Young and Separating from Federal Government - TSP Question!

[hattoja]

Hey everyone - to quickly lay it all out: I'm leaving the Government for the private sector - scary, but it's happening!

Quick facts -

- I'm 25
- $12.5k in my TSP
- 10k traditional
- 2.5k roth

Obviously I can't have you all make the decision for me, so I'm just looking for advice and opinions! My question is...should I leave my small amount in the TSP after I separate and start fresh with the new employer, or roll it over into 401k/Roth IRA and keep building off of it? Either way, I plan on opening up another Roth IRA and contributing as much as possible - whether it includes the 2.5k from my TSP or not.

Thanks!

 

[Birchtree]

Seriously, you don't have enough money in your TSP account to do anything with since you'll not be contributing for dollar cost averaging. Take the money and buy some nice dividend stocks in your Roth IRA.

 

[hattoja]

Thanks, I'm definitely leaning towards rolling it over (because of the low amount) but wanted to see if there were any differing opinions.

I think the TSP is what I'll miss the most - I was just starting to take it seriously and have seen some good gains, but unfortunately I didn't understand how important it was until just recently. I should have at least double that amount after 3 years of service - even at my low grade

Seriously, you don't have enough money in your TSP account to do anything with since you'll not be contributing for dollar cost averaging. Take the money and buy some nice dividend stocks in your Roth IRA.

 

[nnuut]

Welcome hattoja, and best of luck on the outside.
Norman

 

[burrocrat]

since you've already doubled your money with the 5% gov free match you're on a freeroll. if you take your tsp out and go to vegas and put it all on red and it hits, then you've quadrupled your money. and if not you'll have the perfect opportunity to start fresh. win win.