TSP
Your own savings, and the rules on taking them
The annuity is what the government owes you. The Thrift Savings Plan is money you put aside yourself — and the rules on getting it back out are written in the Internal Revenue Code, not the retirement statute the rest of this site works from.
That matters because almost none of those rules turn on the thing people expect. The 10% penalty follows the year you left federal service, not your age when you withdraw. Whether a Roth withdrawal is tax-free follows a five-year clock that starts on 1 January of the year you first contributed. These tools name the rule behind each answer and link the section it comes from.
What you can take out of your Thrift Savings Plan and how long it lasts. Three rules decide it and none turns on your age at withdrawal: the 10% penalty follows the year you separated, the mandatory 20% follows how long the payments last, and the required minimum follows the year you were born.
Open tool →Roth TSP Withdrawal CalculatorWhich part of a Roth TSP withdrawal is taxable, and the date the account turns tax-free. Qualified needs 59½ and a five-year clock, and inside the plan there is no contributions-first rule — every dollar out is part contributions, part earnings.
Open tool →