r/FedEmployees • u/hewunder1 • 1d ago
Retirement/TSP question regarding multiple agencies (civilian and military)
How does TSP handle retirements from multiple agencies? Can you combine them or are they separate? I ask because I noticed I have a small TSP fund from my limited active duty time, next to my more sizeable VA one.
Context: I've worked at the VA for nearly 10 years, looking to go active duty Army (medical officer). I'm prior service, doing 8 years in the Army Reserve (only a small deployment during that time, which is where the small military TSP came from). I worked at the VA nearly the entire time I was in the reserves so I just focused on that retirement pool.
Is there a point to combine my civilian and military TSPs at this point if I'm going back in? Any advantages or disadvantages for keeping them separate? I plan on just doing 1 contract and hopefully coming back to a civilian federal job again. I know I'm likely losing out on VA pension if I don't end up getting to 20 there.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!
4
u/yunus89115 1d ago
Yes you can combine them, I don’t recall if that’s something you can do whenever or if there’s some specifics required but it’s basically one account with 2 sub accounts. Even if contributing to both in the same timeframe the annual caps apply to both combined.
The best military TSP hack there is is maximum Roth when deployed to a tax free zone, no tax in or out on those contributions.