If your are turning age 50 or older in 2026, a new law could change how your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) catch‑up contributions are made.
Under SECURE Act 2.0, high‑income earners may be required to make TSP catch‑up contributions as Roth only, even if they normally contribute to traditional TSP.
SEE ALSO: Federal Employees 50 and Older Are Encouraged to Make TSP “Catch-Up” Contributions
In this short video (3 min., 53 sec.), you will learn:
- What catch‑up contributions are
- Who the Roth requirement applies to
- How age and income affect your options
- Real‑world examples
- What to consider if you don’t want Roth contributions
Learn more about TSP contribution types and catch‑up rules here
What’s new in 2026
Starting January 1, 2026, if your income for the prior year is above the IRS wage threshold for that year, any catch-up contributions you make in the current year must be designated as Roth, regardless of your current election. For example, the requirement applies in 2026 if you earned more than $150,000 in 2025. This amount is adjusted annually for inflation. If you don’t want to contribute to Roth, you can stop your contributions at any time. This change does not apply if your 2025 wages were $150,000 and below or if you’re contributing from a federal position that is not TSP eligible.
How this change may affect you
If you made over the 2025 IRS income threshold:
Once your total traditional (pre-tax) contributions hit $24,500 (referred to here as the “pre-tax maximum”), any additional contributions beyond that limit count as catch-up and must go into your Roth (after-tax) balance. For most people, the switch to Roth happens automatically. Others may need to check with their payroll office to make sure their contributions are designated as Roth. If you don’t have a Roth TSP balance already, your first Roth contribution will create one.
If you made Roth contributions during the year, those amounts count toward the requirement that catch-up contributions be Roth. Once your total Roth and traditional contributions reach the elective deferral limit, you can still make traditional contributions until your traditional contributions hit the IRS pre-tax maximum of $24,500. In other words, if the Roth contributions you made during the year total the catch-up limit ($8,000 for 2026) or more by the time your total contributions reach the elective deferral limit of $24,500, then the rest of your contributions for the year can be traditional or Roth. Your payroll office won’t make any changes to your contributions because you will have already met the Roth catch-up requirement.