Roth Thrift Savings Plan or Roth IRA?

 
Now that a ROTH Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is being rolled out for military members, how does it differ from regular ROTH IRAs?  Let's review the details.






ROTH TSP:

• Contributions are post-tax
• No income limitations for ROTH TSP contributions
• Contribution limits are $17,000 for taxpayers younger than 50 years (plus $5,500 catch up if older than 50)
• Earnings are tax free if account is held open 5 or more year and the taxpayer is over age 59 1/2 at the time of the distributions
• You can take out TSP loans up to 50% of your balance, up to a limit of $50,000

ROTH IRA:

• Contributions are post-tax
• Income limitation to contribute to a ROTH IRA: Single $110,000, (with decreasing eligible contributions up to $125,000; Married $173,000 (with decreasing eligible contributions up to $183,000.)
• Contribution limit is $5,000/$6,000 for those 50+
• Earnings are tax free if account is held open 5 or more year and the taxpayer is over age 59 1/2 at the time of the distribution
• Contributions can be withdrawn at anytime without penalty
• You cannot borrow against your ROTH IRA

So, while the ROTH TSP option allows all of us to contribute up to the limit regardless of income, the ROTH IRA gives you some added flexibility, particularly the ability to make withdrawals of contributions.

So, now to the decision, should you contribute to one or the other or neither. For those who are in the 15% tax bracket (single taxpayers earning 8,700 – $35,350 or married filing jointly (MFJ) earning $17,400 – $70,700) you're best bet is likely to fully fund the ROTH IRA, then begin contributing to the ROTH TSP. For those in the 25% bracket (single $35,350 – $85,650 or MFJ $70,700 – $142,700) you can fully fund your deductible conventional TSP and have tax savings of enough to almost fully fund a ROTH IRA ($17,000 * 25% = $4250 tax savings). It's also likely that you'll be in a lower bracket at retirement.

In the end, the ROTH IRA remains our top choice for flexibility and tax free growth. The ROTH TSP is a great option for lower income military members, and for those who have large amounts of tax free earnings from deployments. For higher income military members we recommend a combination of deductible TSP and ROTH IRA for tax savings and flexibility.

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