To amend title 5, United States Code, to allow retired or certain disabled members of the uniformed services to contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan after separation, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill (the FORWARD Act) would allow military retirees and veterans with 100% disability ratings to continue making voluntary contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) -- the federal government's retirement savings plan similar to a 401(k) -- after they have separated from military service. Currently, once service members leave the military, they can no longer contribute to their TSP accounts even if they still receive retirement pay or disability compensation.
Who Benefits and How
Military retirees receiving retirement pay under Chapter 71 of Title 10 gain the ability to keep growing their TSP retirement savings using a portion of their retirement pay. Veterans with 100% service-connected disability ratings receiving compensation under 38 U.S.C. 1114 can similarly contribute a portion of their disability compensation. The TSP offers low-cost index fund investing with tax advantages not available in most private retirement accounts. TSP fund managers benefit from increased assets under management.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board must issue new regulations within 180 days, in coordination with DOD and the VA, to implement the expanded eligibility. There is a notable restriction: only individuals who already had a TSP account before separating are eligible, and no government employer matching contributions are provided under this provision.
Key Provisions
- Allows military retirees with retirement pay to contribute to TSP after separation
- Allows veterans with 100% VA disability rating to contribute to TSP
- No government matching contributions for these post-separation contributions
- Must have had an existing TSP account before separation to be eligible
- Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board must issue implementing regulations within 180 days
- Coordination required with DOD and VA
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Allows retired members of the uniformed services receiving military retirement pay, and veterans receiving 100% disability compensation, to make voluntary contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) after separating from service, provided they already had a TSP account.
Key Policy Areas
Veterans Affairs, Finance, Government Operations
Primary Purpose
Allows retired members of the uniformed services receiving military retirement pay, and veterans receiving 100% disability compensation, to make voluntary contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) after separating from service, provided they already had a TSP account.
Policy Domains
TSP Eligibility Expansion for Military Retirees and Disabled Veterans
Identified Gains
- Military retirees receiving retirement pay
- Veterans with 100% disability ratings
- Thrift Savings Plan fund managers
Identified Costs
- Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
- Department of Defense
- Department of Veterans Affairs
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMrs. Kiggans of Virginia (for herself and Mr. Bell) introduced …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Military retirees receiving retirement pay, Veterans with 100% disability ratings
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_board"
- → Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology