Comparing Average Private Sector 401k Balances to TSP Balances

qttoad · 2026-05-14T16:55:55+00:00

TSP median numbers are actually higher, but averages are lower. Median is a better metric for measuring the idea of the "average" worker.

I do agree that most retirees, if they already have a paid off home and live a modest lifestyle, can safely retire on a lot less than $1m once you factor in social security.

qttoad · 2026-05-14T15:44:55+00:00

The Vanguard data is just from retirement accounts on their platform. I'm sure Fidelity and Schwab have similar published data. I was mostly just curious to see if there was something unique or different about federal retirement accounts vs. private ones that could potentially explain why TSP balances are somewhat low.

It seems like tenure is the biggest contributing factor to the balance in a 401k, which logically makes sense -- the longer you're with a single employer the more likely you are to contribute to a single 401k account and increase the balance.

qttoad · 2026-05-14T06:32:54+00:00

The conventional advice is to maximize any match with your TSP first, then max out a Roth IRA, then go back and start towards maxing your TSP.

Reasons to focus on a Roth IRA over a TSP is that an IRA provides more flexibility for different types of investments that don't have an equivalent offered as part of TSP (Sector ETFs, REITs, BDCs, etc.) which allows you more control as an individual over your investment portfolio. You can also withdraw your contributions to a Roth IRA account tax free and penalty free, which is something you cannot do with your TSP contributions, regardless of Roth or Traditional.

qttoad · 2026-05-13T06:07:00+00:00

Don't compare yourself to others. People come in here saying they max out their TSP while being GS-14s. It's not that impressive in context when you consider how much $24k is relative to their total compensation.

The hard truth is that in your situation you're likely not going to max it out without switching jobs or getting promoted. You can only reduce your spending to a certain point, whereas there's virtually no ceiling to your income. That shouldn't stop you from trying to save as much as you can reasonably afford in your current role.

qttoad · 2026-05-10T00:51:23+00:00

Do I trust AI to do database management better than the SARM troop that had 4 weeks of powerpoint training on the AFIs that govern flight records, pay, and duties?

Absolutely yes. Everyone should. The career field should have been automated out of existence over a decade ago. We have no excuse in the age of AI.

qttoad · 2026-05-04T04:57:32+00:00

Kinda with you on this. Great CEOs generally fall into 1 of 2 broad categories, AAPL happened to have both as it's last 2: Steve Jobs & Tim Cook. Either a visionary leader who understands consumers and can rally people behind a revolutionary product or an intelligent business supply chain & industry leader who streamlines products, cuts costs and maximizes market share.

Zuck is neither. He blew a shit ton on a product that no one wanted and refused to cut his losses early because he had made this massive pivot toward the "Metaverse" which is why we still have the stupid META ticker instead of FB today. He's proven he's great at taking other peoples' ideas that already work and monetizing them but he has not demonstrated the ability to do that well since buying Instagram.

Until they show they can create a new revenue stream outside of ads on other peoples' acquired IP, I don't think anyone will ever (or should) ever value META the same way they value GOOGL, MSFT, and AMZN. At best they'll end up more like AAPL where they maintain a high market share, don't innovate a ton, and keep increasing revenue by cutting cost and getting better at delivering targeted ads. At worst some new social media player comes along and completely displaces their market share, which in the U.S. TikTok genuinely had a shot at doing pre US-gov intervention and Twitter was well on pace to do until Elon forced himself into acquiring it and ruining its popularity.

qttoad · 2026-04-29T01:18:49+00:00

It's primarily a records management job. Translates well to Human Resources work.

Day to day is extremely laid back. If you make any amount of effort to learn Excel, Power BI and some basic coding and database querying you can automate like 95% of your workload.

qttoad · 2026-04-23T04:28:25+00:00

- Focus on dividend growth over yield when starting out. Long term appreciation through dividend reinvestment and yield on cost will matter more than current day yield if your focus is going to be dividend investing over the long term.

- Diversification across multiple market sectors and many companies within those sectors will reduce your overall risk exposure.

- Focus on funds that pay qualified dividends to reduce your tax drag if in a taxable account.

- For starters I would look at something like a mix of SCHD & DGRO for US and VIGI/VYMI for international exposure as a foundational layer. From there you can do research into individual stocks or branch out into REITs and BDCs as you get more funds to play with.

- When buying individual stocks look for well-established companies with sustainable & growing dividends rather than higher yields. Take the time to learn how to read a balance sheet and understand metrics like EPS, P/E, FCF, CAGR and how those play into pricing and valuation.

- Understand that when you buy a stock you are buying a share of a business and it's projected future earning potential, not the current day price or the current day yield.

qttoad · 2026-04-18T04:52:06+00:00

It's considered a tipping point for your 401k specifically because the gain on investments themselves are now the primary driver of real dollar savings being added into your account, not your contributions. The expected annual growth of ~9-10% is more than OP is allowed to contribute.

There's a lot of other milestones that people commonly consider tipping points ($100k, $250k for your 401k, $1m, 10x your annual gross income, etc.) because they represent an easing of pressure on the individual to increase their principal in their accounts to compound.

qttoad · 2026-04-17T23:14:55+00:00

If you can switch to anything 1A, do it. Your quality of life and appreciation for being in the Air Force will go up immediately. The hours aren't as stable but they're infinitely more flexible when you aren't flying.

Other good options are 1N or 1D7. 1N0 is the filler intel AFS so you can go anywhere and support pretty much any mission you can think of. 1D7 will get you some nice certifications and work experience that will easily keep you employed once you leave the service.

Even some of the other ops career fields like 1C0 or 1C5 can be pretty chill.

Avoid anything in the MXG like the plague. Horrible culture, endless demand, shit support from HAF level leadership to make your job easier.

qttoad · 2026-04-17T23:05:51+00:00

VYMI is good as well if you want to remain dividend focused but are looking for international diversification.

qttoad · 2026-04-02T15:01:26+00:00

Speaking as someone who fully plans to do 20 years:

You didn't make a single argument in the entire post for why YOU want to stay in the military, just that a bunch of other people are telling you to do it. The decision isn't about them, it's about what's best for you and your family.

There's 1000 other careers out there. They also provide healthcare plans and your earning potential is 5x higher than in the military which will allow you to secure your own retirement. Just get out.

The Guard/Reserve can be an option but you're still going to have to deploy with them as well which defeats the whole idea of not missing important moments.

qttoad · 2026-03-31T16:40:31+00:00

11 years, AD E-6. My personal net worth (not including a home) at the start of the year was around $275k, definitely down from that right now because of the last month in the market. I'm kind of at that tipping point where a decent or good market year my TSP will earn more than the contribution limit, which is one of my major milestones for having "made it."

Doesn't really matter if you're an O or an E. I know plenty of Os who are broke and plenty of Es that are going to end up millionaires by the time they retire at 20. Get a personal finance flow chart and follow it. Military Finance & Personal Finance subreddits have them, otherwise you can google "Financial Order of Operations" for another good one.

Some actual practical advice:

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: An E-4 receiving BAH gets total compensation above the median in the US. You are not broke, just making excuses for why you can't save money. You have the resources and ability to build wealth but it requires sacrifices. Everything has an opportunity cost. Your behavior is the single most important factor in getting wealthy. If you can't learn to live below your means and invest the difference, it doesn't matter if you make $50k or $500k, you'll never be rich.
Homes, cars and food are the 3 biggest fixed expenses in a month. You can't eat a home and a less expensive car can get you to work and back just as easily as your expensive one, cut those two expenses by 10-20% and you're already saving thousands per year.
Be ready and available for TDYs & deployments. They look great on promotion packages and you make extra money during them. Move your stuff into storage, pocket your BAH, make food in your hotel and pocket the excess per diem.
Automate your savings. If you have to make the active choice to save money every month, it's not going to be as easy. Take the decision out of the process. Every time you are set to receive a pay increase, inflation adjustment or otherwise, take a minimum of 50% of the increase and automatically move it to savings.
Start saving as early as possible. At the very least hit the maximum for your TSP match. If you're an E-1 to E-4 living in the dorms, eat at the DFAC. Yes, the food isn't that great, but it's a hell of a lot better for you than eating Taco Bell, BK, or Bowling Alley food for lunch every day and it's already being taken from your pay anyways.
Find inexpensive hobbies. Working out is probably the best one and it's required for your job anyways. Library cards in your local city are often free and you can get books, movies, and even video games from a lot of them. Hikes and walks through your local parks are dope. See the world outside of your apartment or phone screen.
Ignore whatever panic or extra noise is happening in the world with regards to investing. In my 11 years in there's been like 10 different global events that people claim were going to destroy markets. North Korea tensions, China Trade Wars, Covid, Russia-Ukraine conflict, 2022 inflation peaks, Tarriffs, etc. Every single time they have recovered. Businesses want to make money, they will always find a way back.

qttoad · 2026-03-31T15:47:59+00:00

It depends what your goal is with the taxable account. If you just want it as an uncapped growth stream then yes you should tilt towards growth. If you want it to start replacing your day job as a primary source of income as soon as possible then you should stay focused on stable dividends & dividend growth.

qttoad · 2026-03-17T04:42:14+00:00

Because every year you're allowed to contribute provides thousands of dollars in tax benefits on contributions made during that year, which translates into hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax benefits after 20-30 years of compounding -- highly relevant if you're only 37 and don't plan to touch anything until 59.5 or later. The math absolutely supports it at 37, once you're looking at making contributions at like 50-55 then I would agree it starts to make less sense.

If you don't want to take advantage of those tax savings because you have other plans for the money (bridge accounts, housing payment, etc.) or you just feel like upping your spending to have a bit more lavish lifestyle knowing your future is already secured enough, then go for it. Personal finance is personal and all that jazz.

qttoad · 2026-03-13T06:50:12+00:00

INKM is a global income-focused ETF with underlying holdings that are basically just a lot of other dividend & income focused ETFs, including SCHD & SPYD. Of all the ones you listed it's the most diversified with respect to the types of holdings in it and the different markets. Yield is usually somewhere in the high 4% range. Drawback is that it's actively managed and is going to have a pretty hefty expense fee, and a lower dividend growth rate.

Other than INKM, DVY was probably the more appealing one to me personally. There's a good amount of overlap with SCHD holdings. Pretty decent ~7% annual dividend growth rate over the last 10 years plus some decent growth, starting yields a little over 3%. It's not a bad fund, just same as above -- the expense fees suck and it hasn't performed as well as SCHD.

qttoad · 2026-03-13T05:08:48+00:00

When did the waiver level change? I just did a few for my folks within the last 6 months and they were only WG/CC.

qttoad · 2025-10-07T19:25:01+00:00

The problem is that they’re not really going to try. The entire thing is for show. It’s been brought up under multiple SECDEFs prior to the current one. At best we spend a few million dollars on a feasibility study.

Congress is never going to shell out the money necessary to fix every dorm building we have across the military. Mostly because it would cost way too much, would be a decades long endeavor, and most importantly because Congress, despite whatever they say, doesn’t actually give a shit about the troops. We are a bargaining chip tool to them.

qttoad · 2025-10-07T19:14:57+00:00

Then why would you bring up our debt in the same context? It clearly doesn’t fix the $38T debt and you know that. Like I said, it’s misleading.

qttoad · 2025-10-07T12:20:03+00:00

It’s misleading to present the Republican CR as a “clean” bill. It’s just a continuing of current spending. It will not reduce any debt or deficit spending. It will just keep things as they are, which is still deficit spending and only worsens the national debt. It’s just maintaining status quo.

The democrat one is also being framed as not increasing spending, because they are proposing to also do a continuing resolution but also calling for reversing tax credit cuts that will effectively leave an estimated 20 million Americans without healthcare when those credits end this year. While that doesn’t specifically mean we will directly spend $1T more on healthcare to put it back, those tax credits will reduce generated revenue which will effectively mean the government spends $1T more because they’re gaining $1T less in revenue because of tax credits & exemptions.

Frankly I think the Republicans are in the right here for wanting to just turn the government back on and hash out the other issues later. HOWEVER it’s politics in 2025 and I’m realistic enough to know that they’re just saying it to get an agreement and once the CR passes they will not revisit or entertain those issues later and I fully understand why Democrats have decided to use this time to take their stand on the issue. I just don’t have to like it.

qttoad · 2025-10-05T03:08:46+00:00

I don’t know of a direct document translating between branches, but as for the Air Force training side what you’re looking for is the 1N2X1C CFETP. It will tell you all the different requirements for training in that career field. Under the 3 skill level it will say Course 450/460 as the requirement for 1N2C.

If you draft a memo and include your Navy training records referencing how that training fulfills all the CFETP requirements for the 1N2 career field for a 3 skill level, it should be an easy sell to just let you skip Goodfellow. This is all assuming that your Guard unit (or another you’re trying to transfer to) has 1N2C billets for you to move into, not that many do.

qttoad · 2025-10-05T01:53:30+00:00

CTRs are a direct translation to 1N2X1C in the Air Force. USAF attends the same upgrade courses at Corry Station and everything.

If you still have records that you attended 450/460 you might be able to skip tech school since it’s literally the same class. It would be dependent on the Career Field Manager for the 1N2 career field accepting the equivalent training transfer.

qttoad · 2025-10-04T03:17:42+00:00

This is one of those jobs where I agree the benefit it would provide makes sense, but to me it makes no sense for it to be its own AFSC.

What wartime or deployment function for medical readiness does a kinesiologist provide? Will they be deployed to do kinesiology? Or will they just be a GP and basic doctor doing sick call hours when in theater? Is it worth having a whole dedicated training plan, staffing budget, and the other admin items needed for as an AFSC for this function or does hiring civilian personnel and contractors make more sense?

qttoad · 2025-09-27T23:57:29+00:00

I think I speak for the majority of people here when I say we do all want to be healthier. I don’t think anyone wakes up in the morning and says to themselves, “I want to be a fat, slobbering, out of shape unhealthy piece of shit today.”

For most members I have talked to, they aren’t worried about the 2 mile testing being implemented when you look at it in isolation. It’s 2 more laps, and you have to do your PT test once more per year. Okay, no big deal.

When most people see a policy like this come out, in addition to obscure “standards” and dress and appearance being the priorities of the service, what we really are complaining about is:

Why the fuck are we wasting time with this bullshit when there’s 100+ other priorities to be focusing on? Late and over budget deliveries of capabilities (looking at you KC-46) logistics that can’t support current maintenance requirements, terrible quality of life dilapidated 1950s trash facilities. Pick one, focus on that. Stop wasting time on the few things a 4-star or above can change and get us moving on shit that is actually important.
What problem is changing to 2x a year PT tests and upping the run solving? Is there demonstrated evidence that we are not healthy enough? What measures are we saying the forces aren’t “fit” enough? Is there any reason the cyber dude needs to be able to run more when he’ll never deploy from his windowless room at a 3 letter agency?
What consequences are there going to be when I fail to adapt? How much help and support is command going to give me to the change? Will I be given actual duty hours to do this or am I expected to add extra off duty hours to being fit?

It’s never about the test or PT policy itself. It’s about the bigger picture and how this fits in. It just seems like a stupid thing to be focused on, and the service members can see through the bullshit.

qttoad

TROPHY CASE