Military TSP Match Calculator

Service members under the Blended Retirement System (BRS) can pick up a substantial boost to their retirement savings through government matching contributions, and this tool shows you how much of that benefit you stand to capture. Because matched dollars compound for years before you ever touch them, even a modest paycheck contribution can grow into a meaningful balance over a career.

Two separate streams feed your account. The Department of Defense (DoD) deposits an automatic 1% of your basic pay once you pass 60 days of service, whether or not you put in a cent of your own. On top of that, the DoD matches your own contributions dollar-for-dollar up to the first 3% of basic pay, then adds 50 cents on the dollar for the next 2% of basic pay. Together those pieces reach a maximum government contribution of 5% of basic pay. Matching starts on the first day of your 25th month of service; before that only the automatic 1% arrives, so the calculator, which applies the full schedule, overstates the match for anyone in their first two years.

Contribute below the level needed to earn that full 5% and you simply forfeit money the government would otherwise hand you. Vesting is narrower than many people think: only the automatic 1% needs two years of service (it vests on the first day of the 25th month), while your own contributions and the matching contributions are yours from the day they arrive. One more distinction worth knowing is that Roth and Traditional TSP contributions are taxed differently, but the match itself always lands in the Traditional TSP no matter which one you fund.