Set Up Your 5% Roth TSP: 5 Minute Military Money 1/10 #219

Mar 9, 2026

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

Military Money Manual may receive compensation from JPMC. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain. What if you could set yourself up for financial success in the military with just ONE action that takes 5 minutes?

Spencer and Jamie kick off their 10-part "If You Don't Have Time for Anything Else" series with the absolute first thing every military service member needs to do: Start a 5% contribution to your Roth TSP. This bite-sized episode cuts through the confusion and gives you the exact steps to take right now.

What to Do Action: Set up 5% Roth TSP contribution

Steps:

Go to mypay.dfas.mil
Click TSP tab
Select 5% to Roth TSP
Done

Time required: 5 minutes

Key Information What is TSP?

Thrift Savings Plan = military's 401(k)
Automatic retirement account from Department of Defense
Two types: Roth and Traditional

Why 5%?

Months 1-24: DoD contributes 1% automatic
Month 25+: DoD contributes 5% automatic + matches your 5% (total: 9%)
You must contribute 5% to get full match

Why Roth?

After-tax contributions
Tax-free growth
Tax-free withdrawals at retirement (age 59½+)
Best choice for most military members

Auto-Enrollment

New members: Often auto-enrolled at 5%
Existing members: May be re-enrolled at 5% in January
Check MyPay to verify

Resources

MyPay: mypay.dfas.mil
TSP Course: militarymoneymanual.com/tsp
Related Episode: Episode 2 of MMM - The Thrift Savings Plan (most popular episode)
Book: The Military Money Manual

Bottom Line: 5% Roth TSP = free DoD matching money. Takes 5 minutes to set up. Do it now.

Spencer and Jamie offer one-on-one Military Money Mentor sessions. Get your personal military money and personal finance questions answered in a confidential coaching call. militarymoneymanual.com/mentor

Over 22,000 military servicemembers and military spouses have graduated from the 100% free, Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course available at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3

In the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course, you can learn how to apply for the most premium credit cards and get special military protections, such as waived annual fees, on elite cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card.

Learn how active duty military, military spouses, and Guard and Reserves on 30+ day active orders can get your annual fees waived on premium credit cards in the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3

If you want to maximize your military paycheck, check out Spencer's 5 star rated book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom on Amazon or at shop.militarymoneymanual.com.

If you have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast, please reach out on instagram.com/militarymoneymanual.