2026 TSP Contribution Limits Increase: What Military Members and Federal Employees Need to Know

The IRS announced today that contribution limits for 401(k) plans and the Thrift Savings Plan are increasing to $24,500 for 2026, up from $23,500 in 2025. If you're a military member or federal employee contributing to TSP, you need to understand what this means for you - and more importantly, what you need to do about it.

Here's the thing most people miss: the way you adjust your contributions is completely different depending on whether you're military or civilian. Let me break it down.

For Military Members: You Need to Do Math

Military members can only contribute to TSP as a percentage of base pay. You can't just log into MyPay and say "I want to contribute $24,500 next year." You have to figure out what percentage of your base pay equals $24,500, then set that percentage in MyPay.

And here's what makes it complicated - your BAH, BAS, and other entitlements don't count. Only your base pay. So when you do the math, you're calculating against a smaller number than your total income.

Let's use an example. Staff Sergeant (E-6) with 8 years currently makes $3,958 in base pay per month. With the proposed 4.5% military pay increase for 2026, that would be $4,136 per month, or $49,632 annually. (Note: Official 2026 military pay tables haven't been published yet, but Congress has proposed a 4.5% increase.)

To max out TSP: $24,500 ÷ $49,632 = 49.36%

Round up to 50% because MyPay requires whole numbers. This SSgt would need to set TSP contributions to 50% of base pay to max out for 2026.

Important note: If you're in BRS, your automatic 1% and matching contributions (up to 4%) do NOT count toward the $24,500 elective deferral limit. Those are separate and count toward a different limit called the "annual additions limit" which is $72,000 for 2026. So you get your $24,500 plus the government match on top of that.

The math gets trickier if you want to hit exactly $24,500 in December without maxing out earlier. You need to spread it across all pay periods to get the full year of matching.

For Federal Civilian Employees: Much Simpler

If you're a federal civilian employee, you can contribute a dollar amount per pay period through the GRB (Government Retirement & Benefits) Platform or your agency's payroll system. This makes hitting the limit much easier.

Federal employees are paid bi-weekly - 26 pay periods per year. To max out in 2026:

$24,500 ÷ 26 = $942.31 per pay period

You can set your contribution to $942 per pay period and you'll hit the limit right around the last paycheck of the year. If you want to be more precise, you could do $943 per pay period for some periods and $942 for others.

The advantage here is precision. You're not estimating based on percentages and then finding out in December you're $500 short or hitting the limit in November and missing that last match payment.

The December Strategy: Timing Matters for BRS Members

If you're in the Blended Retirement System, timing your contributions matters. You want to hit the $24,500 limit during your last paycheck in December - not before.

Here's why: You only get matching contributions during pay periods when you're actively contributing. If you max out in November, your contributions stop for December, which means you lose a full month of matching.

TSP will automatically stop your contributions once you hit $24,500. The system won't let you over-contribute (there was a glitch in 2021-2022, but that's been fixed). So the goal is to spread your contributions across all 12 months (or all 26 pay periods for civilians) to capture the full year of matching.

For military members, this means doing the math to figure out what percentage gets you to exactly $24,500 by December. For federal civilians, it means dividing $24,500 by 26 pay periods.

IRA Limits Also Increased

The IRS also increased IRA contribution limits to $7,500 for 2026, up from $7,000. If you're contributing to both TSP and an IRA, that's an extra $1,500 combined ($1,000 for TSP + $500 for IRA) you can save next year.

My recommendation still applies: max out your match in TSP first (if you're in BRS), then max out your IRA, then go back and max out TSP if you can afford it.

Why? Because IRAs typically offer more investment options than TSP, and you have flexibility to contribute throughout the year in lump sums if you want. TSP contributions have to come out of your paycheck.

Special Provisions: Super Catch-Up and Roth Requirements

Standard Catch-Up Contributions (Age 50+)

If you're 50 or older, your catch-up contribution limit increased to $8,000 for 2026, up from $7,500. That means you can contribute up to $32,500 total to TSP next year.

For our E-6 example (using the proposed 2026 pay tables), that would require 65.5% of base pay. Round up to 66%.

Super Catch-Up for Ages 60-63

If you're turning 60, 61, 62, or 63 in 2026, you qualify for a significantly higher catch-up contribution. Instead of the standard $8,000 catch-up available to those 50 and older, you can contribute an additional $11,250.

This means your total contribution limit for 2026 would be:

$24,500 (regular limit) + $11,250 (super catch-up) = $35,750 total

This super catch-up provision was added under SECURE 2.0 and recognizes that people in their early 60s are often in their peak earning years and closest to retirement. It's a significant opportunity to accelerate retirement savings.

For military members, this could mean contributing 70%+ of base pay if you're an E-9 or O-5/O-6 in this age bracket. For federal civilians, you'd divide $35,750 by 26 pay periods = $1,375 per pay period.

Roth Catch-Up Requirement for Higher Earners

Under SECURE 2.0, if your W-2 wages exceeded $145,000 in the prior year, all catch-up contributions (both regular $8,000 and super $11,250) must be made to Roth TSP, not traditional TSP.

This affects senior military officers (O-4 and above with longevity) and higher-grade federal civilians (typically GS-13 and above, depending on locality).

The Roth requirement means you won't get a tax deduction for your catch-up contributions, but the growth will be tax-free in retirement, providing valuable tax diversification.

Important: This only applies to catch-up contributions. Your regular $24,500 can still be split between Roth and traditional however you choose.

Now, realistically, most people can't afford to contribute 66-72% of their base pay. But if you can, the tax advantages are worth it. And if you can't max it out, contributing even a few percentage points more than you did in 2025 will make a difference.

When to Make the Change

You can make this change anytime, but I recommend doing it in December 2025 so it's effective January 1, 2026.

For military members: Log into MyPay, go to TSP contributions, and increase your percentage to account for the new limit.

For federal civilians: Log into the GRB Platform or your agency's payroll system and adjust your per-pay-period dollar amount.

Don't wait until February or March. Every pay period you miss is money you can't get back - TSP contributions can only come from your current paycheck, not retroactively.

A Quick Reality Check

Look, $24,500 is a lot of money. Most people, especially junior enlisted and early-career federal employees, can't max out their TSP. That's the reality.

Aim for 12-15% of your gross income going toward retirement (including your match if you're in BRS). If you can do that consistently throughout your career, you're building a solid foundation.

If you were already contributing close to the limit in 2025, the additional $1,000 in 2026 gives you room to save even more. At 7.8% growth over 30 years, that extra $1,000 becomes about $9,000.

What You Can Do

1. Calculate what percentage of your base pay (military) or dollar amount per pay period (civilian) would equal $24,500 for 2026.
2. Consider updating your TSP contribution in MyPay (military) or GRB Platform (civilian) in December 2025 so it takes effect January 1, 2026.
3. If you contribute to an IRA, the new limit for 2026 is $7,500.
4. Check your first few pay statements in January 2026 to verify the changes took effect correctly.
5. If you're in BRS, make sure you spread contributions across all pay periods to capture the full year of matching.