Dear Participant, This year, I decided to do something a little different with my annual letter to you. I sat down with a member of our editorial staff for an interview in which we talked about the TSP’s mission, our achievements over the past year, and best practices for keeping your TSP account productive and up to date. I hope you enjoy the results.
Q: What is the TSP’s mission and how does the FRTIB carry it out? Our mission is to run the TSP solely in the best interest of our participants. And that’s a great mission because it means we’re focused on one thing—participants’ financial well-being. It is unique within the federal government that we have one mission, one purpose, for a narrowly defined group of people. And that makes us really efficient, really effective.
Q: What improvements has the TSP made over the past year? In July 2024, we added a new L Fund, the L 2070, for participants who were born after 2004 or plan to begin withdrawing from their TSP account in 2068 or later. Each of the eleven L Funds is tailored to when you think you’ll need your money and reduces your exposure to investment risk as your expected retirement date approaches.
In August, we transitioned to a new I Fund benchmark index to further diversify I Fund investments and give participants access to more markets and companies. The new index includes more than 5,000 large, medium, and small companies from more than 40 developed and emerging market countries. Based on a thorough analysis, we expect the new index to offer opportunities for higher returns without a significant increase in risk, as compared to the old I Fund index.
In the fall, we launched our “Grow with the TSP” campaign to highlight how time is your greatest ally when investing. The earlier you invest, the more your money can grow. You can visit our webpage to see how $1 can increase over different time periods. Plus, we’ve included six key points for early-career participants to keep in mind.
Q: What do you think people get wrong about the TSP? There are three things. First, when you retire, you don’t have to leave the TSP. The TSP has advantages that an IRA does not have, and not everybody is aware of that. You can leave your money in the TSP after you leave federal service, and that means your savings can keep earning interest and gaining value while you continue to benefit from the TSP’s low expenses. As of July 2024, the TSP’s expenses are lower than 99% of investment options.
Second, many participants may not know how much they can do online with their TSP account, especially once securely logged in to My Account on the TSP website. For example, with My Account access, you can complete and submit many forms online with your electronic signature, view and manage your investments, and add your bank information for direct deposit to help you get your money faster and more safely. You can also use the TSP Mobile App, which offers the same functionality as logging in to My Account online.
Third, it’s best to avoid borrowing from your TSP account to cover unexpected expenses. While it may seem convenient to borrow from yourself, taking money out of your account means those funds can’t benefit from compounding interest until they’re paid back. It’s better to build up an emergency fund separate from the TSP and draw on that to weather life’s unexpected bumps. Saving starts with retirement, but it shouldn’t end there.
Q: What message would you give people just starting to save for retirement? Start now. That’s the most powerful thing you can do. It doesn’t have to be a lot; as long as it’s at least 5% of your basic pay, you’ll get the full matching contribution from your agency or service. You can always contribute more, but if you contribute less than 5%, you miss out on the free money available to you. That could mean losing out on thousands of dollars by the time you retire.
Q: What would you say to participants getting ready to retire? In addition to reminding participants they can keep their money in the TSP when they leave, I would also say they could consider lower-risk investments. You can change your investment mix yourself, or one of the Lifecycle Funds can do it for you. When you’re first starting out with your TSP account, choosing riskier investments—which offer the opportunity for higher gains—can be OK because you have time to recover from losses before you retire. But if you’re at retirement or close to it, you don’t have 20 or 30 years to recoup your losses because you are going to start spending that money soon. And stocks don’t always go up. Risk is real.
Q: And what hopes do you have for your own retirement? I hope I can use my TSP to enjoy time with my kids, and to do the things that my wife and I hope to do when we have lots and lots of time, with no need to get up in the morning and come to work.
Q: Any final thoughts? Yes. It’s good to do a wellness check on your TSP account at least once a year. There are a few housekeeping issues you can take care of to ensure your TSP account is up to date.
If you haven’t logged in to My Account since June 2022, you need to set up a new login on tsp.gov. It takes less than 10 minutes to get online access to your TSP investments, verify your contact information, and help protect your account from fraud.
Add your bank account information to your My Account now so that when you need money later, you can get it quickly and safely through direct deposit.
Lastly, always make sure your contact information is up to date so we can notify you of important information about your account. Being able to reach you helps us carry out our mission: helping you fulfill your financial goals and live the best possible version of the life you want in retirement.
And reach out to us anytime. If you have general questions or concerns, you can use AVA, the TSP virtual assistant on tsp.gov, to get answers. To ask AVA account-specific questions and connect with a ThriftLine representative during business hours for a live chat session, log in to My Account and select the icon found on the bottom right of the page. To speak with one of our representatives by phone, call the ThriftLine at 1-877-968-3778.
Wishing you a happy and prosperous 2025,
Ravi Deo, Executive Director
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board |
