Q: In your article you state, “In 2013 you can contribute $17,500 to the TSP ($5,500 more if you are 50 or over). Employees early in their career are unlikely to be able to afford the full amount, but they should always contribute enough (5%) to get the government match.” Are you saying that if you are over 50, the max goes from $17,500 to $23,000? If that is the case and you have $884 ($23,000/26 payperiods) taken out each payperiod, will the government match you at the full 5%? I read somewhere that if you exceed your max amount before the end of the year, the government will stop matching your contributions.
A: No, you don’t have $884 per pay period taken out. Regular contributions ($674 per pay period i 2014) and “catch-up” contributions are separate. In addition, you must make a new “catch-up” contribution each year.
