US Gov't Employee Thrift Savings Plan Changes

[teej1985]

I think Blackrock has managed TSP funds for a long time but they have added State Street to co-manage. Additionally they hired a new Fund administrator Accenture (which sounds like more cooks in the kitchen raising expenses).

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/tsp/...endor-to-take-the-plan-into-the-21st-century/

The reason the mutual fund window has all these junk fees is because they didn't want the masses to subsidize access to that window. That's a good thing IMO.

 

[pc95]

Curious to know what others think about the expansion of the TSP to optionally include an expansive selection of mutual funds. TSP expense ratios have been rising dramatically lately and I think they have a new contractor to co-manage the plan so I see this as a means to make the plan more profitable for the plan managers. It is very good that they have put some fees in place to shelter the participants that do not partake of the new mutual fund options. Overall the costs seem exorbitant to me.

Coming this June: the mutual fund window option
The mutual fund window is designed for TSP participants who are interested in greater investment flexibility. If your account meets certain eligibility criteria, you can choose to access a selection of more than 5,000 mutual funds. As with most mutual funds, this flexibility comes with fees:

$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 choose to invest through the mutual fund window, your initial investment must be at least $10,000, and you may not invest more than 25% of your total account in the mutual fund window.

Talk about unneeded changes, how about needed changes, like allowing traditional to roth conversions within the account- where in the hell is that. I've been full ROTH since its opening in 2009 and traditional continues to dwarf roth, due to our matching structure - they won't match Roth - oh no, the government needs their piece of the benefit back in taxes - even would've taken a match % cut in roth to tax the benefit up front. Tax rates have a very good chance to rise in the future especially on the higher ends.

 

[jazz4cash]

The reason the mutual fund window has all these junk fees is because they didn't want the masses to subsidize access to that window. That's a good thing IMO.

Yes I mentioned that but i don’t think it’s the ONLY reason.

 

[DenverDoug]

Other needed changes

I wish they would allow you to specify which TSP fund you want to take withdrawals from. But regarding the new mutual fund options I will likely keep my portfolio in a mix of lifecycle funds. They have done great for me.