$157,797: The Average TSP Account as the Plan Hits $1.156T
Last Updated: July 1, 2026 Reading Time: 7 min
The Thrift Savings Plan just set another record: $1.156 trillion in total assets as of May 31, 2026. Divide that across 7,325,267 accounts and the average TSP balance now sits at $157,797, with FERS participants averaging $233,829. Both numbers grew double digits in under a year, and the pace of the growth is the real story.
Key Takeaways
- Total TSP assets: $1.156 trillion, up $150 billion in the 11.5 months since the plan first crossed $1 trillion in June 2025. That's roughly $13 billion of growth per month.
- Average balance across all accounts: $157,797 (+13.6% since the $1T milestone). FERS accounts average $233,829 (+15.2%).
- The C Fund holds 43.9% of everything: $507.9 billion including its share of the L funds.
- June 2026 split the market: S Fund +4.34%, C Fund -0.95%, a 5.29-point gap in a single month.
- At a 10% return with zero new contributions, the average account passes $409,000 in 10 years and $1 million in about 20.
It Took 15 Years to Reach the First $100 Billion
The acceleration is easier to see as a timeline than a headline:
| Milestone | When | Time to add |
|---|---|---|
| $100 billion | 2002 | ~15 years from launch |
| $1.006 trillion | June 20, 2025 | 23 years |
| $1.156 trillion | May 31, 2026 | 11.5 months for the last $150B |
Compounding at trillion-dollar scale means the plan now adds a 2002-sized TSP roughly every 9 months. No individual participant did anything different; the math just got heavier on top.
What the Averages Say About Your Balance
Two averages matter, and they've both jumped since the $1 trillion crossing:
| Cohort | At $1T (June 2025) | At $1.156T (May 2026) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| All 7.3M accounts | $138,926 | $157,797 | +$18,871 (+13.6%) |
| FERS participants | $202,991 | $233,829 | +$30,838 (+15.2%) |
Remember what an average hides: separated employees with small leftover accounts, new hires with two contributions, and multi-million-dollar 40-year veterans all get one vote each. If you want to know where you stand against people your own age rather than the whole pool, our TSP milestone benchmarks by age breaks it down cohort by cohort.
The C Fund Is 43.9% of the Entire Plan
Where the $1.156 trillion actually sits:
| Fund | Assets | Share of plan |
|---|---|---|
| C Fund (incl. L-fund share) | $507.9B | 43.9% |
| I Fund | $152.4B | 13.2% |
| S Fund | $103.8B | 11.4% |
| L funds collectively | >$300B | first time over $300B |
The C Fund crossing half a trillion is its own story, including what its concentration in a handful of mega-cap stocks means; we covered that in the C Fund $500 billion analysis.
June Was a Reminder of Why the Mix Matters
June 2026 produced the sharpest one-month fund divergence since the spring tariff shock:
| Fund | June 2026 | YTD 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| S Fund | +4.34% | +18.41% |
| I Fund | -0.03% | +16.53% |
| C Fund | -0.95% | +10.20% |
| G Fund | +0.37% | +2.18% |
| F Fund | +0.25% | +0.74% |
That's a 5.29-point gap between the S and C Funds in one month, and an 8.21-point gap year to date. Small and mid-cap stocks caught the AI-infrastructure spending wave that had previously concentrated in the mega-caps. Whether that rotation continues is anyone's guess; the takeaway is that the two "stock market" funds are not interchangeable. Our 2026 allocation guide covers how the funds differ and what mixes suit different time horizons.
What Compounding Does From Here
The plan's growth curve applies to individual accounts too. Starting from today's averages, with no further contributions:
| Starting balance | 7% return, 10 yrs | 10% return, 10 yrs | 10% return, 20 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| $157,797 (all-account avg) | $310,400 | $409,300 | $1,061,600 |
| $233,829 (FERS avg) | $459,900 | $606,500 | $1,573,100 |
Add regular contributions and the timelines shrink fast. Run your own numbers, with your actual balance, contribution rate, and agency match, in the free TSP Growth Calculator. If you're deciding how much to contribute to max the match or hit the annual limit, the TSP Contribution Optimizer does that math.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average TSP balance in 2026?
$157,797 across all 7.3 million accounts as of May 31, 2026. FERS participant accounts average $233,829.
How big is the TSP now?
$1.156 trillion, a record. The plan added about $150 billion in the 11.5 months after crossing $1 trillion.
Which fund is the largest?
The C Fund at $507.9 billion (43.9% of plan assets), counting its share inside the L funds.
How did the funds do in June 2026?
S Fund +4.34%, C Fund -0.95%, I Fund -0.03%, G Fund +0.37%, F Fund +0.25%. YTD, the S Fund leads at +18.41%.
How long until the average account hits $1 million?
About 20 years at a 10% return with no new contributions. Contributions and the agency match pull that in substantially.
Related Resources
- TSP Growth Calculator: Project your balance with your real contribution rate
- TSP Contribution Optimizer: Max the match or the annual limit
- TSP Milestone Benchmarks by Age: Where you stand against your own cohort
- TSP C Fund Crosses $500 Billion: The concentration story inside the plan
- Best TSP Allocation 2026: How the five funds differ
Sources: FedSmith on June 2026 TSP performance and FRTIB data, FedWeek on the C Fund's $500 billion crossing, TSP.gov fund performance, FedSmith on the $1 trillion crossing.