Thread bump here - and I did read that IRS link about the $17k contribution limit on 401Ks (
http://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Plan-Participant,-Employee/401(k)-Resource-Guide---Plan-Participants---Limitation-on-Elective-Deferrals) - but I'm still a bit confused. I see that MyPay says I can contribute up to 17k in a Roth TSP - but am still unsure what the validity on that is past the first 5000. Now, since I max out my Roth that I have with Vanguard, can I contribute another 17,000 with TSP Roth or only 12,000 or none at all since I'm already maxed out. Just confused and am certainly no stud when it comes to tax law.
As BGD said, you can contribute $5,000 to the Roth IRA and contribute $17,000 to the Roth TSP.
Just to clarify a little, there are generally four tax-advantaged retirement investment vehicles:
1) a traditional 401K,
2) a Roth 401K,
3) a traditional IRA, and
4) a Roth IRA.
(for servicemembers, the TSP is the 401k, and the Roth TSP is the Roth 401k)
Next year, you can contribute up to a total of $17,500 to any 401k AND up to a total of $5,500 to any IRA. Meaning if you have both a 401k and an IRA and max them both out, you can deduct up to $24,000 worth of contributions. However, if you contribute to both a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA, you can only deduct up to $5,000 of contributions to both accounts.
A good point that was made earlier in the thread I thought needed restating: the Roth options are good for those who are starting their career, while their salaries (and therefore their current tax brackets) are relatively low. It's especially attractive for those who deploy to designated combat zones, since most of your pay during that time is tax-free, and if you put it in a Roth IRA/401k instead of a traditional IRA/401k, it'll grow tax-free and you'll withdraw it tax-free when you retire, which makes a big difference in the long run.