Roth TSP changes - Percentage elections

[jeep364]

I have been contributing to Roth TSP since it was offered to the military a year or two back. In the past you had to enter a dollar amount that was deducted after tax into the TSP. With some changes requiring a percentage instead of a lump sum amount per month, we have from 1 JAN 2015 till 25 JAN 2015 to make changes on MyPay website or have our contributions lapse (starting with Feb 2015 pay period).

However, apparently the system must be all jacked up because when I login to MyPay and go to the TSP section, I get an error message:

"Our records indicate that you are not eligible for TSP or we did not receive your entire TSP record.

If you have questions, contact your servicing personnel office."

And we all know how useful going to S1 is about TSP...I can probably count on one hand the number of individuals I work with that even contribute.


1. Is anybody else receiving this message? I suspect its a glitch since my last LES (12 2014) shows my deduction for Roth TSP.
2. The new percentage system is a bit more complicated than lump sum + the fact that it is taking out after tax money. Do I basically need to estimate the tax liability on my base pay and go from there? I do not plan on using special pays, etc to fund the deduction, but would like to spread out the contribution over the year and not max out a month or two early (or not max at all) due to just making a guess on the percentage.

 

[RealMoneyIssues]

1. Is anybody else receiving this message? I suspect its a glitch since my last LES (12 2014) shows my deduction for Roth TSP.
2. The new percentage system is a bit more complicated than lump sum + the fact that it is taking out after tax money. Do I basically need to estimate the tax liability on my base pay and go from there? I do not plan on using special pays, etc to fund the deduction, but would like to spread out the contribution over the year and not max out a month or two early (or not max at all) due to just making a guess on the percentage.[/FONT][/COLOR]

1. Yes
2. Higher math [aka in Excel =Round(18000/12/BasePay,2), used as "CalcPct" later] should give you a nice "round" number to try for percentage in MyPay, then take =Round(BasePay*CalcPct*12,2) and as long as that doesn't exceed $18k, you should be ok.

HTH

 

[jeep364]

1. Yes
2. Higher math [aka in Excel =Round(18000/12/BasePay,2), used as "CalcPct" later] should give you a nice "round" number to try for percentage in MyPay, then take =Round(BasePay*CalcPct*12,2) and as long as that doesn't exceed $18k, you should be ok.

HTH

Thanks for the reply, site seems to be working again, we all got an email.

Now the question I have is, do I take my base pay before tax? Since the Roth pulls out after tax money...if I want to reach 1500 a month, I need to take 1500/base pay after tax...which can be a little confusing to figure out. I guess I will use an estimate the first month and see what the LES shows and adjust from there.


So my calculations were as follows. Using the goal of 1500/month for a total of 18,000.


Taxes paid per month/[Total entitlements - (BAH+BAS)] = Tax percentage

(1.00 - Tax percentage) * Base pay = Base pay after Tax
1500/(Base pay after tax) = Percentage to put in for Roth TSP