The military hands you one of the best retirement systems in the country — and about twenty minutes of instruction on how to use it. Here's the longer version, in plain English.
Somewhere between in-processing and your first PCS, someone clicked through a slide deck about the Blended Retirement System. It was slide forty-something. You were thinking about housing. This article is the briefing nobody has time to give — educational, unhurried, and written by a fiduciary ten minutes from the gate.
I'm Ryan Hammett, an independent financial advisor in Layton. A lot of the families I sit down with are Hill families, and the pattern repeats: excellent benefits, used at maybe half strength — not because anyone is careless, but because nobody ever walked through the machinery slowly. So let's walk through it slowly. Not advice for your specific situation. A map of the terrain.
If you joined in 2018 or later, you're under BRS. The trade built into it: a smaller pension than the legacy system (2.0% of your high-3 pay per year of service instead of 2.5%), in exchange for TSP matching that the old system never offered — and that most servicemembers never fully collect.
Three mechanics the slide deck rushes past:
While you're serving, SGLI is about the cheapest life insurance you will ever see: up to $500,000 of coverage for roughly $26 a month including TSGLI. The planning questions are simple but real — is $500,000 actually enough for your family's needs, and what's the plan for when you separate and SGLI ends? Conversion options and private term insurance both exist; the mistake is not deciding at all and leaving a gap.
At retirement, the Survivor Benefit Plan is the heavyweight decision. The structure: you give up 6.5% of an elected base amount from your pension check, and in exchange your surviving spouse receives 55% of that base amount for life, adjusted for inflation. Premiums end once you've paid 30 years and reached age 70. Whether that's a good trade against, say, term life insurance depends on your spouse's age, health, other income, and your assets — and it deserves a real side-by-side before the election, because SBP choices are largely irrevocable once made. Your finance office explains what the options are; what they can't do is tell you which one fits your family. That's planning work.
Whether you're leaving at four years or twenty-four, the same checklist appears:
Leave it in the TSP (costs stay famously low), roll some or all to an IRA (more investment choice, more fees to compare), or split it. There are honest arguments both ways — anyone who says "always roll it" is selling something.
Under BRS: 2.0% × years of service × high-3 basic pay, starting immediately at 20 years. The lump-sum option (trading part of your pension for cash up front) uses a discount rate that rarely favors you — model it before touching it.
SGLI ends when service does. Decide the replacement — VGLI conversion or private term — while you're healthy and insurable, not after.
New 401(k), new match rules, possibly a VA disability decision, possibly a federal-civilian job at Hill with FERS and a second TSP chapter. The pieces multiply; the plan should hold them all on one page.
At least 5% of basic pay, every pay period, or you're declining free money. Then check the pacing — will you hit the cap before December?
Money sitting in the G Fund for a decade is the most common quiet mistake in the TSP. Own your allocation on purpose — lifecycle fund or your own mix — not by default.
Traditional versus Roth TSP is a tax-timing decision that depends on your rank, your spouse's income, and deployments ahead. Decide it; don't inherit it.
Raising your TSP percentage the same month a pay raise lands is the painless way to save more — you never feel the difference.
PCS costs, a spouse's job gap after a move, the surprise repair — three to six months of expenses in cash keeps a hiccup from becoming debt.
SBP, continuation pay, lump-sum offers, TSP rollovers — every one is easier decided with the numbers run in advance, and some can't be undone.
No — the TSP doesn't allow outside managers, and you should be wary of anyone who implies otherwise. What an advisor can legitimately do is advise: allocation, contribution strategy, Roth versus traditional, and how the TSP fits the rest of your plan. You keep the login and the control.
Contribute at least 5% of basic pay every pay period — the government adds 1% automatically plus up to 4% matching. Watch the two catches: the match stops for the year if you hit the annual cap early, and the government's contributions always land in the traditional side even when yours are Roth.
It stays yours. Leave it, roll it to an IRA, or split it — the right answer depends on costs, investment options, taxes, and your plans. Anyone who says rolling over is always right is selling something. Run the comparison first.
It depends — which is why it deserves analysis, not a hallway answer. SBP costs 6.5% of your elected base amount and pays your surviving spouse 55% of it for life, inflation-adjusted; premiums end after 30 years of payments once you're 70. The honest comparison is against life insurance, using your spouse's age, health, income, and your other assets — done before the election, because it's largely locked afterward.
Yes — Hill families are a core part of the practice, and Layton is about ten minutes from the gate. Kimberlite is independent and not affiliated with Hill AFB, the DoD, or the TSP. Planning survives PCS moves within Utah; if you PCS out of state, I'll say so plainly and help you hand off cleanly.
A free 30-minute conversation about your TSP, your timeline, and the elections ahead — no pitch, no pressure, and if steady contributions to a lifecycle fund are honestly all you need, I'll tell you exactly that.
Schedule a Free Intro Call Local to the gate: Layton & Hill AFB · Federal civilian at Hill? Read the FERS guideEducational content only. This article is provided by Kimberlite Financial Services for educational and informational purposes. It is not personalized investment, tax, legal, or benefits advice. Military pay, TSP rules, SBP and SGLI provisions change; figures reflect publicly available information as of July 2026 and may become outdated. For decisions about your specific benefits, consult your finance office, a benefits counselor, and a qualified tax or financial professional.
Kimberlite Financial Services is an independent registered investment adviser and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Hill Air Force Base, the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Defense, the Thrift Savings Plan, or any government agency. TSP accounts cannot be managed by outside advisers; you retain control of your account at all times.
Kimberlite Financial Services, LLC (Firm CRD# 342159) is an investment adviser registered with the Utah Division of Securities. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results.