National Guard and Reserve members are both part-time military personnel who support the active-duty military. The National Guard can be called upon for state-level emergencies, while the Reserves are primarily a federal force.
The National Guard operates under state and federal control, whereas the Reserves are a branch of the active-duty military (Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, etc.) and are a part of the federal military structure. Both components provide benefits, training, and opportunities for service.
Under the Blended Retirement System (BRS), service members in these components who joined or re-joined on or after January 1, 2018, can contribute to a TSP account.
So, can a part-time military member have matching contributions for their military and Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) TSP accounts? Yes. The key is that each employer matches its own paychecks into its own TSP account, and you stay within the IRS contribution limits.
BRS for Reservists: How the Military TSP Matching Works
Under the BRS, Reserve Component members receive:
- 1% “Service Automatic” contribution to their TSP, and
- Up to 4% “Service Matching” contributions, when they contribute from their military basic pay. DoD and service-specific BRS summaries state that under BRS, the retirement package includes a defined contribution component with automatic and matching contributions to the TSP, very similar to a 401(k). For a drilling reservist, this means each drill/active-duty paycheck can generate:
- Your own BRS TSP contribution, plus
- Service Automatic (1%) and up to 4% matching on that basic pay.
Those contributions go into your uniformed services TSP account.
FERS Civilian Matching: Agency Automatic + Matching
As a FERS federal employee, your civilian agency also provides:
- Agency Automatic (1%) of basic pay, even if you contribute nothing; and
- Agency Matching Contributions on the first 5% of basic pay you contribute each pay period.
The standard formula (confirmed by TSP and federal HR guidance) is:
- First 3% of pay you contribute → matched dollar-for-dollar
- Next 2% → matched at 50 cents per dollar
So, if you contribute 5%, your agency contributes 4%, and with the 1% automatic contribution you effectively receive 5% of your pay from your agency. These contributions go into your civilian TSP account.
Can You Get Both Matches? How the Rules Fit Together
There is no rule in BRS, TSP, or FERS regulations that says you must choose between military TSP matching and civilian TSP matching.
Instead, the official guidance assumes that some participants do contribute to both:
- TSP fact sheets and bulletins discuss how IRS limits apply if a participant contributes “to both a civilian and a uniformed services TSP account.“
- TSP’s “Contribution Types” page notes that IRS limits apply to your total contributions across both accounts, not that having two accounts or two employers is prohibited.
Separate TSP summaries also emphasize that civilian and BRS (uniformed) accounts are distinct—for example, vesting service in one does not count toward vesting in the other. Putting these pieces together:
- BRS clearly provides automatic and matching contributions on military basic pay into a uniformed services TSP account. FERS clearly provides automatic and matching contributions on federal civilian pay into a civilian TSP account.
- TSP publications explicitly recognize that a participant may have both accounts at the same time.
- IRS and TSP guidance focus on how to apply the annual contribution limits across both accounts, not on limiting matching to one employer. Therefore, a reservist under BRS who also works as a FERS employee can receive:
- Military BRS TSP match on their drill/active-duty pay, and
- FERS agency TSP match on their civilian salary, in the same calendar year, as long as they obey the IRS contribution limits.
You are not “double-dipping” on the same dollar of pay; each employer is matching its own payroll in its own TSP account, which is exactly how the system is designed.
IRS Limits: The One Big Coordination Rule
Where you can’t double up is on the IRS elective deferral limit (your own contributions).
TSP’s Annual Limit on Elective Deferrals fact sheet explains that if you contribute to both a civilian and a uniformed services TSP account, the elective deferral limit applies to the total contributions you make during the year to both accounts.
Recent TSP bulletins on 2025 and 2026 contribution limits repeat this point for participants who contribute to both a civilian and a uniformed services account, and clarify that the elective deferral and catch-up limits are combined across both.
However, according to the TSP, Agency/Service matching contributions and automatic (1%) contributions do not count against the elective deferral limit. So in practice, as a dual-status reservist/FERS employee, you must:
- Track your own traditional + Roth TSP contributions across both accounts so they don’t exceed the IRS elective deferral limit (e.g., $24,500 in 2026, plus catch-up if age 50+).
- Let each employer provide matching on its respective pay, which can push your total money going into TSP (you + employers) well above that elective deferral number.
Example: How Dual Matching Works in Real Life
Consider a reservist under BRS who is also a FERS employee:
- Civilian salary: $90,000
- Reserve pay (drills + AT): $15,000
- Elective deferral limit (your money) for the year: $24,500 (2026 value)
If you choose to contribute:
- 10% of civilian pay → $9,000 to your civilian TSP
- 10% of reserve pay → $1,500 to your uniformed TSP
Your total elective deferrals are:
$9,000 (civilian) + $1,500 (military) = $10,500, which is well under the limit.
Meanwhile, your employers contribute:
- Civilian agency:
- 1% automatic = $900
- Up to 4% match on your 5%+ contribution ≈ $3,600
- DoD under BRS:
- 1% automatic on basic pay ≈ $150
- Up to 4% match on your contributions ≈ $600
So even though you only put in $10,500, the total going into TSP between both accounts is much higher once you add:
Civilian match + military match + both 1% automatics.
Nothing in the governing documents prohibits this; on the contrary, the only constraint discussed is the combined IRS limit on your contributions, not on your employers’ matching contributions.
