Anonymous wrote:The received wisdom is usually:
1) TSP to employer match limit
2) max Roth
3) back to TSP until you've used up your available $$ or hit the max
This is because Roth donations give you flexibility (can pull contributions any time, can use for education or first time home purchase, it used to be true that there were often better investment options available than through the average employer-sponsored plan, etc) and you get some tax-status diversification too.
What should be mentioned IMO is that if that seems complicated and stressful and you won't be able to figure out how much more to put in your TSP to get to your "limit" of how much you can invest for retirement that year, I don't think it's a better strategy than just 15% in TSP and move on with your life.
I don’t agree with this “received wisdom” and I think most often when I’ve seen it’s been when the person has poor (high fee) options in their 401k, which is not the case for TSP.
Regardless, IRA contributions are separate from TSP/401k with separate contribution limits so you can contribute in whatever order/combination you want