TSP board endorses Roth IRA option for enrollees
But board is split on whether to support additional investment funds.
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board on Monday officially endorsed a proposal to give Thrift Savings Plan participants the option to invest in a Roth Individual Retirement Account, but did not green light a move that would allow the TSP to create additional investment funds.
During its monthly meeting, the board also voted in favor of a provision that would allow the spouses of deceased federal employees to continue managing their funds in the TSP instead of requiring them to withdraw those funds 60 days after their spouse passed away and reinvesting them elsewhere.
The House passed legislation (H.R. 1256) on April 2 that contained provisions that would create a Roth IRA account option for TSP participants and a mutual fund window in the plan that would allow enrollees to invest in more than 13,000 mutual funds in addition to the plan's core offerings. Roth accounts -- which allow participants to invest after-tax into their retirement accounts so it can be withdrawn later without taxes -- now are offered by many retirement plans.
The Senate has yet to take up legislation on either issue, and neither chamber has introduced bills regarding spousal accounts.
Of the four board members present, two supported allowing mutual fund offerings to enrollees, while two opposed the idea.
Opponents claimed it would complicate the TSP needlessly, and allow politics into the process.
"This would totally, radically alter a plan that has been in place since 1986," said board member Alejandro Sanchez. In a survey of TSP members, only 10 percent said they would enroll in the mutual fund offering if it meant paying an estimated $100 fee, according to Sanchez.
The board said because only a percentage of the overall federal workforce likely would participate, those who did choose to use the mutual fund window should pay for its implementation. The $100 fee they asked respondents about was a hypothetical annual fee, but that figure could be lower.
Supporters of a mutual fund option said it would remove political pressure from the process. By allowing TSP members to choose mutual funds for themselves, there would be no need to lobby the investment board to include a particular fund in its core programs, argued Tom Trabucco, director of external affairs.
"I see it as the equivalent of a pressure-cooker release valve," said Pamela Jeanne Moran, deputy director of external affairs.
Board member Gordon Whiting said the plan did not go far enough, and TSP members should be allowed to invest in individual securities as well as mutual funds.
Executive Director Greg Long opposed broader investments because he said he did not want to encourage "intraday trading" for retirement programs.
As for the Roth IRA account option, Long predicted the plan would be a "game-changer" for younger government employees -- especially those in the military -- who pay little in taxes now. While the board passed the proposal, it faced questions from some members who balked at the prospect of providing advice to TSP members considering how to invest their retirement funds.
Trabucco said the Employee Thrift Advisory Council would discuss the issues on Wednesday, before Congress takes them up again.