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The Thrift Savings Plan is revamping its Web site to reduce the number of paper statements that are mailed out and to better communicate with its 3.2 million participants, staff members said Monday.

Officials at the 401(k)-style Thrift plan are gradually improving and tweaking the site before completing a larger overhaul by mid-summer, according to Penny Moran, TSP deputy director of external affairs.

The renovation is "making really good headway," TSP Executive Director Gary Amelio told members of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board during a Monday meeting. "I think you'll be really happy, as will the participants."

Officials are hoping to end up with a site that is simpler and easier to use. Amelio suggested that one of the goals is to "reduce the number of icons."

TSP staffers said they have consulted with a sampling of site users, and found that participants wanted a less complicated portal. The overhaul also will attempt to make the links on the site's front page more useful and clear.

Board members said they are acutely aware of the need for a high-quality Web site, noting that the Internet has become the plan's primary means of communicating with participants. Just 400,000 members receive paper statements for their TSP accounts.

According to Amelio, the reduction in paperwork and mailings has cut costs and reduced the burden on the National Finance Center in New Orleans, which handles many of the plan's administrative functions. In fiscal 2004, the TSP is on track to spend $4.4 million less to mail statements than was budgeted at the beginning of the year.

"We're saving a tremendous amount of money" by not printing as many paper statements, Amelio said.

Thrift board chairman Andrew Saul said the improvements to the Web site are extremely important, "certainly [more important] than any of the printed matter."

TSP staff members are not yet planning to make improvements to the organization's other Web site, http://www.frtib.gov, which handles issues and business matters that relate more specifically to the board.

COMMENTS

• Dear Tork and all of the other whiners: When I do a transfer or re-allocation I type in my e-mail address and have a confirmation sent to me directly. It usually shows up in my box before the web site allocates it. They have many problems; and I'm experiencing them as they put in place the "new and improved." Everyone just has to get over this paper thing. Whine about something else, but we as a society are going paperless so get used to it!!!!! Is this worth the whine Posted April 22, 2004 6:12 PM
• It was ingenious the way they got the statements down to 400,000. They sent out a statement and said to participants in effect ... "this is the last paper statement you are going to get from TSP unless you request that we put you on our statement mailing list." Many times, after the death of a separated federal worker, the only way that legitimate heirs know that mother or dad had a 401K type retirement fund is ... yes, the statements are there with the personal papers of the deceased. Now ...that important piece of paper will not be there. The money will stay in the plan. To be declared abandoned in the future? Every time I do an Interfund Transfer (done about 8 in April). I get mail from the TSP confirming it. Annoying and a waste of postage. The Board has money for confirming Interfund Transfers and Contribution Allocations but mailing out statements to Alzheimer participants, forget them. While I am talking about postage and mailings, now is the time to do a mailing to all participants asking for their opinion of the "$50.00 fee for loans" and the new "... Professionally Managed Fund" proposal and the "Improve the Web Site" proposal. Of course, the last thing the rubber stamp Board wants to get is input from the Participants. That would conflict with the agenda ... which is ... How To Get More Money Out of the Plan to Our Friends. GovExec.com reader Posted April 22, 2004 6:26 AM
• What do you want to bet they "improve" it right into private-sector profit-making hands? GovExec.com reader Posted April 21, 2004 6:31 PM