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“The first $100,000 is a bitch, but you gotta do it. I don’t care what you have to do—if it means walking everywhere and not eating anything that wasn’t purchased with a coupon, find a way to get your hands on $100,000. After that, you can ease off the gas a little bit.”
– Charlie Munger
How long does it take to save $100,000 in the US military? For an officer with a good savings rate, it might be faster than you think.
After just 5 years, a typical military officer, coming out of ROTC, the military Academies, or OTS with $0 in debt could save $100,000 of net worth.
Let's assume a military officer joins up and contributes 20% of his or her base pay to the Roth Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). If they start this savings plan from the first month they join the military, they should be able to save $100,000 before the end of their 5th year of service.
| End of Year | Rank (pay cell) | Annual base pay | Effective federal tax rate | Your Roth TSP (20%) | BRS agency contributions | Year-end TSP balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | O-1 (under 2) | $49,802 | 7.6% | $9,960 | $415 | $10,839 |
| 2 | O-1 (under 2) | $50,798 | 7.7% | $10,160 | $508 | $23,072 |
| 3 | O-2 (over 2) | $67,992 | 9.0% | $13,598 | $3,400 | $43,142 |
| 4 | O-2 (over 3) | $79,871 | 10.9% | $15,974 | $3,994 | $68,324 |
| 5 | O-3 (over 4) | $95,899 | 12.8% | $19,180 | $4,795 | $100,211 |
The officer crosses $100,000 exactly five years after commissioning. Of that first $100k, roughly $68,900 is her own contributions, $13,100 is government money (BRS automatic 1% plus the match), and $18,000 is market growth.
Assumptions: Commissions January 2026 as an O-1 under the Blended Retirement System. 2026 pay table with a 2% raise each January. Promotes to O-2 at 2 years and O-3 at 4 years. Contributes 20% of base pay to her Roth TSP from her first paycheck. The automatic 1% agency contribution begins after 60 days of service; the full 5% (1% automatic plus 4% match) begins in her 25th month of service. Invested in a low-cost index fund returning 10% annually, compounded monthly. Effective tax rate is federal income tax only (single filer, 2026 standard deduction and brackets), calculated on base pay; BAH and BAS are tax-free and excluded. No deployments, no state income tax, no breaks in contributions.
Automatic Military Millionaire
The crazy thing is if this officer just continues to contribute 20% of her pay towards her retirement and investment accounts, such as the Roth TSP, Roth IRA, and a taxable brokerage, she will become a millionaire before she reaches 17 years of service.
She'll finish her 20 year military career with $1.54 million saved, a full 40% military pension, and possibly VA disability compensation.
Final balance at 20 years
$1.54M
Total money in
$642K
Market growth
$902K
Assumes commissioning January 2026, promotion to O-2 at 2 years, O-3 at 4, O-4 at 10, O-5 at 15; 20% of base pay invested monthly (Roth TSP first, Roth IRA overflow) plus Blended Retirement System contributions; 10% annual return compounded monthly; 2026 pay table with 2% annual raises. Hypothetical illustration for education, not a projection or advice.
Another crazy fact is it takes 6 months less time to go from