How Much Should I Put in My TSP to Get the Full 5% BRS Match in 2026?
Quick answer
Contribute 5% of your basic pay to the TSP. Under the Blended Retirement System (BRS) the government adds an automatic 1% of basic pay whether you contribute or not, then matches 100% of your first 3% and 50% of your next 2%. At 5% you receive the full 5% of pay from DoD; at 3% you get 4%; at 0% you get only the automatic 1%. Anything above 5% earns no additional match, but still counts toward the 2026 elective deferral limit of $24,500.
The BRS match formula, percent by percent
The TSP match is not a flat "we match up to 5%." It is two pieces with different rates, the second worth half as much per dollar as the first. Here is what DoD deposits at each contribution rate, using the E-5 from the calculator's worked example (about $3,900 a month, $46,800 a year in basic pay):
| You contribute | Automatic | Matching | Government total | Gov. dollars/yr (E-5, $46,800) | Match forfeited/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 1% | 0% | 1.0% | $468 | $1,872 |
| 1% | 1% | 1% | 2.0% | $936 | $1,404 |
| 2% | 1% | 2% | 3.0% | $1,404 | $936 |
| 3% | 1% | 3% | 4.0% | $1,872 | $468 |
| 4% | 1% | 3.5% | 4.5% | $2,106 | $234 |
| 5% | 1% | 4% | 5.0% | $2,340 | $0 |
| 10% | 1% | 4% | 5.0% | $2,340 | $0 |
Two things jump out. The first 3% you contribute is a guaranteed 100% instant return; the 4th and 5th percent are a 50% instant return. Nothing else available to a service member (not the Savings Deposit Program's 10%, not the C Fund's long-run 8%) comes close. And the match is calculated every pay period on that month's basic pay: a month below 5% is match gone for good, with no December catch-up.
The base is basic pay only. BAH, BAS, and special pays are not matched, even though you can elect to contribute a percentage of incentive, special, and bonus pay through myPay.
Who gets the match, and when it starts
The 5% only applies if you are in the BRS: everyone who entered service on or after January 1, 2018, plus legacy members who opted in during 2018. Legacy High-3 members get no automatic 1% and no match, whatever they contribute.
The timing rules trip up new members:
- Automatic 1% begins after 60 days of service and vests after 2 years (leave earlier and the 1% plus its earnings is forfeited).
- Matching begins at the start of your third year of service (month 25) and vests immediately.
- Both stop after 26 years of service.
- New accessions since October 1, 2020 are auto-enrolled at 5% of basic pay (traditional, into the age-appropriate L Fund). If you drop to 0%, DFAS re-enrolls you at 5% every January.
What forfeiting the match actually costs (worked example)
Take the calculator's E-5: 26 years old, 6 years of service, $3,900 a month basic pay, $12,000 already in an L Fund (6.5% assumed long-run return), plans to stop contributing at 58. She is contributing 3%.
- Her money: 3% x $46,800 = $1,404 a year ($117 a month).
- Government money at 3%: automatic 1% ($468) + 3% match ($1,404) = $1,872 a year.
- Government money at 5%: $468 + 4% match ($1,872) = $2,340 a year.
- Forfeited match: $2,340 - $1,872 = $468 a year, or $39 a month.
- Cost to fix it: raising her election from 3% to 5% adds 2% x $3,900 = $78 a month. If that $78 is traditional and she is in the 12% bracket (single, $46,800 basic pay minus the 2026 $16,100 standard deduction = $30,700 taxable), take-home falls by about $69, not $78.
- Payoff at 58: the extra $936 she contributes plus the extra $468 from DoD is $1,404 a year. Compounded at 6.5% over 32 years, the factor is ((1.065^32 - 1) / 0.065) = 100.05, so $1,404 x 100.05 = roughly $140,000 added to her balance. About $47,000 of that ($468 x 100.05) is government money she was otherwise refusing.
That is why the calculator's verdict at 3% reads "Leaving free money on the table," and why Lever #1 on its Lever Board is always "Raise contribution to 5%" whenever you are under it. You can run your own numbers in the Military TSP Contribution calculator with your actual pay, balance, and fund choice; it shows the forfeited match this year and what it compounds to by your retirement age.
The 2026 limits, and the mistake that costs high earners their match
For 2026 (IRS Notice 2025-67):
| Limit | 2026 amount | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Elective deferral | $24,500 | Your traditional + Roth contributions combined |
| Age-50 catch-up | $8,000 | Additional, if you turn 50 or older in 2026 |
| Age 60-63 catch-up | $11,250 | Replaces the $8,000 catch-up in those four years |
| Annual additions (IRC 415(c)) | $72,000 | Your contributions + automatic 1% + match + tax-exempt combat-zone contributions |
Government contributions do not count against the $24,500. Only your own elective deferrals do.
The trap: if you hit $24,500 in September, the TSP stops accepting your contributions for the rest of the year, and matching stops with them (the automatic 1% continues). An O-5 with $10,000 a month basic pay who elects 30% deposits $3,000 a month, hits the cap in month 9, and forfeits 4% x $10,000 = $400 of match in each of October, November, and December ($1,200). The fix is arithmetic: $24,500 / 12 = $2,041.67 a month, so elect a percentage at or slightly under that ($2,041.67 / $10,000 = 20.4%, so elect 20%) and the match flows through December. If you are 50 or older, the target is $32,500 / 12 = $2,708.33 a month.
The combat-zone exception
Pay earned in a designated combat zone is excluded from federal income tax under IRC section 112 (the Combat Zone Tax Exclusion, or CZTE). TSP treats it specially:
- Traditional contributions from tax-exempt pay do not count toward the $24,500 elective deferral limit, only toward the $72,000 annual-additions limit, so a deployed member can contribute far more than $24,500 in a deployment year.
- Roth contributions from tax-exempt pay do count toward the $24,500, because Roth is after-tax by definition.
- Either way, matching still stops when your elective deferrals reach the cap, so keep the spread-it-across-12-months rule in mind before front-loading during a deployment.
For most deployed members the winning play is Roth: CZTE pay goes in untaxed, grows untaxed, and comes out untaxed. Traditional contributions from combat pay are untaxed going in, but their earnings are taxed on withdrawal.
After 5%: what the Lever Board says to do next
Capturing the match is the floor, not the goal. The calculator's combined-savings-rate verdicts are 10% ("On track") and 15% ("Strong"), which for a BRS member means contributing 5% or 10% yourself. In the E-5 example, the Lever Board ranks the remaining moves by added balance at 58:
- Raise to 15% of pay: about +$609,000
- Raise to 10% of pay: about +$375,000
- Move the L Fund to the C Fund: about +$163,000 (with much deeper drawdowns)
- Retire two years later: about +$63,000
The 10% and 15% levers dwarf the fund and timing levers not because the match grows (it caps at 5%) but because 32 years of compounding on each additional percent of pay is the largest single input to the final number. The painless way there is 1% per promotion or annual pay raise; a January raise of 3.8% absorbs a 1% TSP increase with take-home still rising. The compound interest calculator shows the growth on a single extra percent in isolation; the retirement calculator turns the projected balance into yearly income alongside a pension.
One more reason to go past 5%: most service members separate before 20 years with no pension, and the TSP balance plus vested government contributions is the entire retirement asset they walk out with. Save as if the pension will not happen. When you are ready to see how each lever ranks for your grade and horizon, run your own numbers in the Military TSP Contribution calculator.
FAQ
Q: If I contribute 5% of basic pay, does the government really add a full 5%?
Yes, under the BRS. DoD deposits an automatic 1% of basic pay plus 100% matching on your first 3% and 50% on your next 2%: 1% + 3% + 1% = 5% of basic pay. On $46,800 of annual basic pay that is $2,340 a year of government money against $2,340 of your own.
Q: Do I get more match if I contribute 10% instead of 5%?
No. The match caps at 4% of basic pay plus the automatic 1%, so a 10% contributor and a 5% contributor both receive 5% from DoD. The extra 5% still compounds for decades; in the calculator's E-5 example going from 5% to 10% adds roughly $375,000 by age 58, but none of that is match.
Q: When does the TSP match start for a new service member?
The automatic 1% starts after 60 days of service and vests after 2 years. Matching contributions start at the beginning of your third year of service (month 25) and vest immediately. Both end after 26 years of service.
Q: Does the 2026 $24,500 limit include the government's contributions?
No. The $24,500 elective deferral limit (plus the $8,000 catch-up at 50, or $11,250 at ages 60 to 63) covers only your own contributions. Government automatic and matching money counts only toward the separate $72,000 annual-additions limit under IRC 415(c).
Q: What happens to my match if I max out the TSP before December?
Your contributions stop for the year once you reach $24,500, and matching stops with them; only the automatic 1% continues. To avoid forfeiting match in the final months, elect a percentage that contributes about $2,041.67 a month ($24,500 / 12) so you reach the limit in the December pay period.
Q: Can I contribute more than $24,500 while deployed?
Yes, if the contributions are traditional and come from pay excluded under the Combat Zone Tax Exclusion. Those count only toward the $72,000 annual-additions limit, not the $24,500 elective limit. Roth contributions from combat-zone pay still count toward the $24,500.