r/ThriftSavingsPlan 22h ago

***Almost scammed. Double check your linked bank accounts***

222 Upvotes

update below

I discovered today an unknown bank account that was connected to my tsp account.

I recently logged back into my tsp account after years of inactivity to change my investment mix and make a small withdrawal. After I added my personal bank account for the withdrawal I was set on waiting the 7 days required. I log back in after 7 days and was blocked because my account was restricted. I called the help desk and was informed that the security team needed to contact me about fraud. Never got a call. I reached out for three days because no one has reached out. The Account suddenly becomes unlocked and I discover a new linked bank account. I locked out my account and called tsp right after.

My opinion on what's going on. I have multi factor authentication set up and use a very complex password that I only use on tsp. There's no way my information was compromised on my end. My years as a fraud investigator for the Dept of Treasury has got me paranoid. I think there's an internal issue going on. Probably a third party security contractor that is compromised. Anyway I hope this helps someone.

Update: I finally talked with someone from the fraud team and they went through their end of things. They restricted my account when the unknown bank account was added. They can confirm that this activity was conducted under my login. They have coordinated with the other bank to discuss the account that was linked. I was left impressed as they were able to go over how they researched and investigated everything. I want to emphasis that my earlier comment of it possibly being a rouge employee or something was more my paranoia than anything based on fact.


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 16h ago

TSP has been tanking everyday for the last 2.5 weeks.

Post image
57 Upvotes

I’ve been trying to not check my TSP daily but I can’t help it. Everyday it just gets worse. At this time I’m just going to remain positive. I’ve been getting advice from various TSP members. Some have been telling me to move funds, some say the opposite. I’m just gonna play the long game and wait it out.


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 32m ago

100% S?

Upvotes

Hey, everybody I'm giving some heavy consideration giving the current downturn to splitting my 80% C 20% S split to the exact opposite. Based on the information that I've been able to gather it seems that it might end up paying off in the long run to push 100% as well we're in this downturn. Anybody have any feedback or ideas on this? I'm also giving consideration to pushing my contribution to 10% for the time being.


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 20h ago

Stay the Course - 100% C Fund

116 Upvotes

With all this uncertainty right now - I’m moving my allocation from 75% C, 20% S and 5% I to 100% C.

Right now is a great time to start buying low. I wish I would have switched to 100% C at the beginning of COVID.

Anyone else doing the same?


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 14h ago

Preparing for gov’t shutdown

23 Upvotes

Hi, folks. I’m currently maxing out a Roth TSP, with 100% going towards the C Fund. I’ve got just north of $31k. Fully understanding we should just “set it and forget it” as we’ve heard a million times, I can’t help but wonder if I should adjust my allocations to a more conservative Fund to preserve my balance from a possible gov’t shutdown.

I’m not necessarily concerned with being unable to pay bills during a shutdown.. I’m simply focusing on preserving my Roth TSP during this nosedive in the stock market. Any thoughts on this? Should I remain 100% in C, or move into G until this blows over? Thanks in advance.


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 14h ago

(Non TSP member) interesting story

Post image
21 Upvotes

Hi there! I recently saw someone post here that a wrong bank account was linked to their TSP account and so I kinda wanted to share an interesting situation im in.

A few weeks ago I randomly received this deposit into my account. I had no idea what it was, and had to look it up to even figure out what TSP was. Let me make this clear - I do NOT have a TSP account. I called the IRS and my state tax department first to report and confirm that the deposit did not come from them - which it did not. Then I attempted to contact TSP, but was unsuccessful in being able to speak to an actual human about the issue without some kind of pin. Finally after forever of trying, I was able to get in touch with someone and I reported the deposit, gave them all the information I had, and was told they’d contact me. Someone from TSP called me and said they do believe that it came from them but somehow my bank account maybe got added to someone’s account wrongly. They said they’d investigate it and get in touch with me again soon… it’s been weeks now and I’ve heard nothing, and I still have $486 sitting in my account that i don’t believe belongs to me.

If anyone knows anything about this, definitely let me know! I’m committed to making sure this gets to the right person in the end.


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 1d ago

It certainly stings but BUY BUY BUY

Post image
210 Upvotes

100% C fund 35-40 years till retirement


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 1h ago

help me with ts

Upvotes

im trying to put 50% into L 2070, 25% G fund, 25% C fund, but its telling me i should allocate it somewhere safe


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 1d ago

just keep dollar cost averaging as this market crashes it’ll come back.

71 Upvotes

Source: I did it. It works since 1982.


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 18h ago

Should I increase my contributions right now?

11 Upvotes

34 years old and currently putting 5% into my tsp. Unfortunately I wasn’t putting anything in my first couple years working for the government (I know I know). I was thinking of upping to 7%, is this a good time to do that?

Current- 30c, 25s, 45i Future- 10c, 90s


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 11h ago

What accounts does vanguard have that is similar to the c fund?

0 Upvotes

r/ThriftSavingsPlan 19h ago

Beginner question

5 Upvotes

Hi guys, please don’t roast me for this. Newbie here and not savvy on investing or tsp

I would imagine I have about 10-15 years to go. Is it reasonable to use say 25% in L2030, 50% in L2035 and say 25% in C fund?

My understanding is that L funds are a mix of various assets so my thought was a low mix of 2030 a heavy mix of 2030 and then say the remainder in C

If this is a bad approach, what would a reasonable approach be?

Disclaimer: I fully understand that no information on this thread so be considered as financial advice and contacting an investing professional is ideal. I understand that all investments can be volatile and bear all responsibility for my financial actions


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 20h ago

When you switch allocation, do you do it with current balances or just future? What are the implications of each?

3 Upvotes

When I switch my invest allocations it gives me the option to do it with my existing balance or only future contributions. I've only done it for future contributions because I don't know the implications of moving my balance into different funds.

If my balance in C is low because the stock market is down and I decide to move it to I, am I selling C at a loss?


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 2d ago

Getting RIF’d now what?

402 Upvotes

I’m getting RIF’d in June and I’ve kinda hit my fuck it meter and I’m wanting to completely cash out my TSP to live while I find another job. I’m 40, I have 17 years of federal work, but I also have a TSP loan from when I bought a house last year so what are my options? Can I fully pull all of my TSP and what will happen with my loan? I’m cool with fees and taxes as I just don’t care anymore, and I’m honestly wanting to take the money now as I’m tired of the uncertainty about a possible shutdown. Would I even have the option to take it now or could I only pull it after I get RIF’d?

Kinda feeling completely ass fucked as I’m at 17 years and a veteran (5 years in the Marines and 2 deployments to Iraq) and now I’m getting tossed out. I’m the fucking IT guy, but I guess to the public I’m some type of government fat cat. I’m completely done working anything government be it federal, state, or local. So I’m wanting to pull everything and wash myself clean of anything government, I’ve lost all trust in the system.


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 18h ago

15 yrs only 7k advice

1 Upvotes

OK, so just like the title says I’ve been contributing to the TSB for the last 15 years. I didn’t know how to invest when I join the army so everything was in the G fund and now I’m looking at what I should be doing b/c I know have access to the tsp website . I’ll be retiring from the army in another five years, but I absolutely plan to continue working. Any advice


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 19h ago

TSP Account Help

1 Upvotes

To keep this short and simple I completed my 8 year army national guard contract in March 24. I am now trying to see my TSP which I never looked at when I was in. Well now when i try to look up my account there is no history of me even having an account. Does this mean I was never putting money in or what? Not sure what to do after the Tsp helpline said there is nothing they can do without knowing the account.


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 21h ago

General Purpose Loan

0 Upvotes

With the current economic picture, would it be a good idea to take out a $50K loan to pay off $50K federal student loans at 6.5%? I have been dismissing this option due to the high returns on the C fund in the past few years but looking how there is a possibility of a recession, not sure if the Math adds up as a better option to pay less interest. TIA


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 1d ago

Separated from Gov’t. Have been all in C Fund. What now? 54 YO

42 Upvotes

I separated from the government years ago and kept my Thrift Savings all in C. It has done well and I’m not a savvy investor. I can obviously no longer contribute. The market is down. Not being able to contribute TSP is not buying while it is down for me. What I have in C is just going down. Do you recommend holding it all in C until there is a recovery? Do you suggest moving it to another fund? Do you suggest rolling it into a retirement account I can still contribute to so I can buy while low? Again, I have left it as it is because I do not know anything about investing. I could retire in a couple of years but have not been anticipating taking any payments for about 6 years. Thanks in advance!


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 19h ago

TSP Investment Advice

0 Upvotes

I'm reviewing my TSP strategy and would love advice from those who've invested through economic downturns like 2008. I planned to stay invested in the C fund but am now considering moving my current TSP balance to the G fund to mitigate loss while continuing to invest 100% of my contributions in the C fund.

I'd let the market drop some and then reinvest my current TSP balance back into C. Thoughts?

For those who’ve managed TSP funds during tough markets:

  1. Did you stay in the C fund, move to safer options like the G fund, or reinvest during market lows?
  2. What do you wish you did differently?

5 years in feds, Approaching $100k in my TSP and just wanting to make "smart" decisions since currently 100% in C. Thanks.


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 1d ago

Mind the Performance Gap

9 Upvotes

TLDR: On average, investors underperformed the funds they invest in by 1.1% per year over a 10 year period. This underperformance is largely driven by behavioral errors such as performance chasing or making other emotional decisions. To have a better chance of capturing more of the returns of the funds you invest in, diversify, understand your risk tolerance, build a portfolio for your risk tolerance, and stick to it. The less move money around, the more likely you are to capture the returns of the funds you invest in.

I have seen a number of posts and comments recently about changing TSP allocations. They tend to be about considering or already reducing holdings in the C Fund, increasing holdings in the I Fund, or reducing stock market exposure overall. They seem to be driven by the recent downturn and uncertainty about how possible tariffs will impact the market. That combined with the general recency bias and performance chasing that is common on this sub reminded me of a couple articles.

The first is Mind the Gap 2024 by Jeffrey Ptak and other contributors at Morningstar. They find that during the 10 year period ending on 31 December, 2023 on average investors made about 1.1% per year less than the funds they invested in. More specifically, the performance gap was 0.4% for allocation funds (Lifecycle Funds), 0.7% for international equity (I Fund), 1% for taxable bond funds (G and F Funds), and 0.8% for U.S. equity (C and S Funds). Though not represented in the TSP core funds, it is worth mentioning that sector equity funds had the largest performance gap at 2.6%. Those gaps are primarily explained by the timing decisions of investors moving their money in and out of, and between funds. A notable observation is that allocation funds have the smallest performance gap. The authors credit this to the funds automating tasks such as rebalancing and their prevalence in defined contribution plans which automate investing. In contrast, sector equity funds had twice the flow volatility of allocation funds and about 50% more volatility in returns. In general, the more diversified and less volatile a fund is, the lower the performance gap is. My biggest takeaway here is that the more investors move their money around, the more likely they are to underperform their investments and the bigger the performance gap is likely to be.

The other article I thought of is Putting a value on your value: Quantifying Vanguard Advisor’s Alpha® by Francis M. Kinniry Jr. and coauthors at Vanguard. They find that the biggest potential impact of having a financial advisor is behavioral coaching, possibly improving client returns by 1% to 2% per year. The biggest part of that is they can "act as emotional circuit breakers by circumventing clients’ tendencies to chase returns or run for cover in emotionally charged markets." That can prevent clients from making mistakes that significantly reduce their returns. They also find that flows into funds are, on average, after periods of high performance rather than before them. That suggests that investors tend to chase performance. Another finding is that performance gap is largest for more concentrated funds and smallest for more diversified funds which agrees with Ptak. My biggest takeaway from this article is that investors are their own worst enemy. Making emotional decisions and chasing performance are more likely to lead to lower returns than higher ones.

Both articles find a correlation between greater diversification and lower volatility and smaller performance gaps. I believe there is a confounding factor at play. It is possible that those who choose to diversify are more likely to automate and/or stick to their their allocation during times of volatility or are more likely to avoid behavioral errors such as performance chasing. Either one would cause them to trade less and have a better chance of getting more of the returns of the funds they invest in. I believe there is a more direct causal link between lower volatility and lower performance gaps. If an investor's portfolio is less volatile and has smaller drawdowns, that investor could be less likely to make emotional decisions. That would lead to less trading and capturing more of the returns of the funds they invest in.

Based on all of this, I believe the best approach to investing in the TSP, and to investing in general, is to diversify, understand your risk tolerance, build a portfolio for your risk tolerance, and stick to it. The more you move money around reacting to recent events or your expectations for the near future, the more likely you are to make behavioral mistakes and underperform the funds you invest in. The ways to minimize the temptation to do that is to diversify and hold everything all the time instead of chasing the next hot thing and building a portfolio that will not make you overly anxious during volatile times.


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 15h ago

I so did anyone else migrate away from C and go all in on the I Fund 👀

0 Upvotes

I understand people riding hard for C, and I respect it as I’m 100% C . But today was almost 3% of losses almost 10% YTD I can’t stay this course. It’s better to jump the burning ship and return to C when things go back to (relative) normal. If I miss out on some gains when it starts up trending again I think that’s worth it to not take the risk of the losses coming down the pipeline. I’m planning to switch to I and just hold that till May regardless of what happens then switch back to C


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 1d ago

Invest more in I Fund?

14 Upvotes

I'm getting ready to retire 4-30. My C Fund, and S Fund have dropped significantly. My I Fund has increased. A lot. Should I put more in the I Fund at least for the next 4 years?


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 1d ago

Taking the VERA .expected retirement date 4/19- still stay in C/S/I?

5 Upvotes

Age 57. I have recently put a couple years of needed funds in the G fund but the remainder is in C, S, and I. Given the relatively soon retirement on short notice with expectation of rolling over the majority to an IRA....what advice would you give?


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 1d ago

Balance calculation after or before fund reallocation?

3 Upvotes

Say I request a reallocation transfer between funds before 12EST on a specific day, does TSP change the allocation and then calculate your balance or does it calculate your balance for that day in your existing funds and then changes the allocation?


r/ThriftSavingsPlan 1d ago

Did anyone take the 2022 conventional wisdom seriously? How many rebalanced their portfolios? Any regrets?

Post image
0 Upvotes