TSP news from our Executive Director

[tsptalk]

Got this email today. Just passing it along...

 

[Scout333]

Thanks Tom, what are the odds these improvements go smoothly and accurately? Trust but verify as my Dad always said! Watch your accounts!

 

[Cactus]

Thanks for the info, Tom!

I would just like to be able to login from work again. I've been locked out of my own account there since they changed the two-factor authentication to only work with my home phone number. At least the analog phone menu access still works.

If they want to improve security they could let me login with my government issued smart card from work.

 

[rangerray]

I'll bet that virtual assistant is going to be a big help.

 

[exnavyew]

TSP new features news. Just FYI:

https://www.tsp.gov/new-tsp-feature...mail&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=51177650

 

[tsptalk]

What’s Changing and When

As part of the transition to add these new features, we’ll need to temporarily suspend some transactions and services for a brief period in May 2022. Your money will remain invested in the TSP funds you’ve chosen during this time. Be sure to pay attention to TSP correspondence and check this webpage in the coming months for more details.

:scratchchin:

TSP new features news. Just FYI:

https://www.tsp.gov/new-tsp-feature...mail&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=51177650

 

[jonfresno]

I just saw this in an email from them .Yes, thanks that part stuck out big time. I think most on this site would want to know that they may not be able to change funds during this time..

What’s Changing and When



:scratchchin:

 

[Bullitt]

I'll be passing on those additional funds for now.

I don't know why every article about fund fees needs to be so dramatic, but the fees are going to be higher via TSP than if you had the ability to purchase through a discount broker. Better to wait until some day when I convert some to an IRA.

• $55 annual administrative fee to ensure that use of the mutual fund window does not indirectly increase TSP administrative expenses for TSP participants who choose not to use the mutual fund window
• $95 annual maintenance fee
• $28.75 per trade fee
• Other fees and expenses specific to chosen mutual funds

If you Invest 100k (remember you can only put up to 25% of your money in the window) of your 400k in a mutual fund with a 1% fee your total fees would be:

• $95 Maintenance Fee
• $55 Annual Fee
• $28.75 Per Trade (Let’s assume 4/year) so a total of $115/year
• 1% Mutual Fund Fee on 100k is $1,000
• .076% Fee on your other 300k is $228

Total: $1,493/year

https://www.fedsmith.com/2022/04/04/tsp-mutual-fund-window-will-be-expensive/

 

[Valkyrie]

I laughed for about 5 minutes after reading the email, thought it was april fool's joke, then realized today is the 6th.
their buddies got paid a lot money to come up with those stupid new fund programs.

 

[JKtt8]

The new Mutual Fund Window will present opportunities for better returns than the generic TSP index funds currently offered, but the fees will be steep for a minimal 10K investment.
Catch 22 - to mitigate a higher fee percentage, larger amounts of cash will have to be put at investment risk to lower the effective 'APR'. Also, many high return mutual funds have above average admin fees to begin with. The S fund is a very large basket of small cap stocks (The DWCF includes about 3,741 stocks that trade on the U.S. stock exchanges)
Concentrating on smaller NASDAQ index funds, i.e. Nasdaq-100 Index (QQQ), which has outperformed the S&P-500 (C Fund) annually by 4% for the past 15 years, may prove to be more profitable than the S fund as well, despite the added fees.
It remains to be seen if the Minimum Required Distributions will be taken from the TSP, the Mutual Fund Window or a combination of both? - Stay Tuned!