Your Retirement System
National Guard & Reserve
Building Retirement Savings with the Blended Retirement System
The Blended Retirement System (BRS) is a modernized retirement plan for all new entrants into the Uniformed Services on or after
Jan. 1, 2018, and eligible service members who opted into BRS. Features of the BRS include a dened contribution, consisting
of government automatic and matching contributions, to a service member’s Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), a dened benet (also
known as a pension or monthly retired pay for life), after at least 20 years of service, a mid-career bonus called continuation pay
and a new lump sum option at retirement.
Calculate your retired pay
base by averaging the highest 36
months of basic pay
Calculate your equivalent years of
active service by dividing your
accumulated retirement
points by 360
Dened Contribution
Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
Dened Benet
Received after completing 20 qualifying years of
service and attaining age 60*
Continuation Pay
Received between 8,
but not more than 12
years of service
Lump Sum Option
A choice of how to
receive your dened
benet
You can nd additional information on #BlendedRetirement at http://militarypay.defense.gov/BlendedRetirement
Source: Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, sections 631, 632, 633, 644, and 635
Key Aspects Under BRS Maximize Your TSP
Resource Websites
2%
x x
Years
Served
Retired
Pay Base
1
2
3 4
• TSP.gov
• DFAS.mil
• MilitaryOneSource.mil
• SEC.gov
• MilitaryPay.defense.gov/Calculators
• MilitaryPay.defense.gov/BlendedRetirement
*or earlier based on qualifying active service
All Service members are fully vested in the automatic 1% contribution –
it’s yours to keep--after completing 2 years of service
The Power of Compounding
Compounding is powerful because it allows you to make
money, not just on the money you contribute to your TSP,
but also on the money that it earns. Think of it as having a
snowball eect—so the sooner you start saving, the more
years you have to save, and the more eective compound-
ing is in building retirement savings.
(*calculation using the planning tools at TSP.gov, based on an
annual growth rate of 7% with monthly contributions)
7
%
7
%
$1,000
$14,254
$42,294
$97,454 Acct Value
10 Years
20 Years
30 Years
$30,000 Contributions
7
%
$67,454 Acct Growth
$1,000 per yr for 30 years*
New entrants on or after Jan. 1, 2018
Automatically enrolled at 3% of your basic pay in an age
appropriate TSP Lifecycle Investment Fund.
Your Service automatically contributes the equivalent of 1% of
your basic or drill pay to your TSP after 60 days of service.
You’ll see matching contributions at the start of 3 years through
the completion of 26 years of service.
You Contribute
DoD Auto
Contribution
DoD Matches Total
0% 1% 0% 1%
1% 1% 1% 3%
2% 1% 2% 5%
3% 1% 3% 7%
4% 1% 3.5% 8.5%
5% 1% 4% 10%
BRS
UNIFORMED SERVICES BLENDED RETIREMENT SYSTEM