Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
What Happened to the TSP in 2008?
How the C, S, I and L funds fell in the financial crisis, how long recovery took — and how to test your own allocation against it.
How Far Can the TSP L Funds Fall?
Lifecycle funds automate diversification — but ride straight through crashes. The worst-year problem, in plain terms.
Best TSP Allocation by Age
A decade-by-decade framework for the C, S, I, F and G funds — and how to think about risk as you approach your federal retirement.
TSP Funds Explained: C, S, I, F & G
What each core fund actually holds, the risk it carries, and where it fits in a disciplined portfolio.
The Lifecycle (L) Funds, Made Simple
How TSP's target-date funds glide over time, what you give up for the convenience, and who they suit.
Average TSP Balance by Age
Typical balances at every stage of a federal career — and how far ahead of the curve you'd need to be.
Fund guides
TSP Fund Performance: 20 Years of Returns
Annual returns for C, S, I, F and G since 2006, growth of $10,000, and what 2008, 2020 and 2022 did to each fund.
The G Fund
The only fund that has never had a losing year — what backs it, what it earns, and what it costs you to hold too much.
The F Fund
The TSP’s bond fund: what it holds, why it fell in 2022, and how it really compares to the G Fund.
The C Fund
The S&P 500 fund at the core of most TSP allocations — its record, its risk, and who it suits.
The S Fund
Mid and small-cap U.S. companies: the widest swings in the plan, and what twenty years actually paid for them.
The I Fund
International developed markets — stock-level risk with bond-level reward over this period, and why timing still matters.
Prefer to run your own numbers?
Every guide points back to a calculator. Enter your balance and contribution, and see a 20-year projection in about a minute.
401(k) & Workplace Plans
What Happened to 401(k)s in 2008 & 2022?
How much a typical 401(k) lost in two of the worst markets in a generation — and how to test your allocation against both.
The Target-Date Drawdown Nobody Warns You About
The default in most plans holds course straight through crashes. What the glide path can’t protect you from.
Best 401(k) Allocation by Age
An age-based framework you can apply to any plan's fund menu — from your 30s through the years just before retirement.
Target-Date Funds: Convenience vs. Cost
The default in most plans. What you gain in simplicity, and what the glide path can quietly cost you.
Average 401(k) Balance by Age
What the typical balance looks like at 35, 45, 55 and 65 — and how to read those numbers honestly.
401(k) vs. Roth 401(k) for High Earners
When pre-tax wins, when Roth wins, and how to split contributions between the two.
Index & ETF Investing
The S&P 500’s Worst Drawdowns of the Last 20 Years
The deepest declines of the last 20 years — 2008, 2020, 2022 — how long each took to recover, and how to test your own portfolio.
How to Backtest an Index ETF Portfolio
What a backtest can and can’t tell you — and a simple, honest way to test any allocation against 20 years of history.
A Model ETF Portfolio by Age
A simple, rules-based index-ETF allocation and how the weights shift across the decades.
Large, Mid & Small Cap: How Much of Each?
How the three slices behave differently, and a sensible way to weight them in one portfolio.
Roth IRA vs. 401(k): Your Next Dollar
A clear order of operations for where each additional dollar should go — match, Roth, then more.