account does not add up

[mpillis]

I just received my Annual Statement for 2007. What struck me as odd was on second page where it listed Lifetime Contributions Employee Pretax.
I have been investing max since 1987 and I am a FERS employee. Lifetime contribution = $124,596.17. I thought no way that could be right. The last quartely statement I have is June 2004 which listed empoloyee contributions as $107,798.82. Since then according to my pay stubs I have contributed $47,461.11 which adds up to $155,259.93. So I called TSP and spoke with them and asked them what makes up the Lifetime contributions on annual statement, she said what you have contributed. So I explained it to her and she came back and told me that my lifetime contributions are $195,517.93 but my contributions could lose value based on market losses. I said HUH? I want to know how much have I contributed and what does this figure on annual statement comprise. Now I have to wait for a supervisor to call me back. me an a couple of guys in the office and oftened spoke about how things just don't add up right when figuring returns. Anyone else out there wonder what is really going on? Oh yeah she asked me if I had any withdrawals. No I have not

 

[James48843]

Hey, what's fifty grand lost by TSP anyway?

I'm sure they'll find it somewhere. Maybe it fell out into the couch.

Yeh, that's the ticket.

Your money fell into the couch. I'll go look for it under the cushions. It's gotta be there somewhere...

 

[Idaho Dave]

I think that in their figures, they keep your contributions and the gov's contributions separate--kinda like different accounts. Then they figure the earnings on each--separately. So your contributions on the statement are actually your contributions +or- earnings. That's why it can go down in value.

 

[Elgallo]

""""So I explained it to her and she came back and told me that my lifetime contributions are $195,517.93 but my contributions could lose value based on market losses. I said HUH?"""

Just another reason why the govt. aint gonna be holdin any of my hard earned money when I retire. Incompetence appears to rein supreme if you ask me!

 

[Idaho Dave]

I think that in their figures, they keep your contributions and the gov's contributions separate--kinda like different accounts. Then they figure the earnings on each--separately. So your contributions on the statement are actually your contributions +or- earnings. That's why it can go down in value.

But then again, I could be wrong. :embarrest:

 

[EW_ret]

I just checked my Annual Participant Statement from TSP and the lifetime contribution amount is $274.41 lower than what my Quicken account shows for my total contributions from February 1988 to September 2005. I had a $4,000 loan from December 1992 to August 1994. I suspect the interest I paid on this loan was $274.41. It just shows up as additional contributions in my Quicken account. Therefore, I see the lifetime contributions being accurate for my case. I was CSRS so there were no matching contributions.

 

[lmurky]

I've just noticed this same problem on my 2008 statement. My lifetime contributions are understated by about $36,000. I'm not counting any earnings, and I'm not counting any matching contributions. The bit about the market value doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever, since my employee contributions are a fixed value. I'm also FERS. Does anyone know if this was resolved? Anyone have any ideas on what to do???