022<\/b><\/th><th><b>Increase over previous April<\/b><\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Active duty in BRS<\/td><td>78.7%<\/td><td>+8 percentage points<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ready Reserve in BRS<\/td><td>70.9%<\/td><td>+12 percentage points<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><i>Source: Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board<\/i><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018I paid myself first\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Steve has long encouraged other service members to start investing early in their TSP. \u201cI\u2019m a big proponent of the TSP, to the point where the crew hates standing watch with me because they get four hours of TSP talk, whether they want it or not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each year in December, he increased his TSP contribution by whatever the pay raise was for the following calendar year. And when he got promoted, before the pay raise showed up in his paycheck, he bumped up his contribution by that amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUltimately the goal was to get as much in as I could, but to never feel it. So, I always made sure that I upped everything before my pay raise took effect, because once you get that money in your pocket, you don\u2019t want to give it back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also contributed as much of special pays and incentive pays that he could within the IRS limits. He\u2019s gotten two reenlistment bonuses, and was able to put most of those into his TSP. \u201cIf service members can get those big bonuses into their TSP right off the bat, they\u2019re just setting themselves up for success,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI made sure during my entire career that I paid myself first, making that TSP contribution first, before anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Financial experts agree. \u201cOne of the best ways to save for retirement is saving over a long time, and to continue, even if you start small,\u201d said Gerri Walsh, president of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. \u201cStart small and dream big, because as those contributions accumulate and compound and are matched, there are opportunities for growth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Dealing with volatility<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many people wonder, in this time of stock market craziness, whether they should take some action with their investments. \u201cThe most important thing is sometimes the hardest thing to do, and that is to step back, take a deep breath, and look rationally at what you have and what your balance sheet looks like for your family,\u201d said Walsh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUse that to help guide your choices for working on your goals. \u2026 Taking the long-term view will help you ride market volatility from time to time. It can be really uncomfortable when the roller coaster is pointing down. But it\u2019s very difficult to time the market,\u201d she said. If you\u2019re out of the market when it recovers, by the time you get back in, you may actually be purchasing the same basket of investments at a higher price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For military members, who are decades away from leaving the work force, what happens year to year and month to month doesn\u2019t really matter,\u201d said JJ Montanaro, a certified financial planner who is relationship director in the Military Affairs Division at USAA. Rather than take any major actions now, he said, \u201cuse this as an opportunity to do a self-assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s easy to be a bull and be aggressive when things are going well, as they have mostly for the last 14 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf your portfolio isn\u2019t allowing you to sleep at night these days, then maybe make an adjustment to your long-term strategy. But don\u2019t take any action based on short-term news and market advice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Steve\u2019s personal strategy has been to invest in various funds in the TSP, but he\u2019s stayed completely out of international funds, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another issue is that some military families are experiencing financial struggles in these difficult economic times, and may consider taking money out of the TSP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But beware. Not only will it mean consequences to your retirement stash down the road, you\u2019ll also have to pay taxes. There\u2019s a way to make a hardship withdrawal from your TSP, but consider other options, such as a loan. You can\u2019t put the money back into your TSP if you withdraw it, Walsh said. Taking a loan from your TSP is another possibility, allowing you to put the money back in as you repay the loan. But shop around for other options, she said. There may be a lower interest rate from a commercial lender. Or check with your military relief society to see if your particular financial situation might qualify for a no-interest loan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It might make sense to adjust the amount you\u2019re contributing. \u201cIf you\u2019re contributing to your TSP at a high level, but your family is going into debt because of rising costs or other considerations \u2014perhaps because a spouse has lost a job \u2014 that is the time to think about whether you can cut back on the amount you are contributing, while continuing to contribute,\u201d Walsh said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key factor for family\u2019s well-being<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One aspect of his career definitely helped his family\u2019s finances, though it didn\u2019t come without sacrifice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He has been in the same area for his entire career. That enabled his wife to continue to build her career in the federal government, and they\u2019ve been paying down their mortgage balance for 20 years. Their son hasn\u2019t had to change schools, and they\u2019ve always lived in the same town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUltimately there was a price to pay,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve taken uncomfortable jobs, I\u2019ve gone overseas. I\u2019ve had four sea tours. \u2026 It\u2019s a challenge. I\u2019ve been fortunate being able to stay here. I know plenty of guys who wanted to stay and couldn\u2019t because the detailer had other plans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the real key to his success goes back to his parents. When he enlisted at the age of 18, they encouraged him to start saving to accumulate six months of salary, \u201cin case something happens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThen it\u2019s like a drug. I got addicted to saving.\u201d He owes his parents for that advice and encouragement, he said. \u201cWhat I owe them is, I\u2019ll retire in four years, and I\u2019ll go back to work if I want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOr I won\u2019t work at all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This military TSP millionaire said his parents encouraged him to start saving part of his salary early, and it&#8217;s paid off for him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":74185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":82,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,93,82,25,15],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3302],"class_list":["post-68659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-mil-money","category-newsletters","category-pay-benefits"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"UVIQCD6FBNCTLOPFDK75HNOF4I","arc_canonical_url":"\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2022\/10\/07\/this-coast-guardsman-became-a-millionaire-with-his-thrift-savings-plan\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>This Coast Guardsman became a millionaire with his Thrift Savings Plan - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This military TSP millionaire said his parents encouraged him to start saving part of his salary early, and it&#039;s paid off for him.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This Coast Guardsman became a millionaire with his Thrift Savings Plan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This military TSP millionaire said his parents encouraged him to start saving part of his salary early, and it&#039;s paid off for him.\" \/>\n<meta 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