Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

The Thrift Savings Plan was established by congress in the Federal Employees Retirement System Act in 1986 (FERSA) and is a retirement savings and investment plan for federal employees. It is a defined contribution plan very similar to a private company 401(K) Plan. The employee makes contributions to the TSP together with the agency. TSP supplements the Civil Service Retirement System Annuity (CSRS) and the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). The Thrift Savings Plan is also available to military personnel. It is important that when an order is entered dividing the TSP retirement plan that the order references whether it is a civilian TSP or a uniformed services TSP retirement plan. When dividing the community interest in a TSP account, it is important to consider any premarital separate interest and any outstanding loan balance. A division of the benefit based upon a formula will not be honored by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which administers the Thrift Savings Plan Retirement Plan.