The azimuth was right. My feet were not.

Night land nav at Fort Benning. Charlie Company, 2-54 Infantry. The pine leaves swallowed what little moon there was, and my red lens turned the azimuth into a talisman. I had my heading. I was counting paces. I was sure.

Then the ground quit.

One step, two steps. The next step, nothing. Then a bush, and I down I went, farther than I expected. I lay there with an M4 on my chest. Branches across my face. Pace count gone. Somewhere behind me, a battle buddy laughing, "WTF."

Here's the deal. I wasn't lost. I knew where I was going. I just wasn't looking at what was right in front of me.

BLUF: When you separate or retire, one of the first calls you get is a pitch to roll your TSP into an IRA. Before you do anything, listen to me, understand this: the rollover is not a standalone decision. It is one leg of a three-part move, and the order matters.

The Pitch Hands You an Azimuth

Here is the trap. A TSP rollover gets pitched as a single yes-or-no. Move it or leave it. Framed that way, it is easy to say yes to whoever calls first. They feel like a friend. They're trained in sales.

It feels like a heading. Confident. Clean. One direction. Simple.

But out in the trees, the heading was never my problem. The ground was. And your TSP does not sit on clean ground. It sits next to your SBP decision and your civilian compensation. Those three decisions interact. We call that the Decision Triangle℠, and the principle is simple: look at all three together, and sequence them before you start marching.

Three Paths, No Winners

Start with the TSP itself. You have three general paths, and each is a trade-off, not a winner.

• Leave it in the TSP. Low cost, simple, and you keep the TSP fund menu, including the G Fund. The trade-off is limited flexibility and fewer planning levers.
• Roll it into an IRA. More investment range and more planning room, including options like Roth conversions. The trade-off is that you give up the TSP cost structure and the G Fund, and IRA costs vary widely depending on where it lands.
• Transfer it to a new employer plan. Keeps things consolidated if your civilian plan is strong. The trade-off depends entirely on that plan's menu and fees.

None of those is automatically right. The right answer depends on the two decisions sitting next to it. We'll talk about financial guidance from professionals later. That's another story.

Watch the Ground, Not Just the Compass

That is the part the phone pitch skips. The real rollover question is actually three questions:

1. What does this move do to my tax picture this year, on top of my pension and any civilian income?
2. How does it interact with my SBP decision and the survivor coverage my family is counting on?
3. What am I giving up, or gaining, by where this money sits for the next decade?

Answer those in isolation, and you can make three reasonable decisions that work against each other. Answer them together and you are running an operation instead of reacting to a sales call.

That night at Benning, I had the right direction and took the wrong step. Most TSP mistakes I see are the same: the wrong step in the right direction. The heading was fine. Nobody checked the ground. Oops, fell down and took a tumble.

This is what we mean by Operational Wealth Stewardship℠. The uniform changed. The operation continues. Coordinate the decision. Do not let whoever dialed your number first set your order of march.

This Week's Challenge

Take one sheet of paper. Write three headers: TSP, pension, and SBP, civilian comp. Under each, write what you've decided, what you haven't, and what date each decision locks. If any column is blank and a salesperson is already calling about column one, that's your bush. You're about to step into it.

Hit reply and tell me where you are in the window: pre-retirement, just out, or a year past DD-214. I read every reply, and it helps me write what is actually useful to you.

Marching with you,

Joshua Brooks

P.S. I did find my point that night. Eventually. Picked the thorns out of my BDUs and walked a lot more carefully. That's the whole financial transition in one sentence: keep your heading, and watch your next step.
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​This is educational information and not individualized tax, legal, or investment advice.

Verify against current year data. TSP, IRA, and tax rules change.

Exponential Advisors LLC is an investment adviser registered with the Texas State Securities Board (CRD #333416). Registration with any securities authority does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Nothing in this email is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security, or to take any specific action regarding your TSP, IRA, or employer plan. Consider your own circumstances, and consult a qualified tax, legal, or financial professional before acting.

Advisory services are offered only to clients or prospective clients where Exponential Advisors LLC and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. A copy of our Form ADV Part 2A is available upon request.

Exponential Advisors LLC | Weatherford, Texas | josh@exponentialadvisors.net​