How to Money · Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Lacey Langford explains the military's Blended Retirement System, which combines a pension after 20 years of service with a government match to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). This system aims to provide retirement security for service members who do not complete 20 years, offering them a TSP account with contributions.
“But ultimately, now if you join the middle terry, now you are in what they call the blended retirement system, which is the new You can receive a pension after twenty years, but you also receive a matching contribution to your thrift savings plan. It's set up automatically when you join.”
“It's five percent. So one percent is automatic, you know, doesn't matter what you contribute. The government is going to put in one percent, and then after that it's up to four percent if you put that in.”
“But the big thing is that if you decide that you don't want to stay in the military for twenty years, you now will walk away with a retirement account, which is huge, which.”