What it is
The BRS match: the government matches your TSP contributions dollar for dollar on the first 3 percent of basic pay and fifty cents on the dollar for the next 2 percent. Contribute 5 percent and the total government add is 5 percent including the automatic 1 percent.
2026 rate
Up to 4 percent matching on top of the 1 percent automatic.
What goes wrong
The match should move in lockstep with your own contribution. Contributing 5 percent or more and seeing less than a full match is an error, with one exception: no match accrues before completing 2 years of service.