Thrift Savings Plan

Thrift Saving Plan (TSP) is a retirement plan aimed at securing the future of US citizens, who serve or have served the United States Federal government. Employees of government institutions, military and other government uniformed services as well as members of Congress are eligible for TSP. It functions as a defined contribution plan.

TSP is administered by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which is an independent bureau, consisting of five members directly appointed by the President. Each member serves only for four year. This ensures that TSP is unaffected by politics and is conducted in the best interest of the participating investors. Even though TSP was first established in 1986, the US Federal uniformed services were not entiteled to TSP until 2000, when the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act was signed.

TSP is laden with numerous benefits for the government employees of the United States as well as for their beneficiaries.

• 1. Grants immediate Contribution Rights
• 2. Relatively low expense of administration and initial investment
• 3. Ability to take loans against your savings in times of hardship. It can be paid back within 1 to 5 years with an interest.
• 4. Spousal Rights for loans and withdrawals
• 5. ‘Catch-up’ Contributions for employees over 50 years of age
• 6. Continuous benefits after retirement
• 7. Ability to ‘roll-over’ to a non-governmental retirement plan in case the employee leaves government service and vice versa
• 8. Saving pre-taxed dollars
• 9. Offers various funds to choose from
•     G (Government Securities) Fund
•     F (Fixed Income) Fund
•     C (Common Stock) Fund
•     S (Small Capitalization Stock) Fund
•     I (International Stock) Fund
Four of these funds are managed by Barclays PLC, an international financial services provider based in Britain.
• 10. Ability to move savings between funds

You can set up your own Thrift Savings Plan in 3 easy steps:

• 1. Decide how much you want to and can save from your monthly earnings.
• 2. Research the Fund options available and decide which one suits your interests the most. A Financial Advisor can help you with your decision.
• 3. Complete and submit the TSP election form which is available online.

TSP is simple, easy and very flexible. It is the best investment you can make for your future.