Doubling your TSP (Thrift Savings Plan) is simple but not always easy.
Only two things are required: Time and a good investment strategy.
This article will show you exactly how to put both of these things to work for you.
What if I Don’t Have Time?
But what if you are retiring soon? What if you are already retired? Can you still double your TSP?
Absolutely.
Retirees and pre-retirees do it all the time.
Most people assume that retirement is the finish line and all investment growth stops at that point.
But for your sake, I sure hope that isn’t true for you. Because if it is, it will be very difficult to make sure your TSP lasts as long as you do.
Even at retirement, most people still have 20-40 years of life/investing in front of them.
And yes, most people should be more conservative in retirement but not near as conservative as you would think.
Good Investment Strategy
A good investment strategy does two things:
Ensures your short-term (money you need soon) is safe
With your long-term money, it gets the growth you need to beat inflation, maintain your standard of living in retirement, and never run out of money.
As a general rule, short-term money should be in more conservative investments like the G and F funds.
Long-term money should be in more aggressive funds like the C, S, and I.
These aggressive funds are going to be the key to doubling your TSP overtime.
So if you are early in your career there is often no reason to have conservative investments because you have so much time before you need your money.
If you want a full guide on how to tailor your TSP to your needs, check out this article.
Stick to Your Plan
Once you have an investment plan, the most important thing to do is to stick to it.
If you have a good plan and are consistent, doubling your TSP becomes almost inevitable.
But What if I’m Withdrawing From My TSP?
But what if you are retired and you are spending down your TSP? Can you still double your balance?
You certainly can and many people end up with way more money at the end of retirement as they had when they started retirement despite taking withdrawals.
How Long Does it Take to Double?
The rule of 72 is a great way to estimate how long it will take for your TSP to double.
This rule says that if you divide 72 by your average investment return then you’ll get how many years it takes to double.
For example, if on average you earn 10%/year then your money will take 7.2 years to double (72/10= 7.2).
Food for thought: The stock market (the C and S funds) have average 10%/year growth over the last 100 years.
If your average return is 5%/year then it will take 14.4 years to double.
Note: If you are still working then your money will be able to double faster as you will also be contributing into your TSP.
