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Compliance February 1, 2024
Federal Thrift Savings Plan Reports Record Match Qualifiers, Total Assets
The plan’s matching rate is 5%, and the TSP increased the automatic enrollment contribution to 5% of income in 2020.
Reported by Paul Mulholland
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board has reported a record $845 billion in assets under management in the plan at the end of 2023, along with a record number of Thrift Savings Plan participants contributing enough to their accounts to qualify for the full match, according to a participant activity report published on January 23.
The TSP is a retirement savings and investment plan for federal government employees and uniformed services members. It offers an employer match of 5%, which 86.8% of those enrolled in the Federal Employees Retirement System were contributing enough to receive. The TSP increased the automatic enrollment contribution to 5% from 3% in October 2020. At that time, only 79.3% of FERS participants were receiving the full match.
Assets in all TSP accounts rose from $812 billion at the end of 2021.
The activity report noted a record level of balances in Roth accounts last year. Of the approximately 7 million participants in the TSP, 36% had a Roth balance, with assets totaling $54 billion as of the end of 2023, both all-time highs. The TSP was established in 1986, and Roth options were made available in 2012.