Saving for Retirement: What are My Options? | DoDLive

This is the third post?in a seven-part series related to Military Saves Week. Visit us every day this week for tips to help you secure your financial future; from eating healthy on a budget to contributing to your Thrift Savings Plan and getting your kids to start saving, too.

TSP, IRA, 401(k), Roth TSP: what do all these acronyms mean and what do they have to do with my money?

Navigating the field of investment options is confusing enough without having to decipher the financial language that surrounds them. Basically, they all boil down to one thing: retirement savings accounts.

So, are you saving for the day when you won?t have to wear a uniform anymore? While it?s true that 20 years of military service will earn you a pension, it?s not guaranteed to cover your expenses following retirement, even with the help of Social Security. And what if you don?t retire from the military?

By investing in a personal retirement account, or an?Individual Retirement Account, you will help ensure your financial future?after your military and civilian employment ends.

The?Thrift Savings Plan?is the retirement savings and investment plan the federal government offers to civilian employees and service members. Similar to it, a 401(k) is what private corporations extend to their employees. In 2012, TSP introduced a new retirement savings plan, offering employees the flexibility to contribute pre- or post- taxable income to their TSP retirement account.

Watch as Lee Acker and Jeff Morrison, financial coaches for the Navy?s Fleet and Family Support Program, explain what the Roth TSP is and what its advantages are.

?

Still not sure which retirement investment is right for you? Read more about it here or watch as a military tax expert explains the tax benefits of contributing to a traditional or Roth retirement account.

For more on Military Saves Week, visit our video playlist on YouTube?or?visit?Military Saves?on Facebook and Twitter.

???-

Disclaimer: The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense of this website or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities such as military exchanges and Morale, Welfare and Recreation sites, the Department of Defense does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this DoD website.

Check out these other posts:

Source: http://www.dodlive.mil/index.php/2013/02/saving-for-retirement-what-are-my-options/

green bean casserole green bean casserole recipe red dawn sweet potato pie sweet potato pie Turkey Cooking Time Kmart Black Friday