Federal Employee Resource · Updated for 2026
TSP G Fund vs. a MYGA
One Resets Monthly. One Locks.
Both are guaranteed. Both protect principal. They differ in the one thing that matters most: whether you know the rate next year. Here is the honest side-by-side, including where the G Fund wins.
TSP G Fund
October 2026 rate. Set monthly by the U.S. Treasury and subject to change — this is not a fixed rate.
Full liquidity, no surrender charge, principal cannot decline.
Highest MYGA available today
MYAnnuity 7X · Nassau Life and Annuity Company · 7-year term — fixed for the full term, disclosed before you sign.
$10,000 minimum. Rate varies by state, term, and premium.
Rates shown are the highest available multi-year rate in our current carrier set and the Treasury's announced G Fund rate for October 2026. Both move; re-check before acting. See today's rate for your state →
The comparison, line by line
Read the "rate type" and "access" rows first. They decide most of the answer.
| TSP G Fund | Fixed annuity (MYGA) | |
|---|---|---|
| Available to | Only inside a TSP account (federal employees and retirees) | Anyone who can fund an insurance contract, inside or outside an IRA |
| Rate type | Reset every month by the U.S. Treasury | Fixed at purchase for the full term (typically 3–10 years) |
| Rate certainty | Unknown after this month — moves up and down | Locked and disclosed in the contract before you sign |
| Principal | Cannot decline; interest accrues daily | Guaranteed by the carrier, not by the federal government |
| Backing | U.S. Treasury securities | Carrier's claims-paying ability, plus your state guaranty association up to state limits |
| Access to your money | Full liquidity — move or withdraw any business day, no charge | About 10% a year penalty-free; surrender charges above that during the term |
| Cost | Your TSP expense ratio, roughly 0.04% | No separate expense ratio; the cost is inside the credited rate |
| Tax treatment | Already tax-deferred inside the TSP | Tax-deferred inside an IRA or as a non-qualified contract |
| Minimum | No minimum beyond TSP rules | Commonly $10,000–$20,000 depending on carrier |
| Best used for | Money you may need to move, rebalance, or spend soon | Money you can commit for a set number of years and want at a known rate |
Where each one genuinely wins
If a comparison says one product wins every row, it is sales material, not a comparison.
The G Fund wins when…
- You can reach every dollar on any business day, with no surrender charge
- No carrier risk at all — the backing is the U.S. Treasury
- If rates rise, your rate rises with them, automatically
- You keep the TSP's roughly 0.04% cost structure
- Nothing is locked, so a better opportunity never traps you
The MYGA wins when…
- The rate is guaranteed for years, not reset next month
- If rates fall, you are unaffected for the whole term
- It works for money outside the TSP, where no G Fund exists
- You can match maturities to the years you plan to spend the money
- A defined rate makes a defined-income plan possible years in advance
The single most useful question: can you leave this money alone for the full term? If the answer is yes, locking a rate is a real benefit. If you might need it, the G Fund's freedom is worth more than a few tenths of a point.
What the difference is worth on $250,000
Three paths over 7 years. Only the first one is a number you can actually know in advance.
Hypothetical backtest. Not a guarantee of future results. Simple annual compounding, no withdrawals, no surrender charges, and no taxes considered. The G Fund rate is reset every month by the Treasury, so a multi-year projection at a single rate is an illustration only — that uncertainty is precisely the difference between the two products.
How federal retirees usually split it
Not either-or. The G Fund stays the liquidity valve; the annuity sets a known rate on money you will not touch.
Liquidity layer — 1 to 2 years of planned spending
Keep this in the G Fund. It never loses value, so a bad month in the stock funds never forces you to sell at the wrong time, and you can move it any business day at no cost.
Known-rate layer — money you can commit for a set term
Place a defined slice into a fixed-rate annuity for the years you will not need it. The rate is locked, so a falling-rate year does not touch it, and the maturity date can be matched to a planned expense.
Growth layer — everything beyond those horizons
The C, S, and I funds still belong in the plan for money you will not touch for a decade or more. Neither a G Fund nor an annuity is a growth engine; they are certainty.
G Fund vs. MYGA — questions federal employees ask
Want the numbers for your own balance?
Enter your premium and state to see the fixed rate available to you, or talk to a licensed specialist about how much should stay in the G Fund.
Get my guaranteed rateCall 508-770-0222 →The G Fund rate is announced monthly by the U.S. Treasury and is not fixed; the rate shown reflects October 2026. Fixed annuity rates are set by the issuing carrier, vary by state, term, and premium, and are subject to change until a contract is issued. Annuities are not FDIC insured, are not bank deposits, and are not guaranteed by any bank or government agency; guarantees depend on the issuing carrier's claims-paying ability and are backed by state guaranty associations only within their limits. This page is general educational information, not tax or investment advice.