The number of TSP millionaires has exploded over the last two years thanks to the record-breaking performance of the stock market in 2023 and 2024.
According to the latest figures from the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), there are now 157,760 TSP millionaires. This is a whopping 35% increase over the end of 2023 when there were 116,827 and a 1.6% increase from the end of September 2024 when there were 155,334 TSP participants with an account balance of $1 million or more.
According to the FRTIB, the 157,760 millionaires represent approximately 2.2% of the 7.2 million total TSP accounts.
Also of note, the largest account balance in the TSP is now up to $9,337,657.
This table shows the increase in the number of TSP millionaires from 2011 to 2024.
Date | Number of Millionaires |
2011 | 208 |
2012 | 562 |
2013 | 1,695 |
2014 | 4,167 |
2015 | 3272 |
2016 | 9,599 |
2017 | 23,962 |
2018 | 21,432 |
2019 | 49,620 |
2020 | 75,420 |
2021 | 112,880 |
2022 | 76,889 |
2023 | 116,827 |
2024 | 157,760 |
Account Balance | Number of Participants | Average Years of Contributions |
<$50k | 4,293,086 | 5.96 |
$50k-$249k | 1,794,866 | 14.56 |
$250k-$499k | 593,682 | 20. 16 |
$500k-$749k | 246,944 | 23.06 |
$750k-$999k | 122,905 | 25.06 |
>= $1 million | 157,760 | 28.35 |
Total | 7,209, 243 | 10.67 |
These data include FERS, CSRS, and Uniformed Services participants but do not include beneficiaries. Uniformed Services accounts are grouped together to reflect total TSP investment per individual. The data also include rollovers from other qualified plans.
Historical TSP Fund Performance
It’s important to note that the average years of contributions of the TSP millionaires is 28.35 which indicates that these individuals invested in their TSP accounts over a long period of time.
The federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) stands as a cornerstone of benefits for the federal workforce. Serving as a supplementary component to the defined annuity offered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), the TSP mirrors the 401(k) plan commonly available to private sector employees.
When investing in the TSP stock funds over a long period of time, namely the duration of a full career with the federal government, it can lead to a substantial amount of accumulated retirement savings as demonstrated by the success of the TSP millionaires.
The average annual returns of the TSP stock funds bear this out as well. These are the average annual returns for the core TSP stock funds as of the end of 2024.
C Fund | S Fund | I Fund | |
---|---|---|---|
10 year | 13.09% | 9.52% | 5.63% |
Since inception | 11.17% | 9.33% | 5.01% |
While a long term approach to investing achieves the most consistent results, the last two years have provided remarkable returns. Despite a losing year in 2022 when it went down 18.1%, the stock market rose sharply since then. This is what caused the dramatic increase in the number of TSP millionaires over the last two years.
The S&P 500, the index that the C Fund tracks, rose 24% in 2023 and 11% in the fourth quarter alone. In 2024, it rose 23%.
2023 TSP Performance
Fund | December 2023 | 2023 Returns |
G Fund | 0.39% | 4.22% |
F Fund | 3.72% | 5.58% |
C Fund | 4.54% | 26.25% |
S Fund | 10.45% | 25.30% |
I Fund | 5.39% | 18.38% |
L Income | 1.87% | 8.99% |
L 2025 | 2.39% | 11.25% |
L 2030 | 3.71% | 15.76% |
L 2035 | 4.05% | 16.91% |
L 2040 | 4.37% | 18.04% |
L 2045 | 4.66% | 19.03% |
L 2050 | 4.93% | 20.00% |
L 2055 | 5.61% | 23.31% |
L 2060 | 5.61% | 23.30% |
L 2065 | 5.62% | 23.31% |
2024 TSP Performance
Fund | December 2024 | 2024 Returns |
---|---|---|
G Fund | 0.36% | 4.40% |
F Fund | -1.71% | 1.33% |
C Fund | -2.39% | 24.96% |
S Fund | -7.05% | 16.93% |
I Fund | -2.83% | 4.27% |
L Income | -0.66% | 7.37% |
L 2025 | -0.81% | 8.28% |
L 2030 | -1.86% | 11.52% |
L 2035 | -2.08% | 12.18% |
L 2040 | -2.30% | 12.85% |
L 2045 | -2.49% | 13.42% |
L 2050 | -2.66% | 14.02% |
L 2055 | -3.14% | 16.28% |
L 2060 | -3.14% | 16.28% |
L 2065 | -3.14% | 16.28% |
L 2070 | -3.13% | N/A |
As the TSP millionaire data suggest, the most effective strategy for federal employees to accumulate wealth is to invest in stock funds throughout their entire career, consistently contribute to the TSP, and capitalize on the government’s matching funds.
Additionally, it’s crucial to remain invested during market fluctuations, such as the significant drop in 2022. This is not easy to do, however, because it is human nature to want to sell our investments when we see them going down, but the historical data on the stock market show that it has consistently produced compounding positive returns over a long period of time despite the inevitable years of negative returns.