TOPICS
TOPICS
TSP Tech Turnover
The Thrift Savings Plan's technology chief is retiring from the agency Friday after a nine-year run that included a massive overhaul of the plan's automated systems.
Agency officials credited Lawrence Stiffler with helping the TSP recover from a failed technology contract with American Management Systems. Mark Haggerty, who has been working with Stiffler during the past year, will assume the director of automated systems role. Stiffler and TSP Executive Director Gary Amelio promised a smooth transition.
During a meeting of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board last week, board members lavished praise on Stiffler.
Haggerty "has got a big pair of shoes to fill," said Board Chairman Andrew Saul. "A great thank you, you've done a great job."
Under Stiffler, the TSP implemented a new automated system that allows TSP participants to regularly check and update their accounts. That system has come with some controversy - TSP officials have criticized the National Finance Center for delays in implementing the current automated system. The NFC handles some administrative tasks for the Thrift plan.
Last year, however, an NFC employee leaked an e-mail exchange between Stiffler and Gilbert Hawk, director of NFC's Information Resources Management Division. The e-mails suggested the responsibility for the delay was shared by both agencies.
During last week's meeting, however, board members focused on the final system that Stiffler has delivered.
"You've done a wonderful job," said board member Gordon Whiting, adding that Stiffler has created "a wonderful platform to take us to the next step."
Saul told the board that he could "go on for 15 minutes talking about what's been accomplished" under Stiffler.
The TSP serves as a 401-(k) style retirement plan for federal employees. It has about 3.5 million members and more than $150 billion in assets.
Against Real Estate Fund
Amelio told the board last week that he had recently met with Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, to share his thoughts on the TSP and the proposed introduction of a real estate investment fund in the Thrift plan. The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts - and many in Congress - have supported the introduction of a REIT fund. The TSP board and agency officials oppose such a fund.
Voinovich serves as the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia. That subcommittee oversees the TSP.
Amelio said that he told Voinovich of the opposition to the REIT fund and while the senator did not reveal his opinion on the proposed fund, he listened carefully to the board's points.
Saul thanked Amelio for carrying the board's message to Voinovich.
"Before you do something like this, you should think it through very, very carefully," Saul said. "This is not just something to take lightly, adding new plans."
COMMENTS
- Can anyone tell me whether the money in TSP is all accounted for with this new system? Does the current system that runs daily with money coming in and out balance everyday? Does anyone know? GovExec.com reader Posted July 8, 2005 12:34 AM
- You claim to break Fed news stories, but let the scoop of all time slip by right under your nose. Doesn't anyone besides me think that something is just not right, when state and local government (Clintwood, Va) are footing the bill to the tune of over $5 million per year to subsidize this new call center, for approximately 100 low paying jobs ($8 per hour). For that $2 million per year in salary base, you get a return on investment of million per year... if 100% of the salaries received were spent back into the local economy. SI-International they are an IT outfit ! Now all of a sudden, they are experts in providing a call-center ? Why aren't you asking these questions ? To top it all off, SI is the outfit that gobbled up MATCOM (the outfit that took over where AMS dropped the ball a few years back in the development of the current system). An IT group that swayed the FRTIB to purchase two COTS packages (one a Vendor Pay package - OMNI) and the other (Savantage, the accounting package)... then had to design interface programs so the two systems could interact (and they do so VERY poorly... that is why SI still has so many contract workers on the payroll to manipulate the system DAILY, 2 years after it went live) ! Why isn't anyone asking questions about this ? Could it be that more lucrative positions are looming on the horizon, like the rest of the TSP Operations functions (as SI contractors already control the database and system, why not just manipulate the whole enchilada). Guess no one in congress and certainly no participants care enough about their money. Bush, if you and congress plan on tapping into TSP to fund some government projects, better do it soon before the money is all gone via daily transaction manipulations that cannot be traced. There are way too many fingers touching the database daily to have a clean audit trail to follow ! If you keep dipping your fingers into the cake batter and licking them clean... before too long there is no more batter! ST Posted June 30, 2005 7:24 PM
- "officials credited Lawrence Stiffler with helping the TSP recover from a failed technology contract with American Management Systems. " He has been there 9 years and the failed contract was dropped in 2000 (that is five years ago). Seems to me that this guy was in charge of the failed effort! How is he so good? He spent at least $36 million more than necessary to automate. Stop this glad handing crap, the guy should have been fired in 2000 when everyone found out the AMS contract was a money pit! I know this goes on every day but someone has to stop it! TSPer Posted July 1, 2005 7:42 AM
