Contributing to an IRA Outside of the TSP

Under what circumstances can you contribute to a Roth IRA outside of the TSP?

Q: You have mentioned that a person should (if they can afford it) contribute to an IRA outside of the TSP. My question is, since I am contributing $161.00 per pay period to the Roth part of the TSP, and the rest of the $23,000.00 to the regular TSP, am I still allowed to contribute to a Roth IRA on the outside? My current salary is a little over $83,000.00 per year.

A: Yes you can.

Agencies can request to have John Grobe, or another of Federal Career Experts' qualified instructors, deliver a retirement or transition seminar to their employees. FCE instructors are not financial advisers and will not sell or recommend financial products to class participants. Agency Benefits Officers can contact John Grobe at johnfgrobe@comcast.net to discuss schedules and costs.

About the Author

John Grobe is President of Federal Career Experts, a firm that provides pre-retirement training and seminars to a wide variety of federal agencies. FCE’s instructors are all retired federal retirement specialists who educate class participants on the ins and outs of federal retirement and benefits; there is never an attempt to influence participants to invest a certain way, or to purchase any financial products. John and FCE specialize in retirement for special category employees, such as law enforcement officers.