"that doesn't mean we shouldn't look at potential problems"
I agree.
My intemperate response was in regard to excessive hyperbole
& intellectual dishonesty (compounded by the fact it was not
for the first time).
That stuff riles me big time & sometimes I let loose.
Mea culpa.
Bottom line. I seriously doubt the Federal Gov't treated the
TSP differently at the Dept of Education & Health & Human
Services from other branches of the gov't (I worked at both).
TSP regs are gov't wide.
The TSP website goes far beyond boiler plate/CYA, contrary to
kholt's assertions. And the TSP website is but one part of
the training & information provided to all who wish to
partake in the TSP. At employee orientation, you receive
booklets & training on the TSP. Every agency has staff who
serve as contacts for the TSP. You receive a monthly magazine
that regularly discusses all forms of risk, ET AL.
If you followed this from her first remarks on the subject,
then even attempted to follow the clear evidence I provided,
you might understand where my comment came from.
She made assertions about an alleged incident about one
person who was clueless about the bond fund. kholt claims to
have provided her with info she didn't get from the gov't.
She stated, "a lot of participants who don't understand even
such basics". Then she expanded into gov't culpability
asserting, "They don't train you", clearly implying the gov't
was willfully negligent on a fairly wide scale.
She didn't stop there. She agreed the info given to Federal
employees amounted to nothing more than CYA boiler plate. She
said signed statements acknowledging the risks associated
with each fund might protect the gov't from liability. The
whole of her rhetoric clearly implied the gov't left "lots"
of participants woefully uninformed (most likely those who
kholt sees as "the unsophisticated").
That wasn't enough. She extrapolated her chaos theory into
malfeasance in Social Security private accounts. Somehow this
ever expanding gov't negligence might lead to "political
pressure" into making "those customers whole", I imagine at
some point in the future when the eeeevil gov't mismanages SS
private accounts as they do with the TSP.
That's where I blew my stack.
That is simply baseless hyperbole & clearly unsupportable as
I have already shown (the only possible exception would be
individual instances of negligence).
kholt's allegations, if true, would open the gov't up to
successful class action lawsuits that would have made
headline news.
Where are the successful lawsuits? Heck, where are the
unsuccessful ones?
I know why there aren't any. It never happened, at least on a
scale commensurate remotely approaching with kholt's rhetoric.
Read it yourself......
Message 21065924
Message 21068799
Message 21068799
Below is some stuff that was easy to find on the TSP plan. I'm certain Federal employees receive & have easy access to much more (plus training).
....Before you make any investment decision, read the investment sections of the TSP Features on this Web site carefully. They describe the five investment funds and their advantages, risks, and performance histories. Your account is invested for your retirement, and you should make your investment decisions with this long-term goal in mind.....
tsp.gov
What are the risks of investing in the F Fund?
The risks associated with the F Fund are credit risk, market risk, and prepayment risk. Credit risk is the risk that an issuer of a fixed-income security will fail to pay interest or principal. There is no credit risk for the Treasury securities in the underlying index fund. Credit risk is of concern primarily with the corporate bond holdings of the underlying index fund and, to some degree, with certain mortgage-backed securities and Government-sponsored enterprise securities. However, credit risk in the F Fund is reduced because the holdings from any individual corporate issuer make up only a small part of the underlying index fund, and because all corporate securities are investment-grade securities. There are no high-risk "junk bonds" in the LBA index.
The F Fund also carries market risk, the risk that the market value of the investment may fluctuate as interest rates fluctuate. This risk is reduced by holding securities with shorter maturities, rather than holding only longer-term bonds. Nevertheless, market risk is a major influence on the returns of the F Fund because the average maturity of securities in the LBA bond index is approximately 6.8 years, as of December 31, 2002. If you compare the past performance table for the G Fund (which is representative of general interest rate trends in the economy) with the LBA bond index, you can see that the index has generally benefited from declining interest rates in the economy in several recent years. The interest rate increases of 1994 and 1999, however, resulted in negative returns for the LBA index.
There is prepayment risk for mortgage-backed securities and for certain corporate bonds that may be "called," i.e., prepaid, by the issuers. For mortgage-backed securities, prepayment risk is the risk that during periods of declining interest rates, homeowners may refinance their high-rate mortgages and prepay the principal. Such prepayments generally have a negative effect on mortgage-backed securities, because cash from the prepayments must be reinvested in securities with lower yields. The result is that prices on mortgage-backed securities may not increase as much as the prices on other fixed-income securities. To compensate for prepayment risk, mortgage-backed securities generally have higher yields than securities of similar credit quality and maturity. Similar considerations apply to callable corporate bonds.
Thus, there is the potential for higher earnings with the F Fund than with the G Fund, but there is also a greater risk of loss. There is no assurance that past rates of return of the F Fund will be replicated in the future. You must decide what investment mix is appropriate for your situation and the level of risk you are willing to tolerate. If you choose to invest in the F Fund, you must formally acknowledge that you understand and accept the risks involved. Only you can decide whether your TSP account should include an F Fund investment. For more detailed information about the F Fund, read the Guide to TSP Investments.
tsp.gov
What are the risks of investing in the TSP stock funds?
The value of stocks can decline sharply with unfavorable changes in economic conditions. Depending on the size of the decline, the total return on the stocks held by a stock fund could be negative, resulting in a loss to the fund holder. This is true whether the stocks held by a stock fund are tracking an index, or otherwise.
There is no assurance that future rates of return for the TSP stock funds will replicate any of the historical rates of return for those funds. If you choose to contribute to any of the TSP stock funds — the C, S, or I Fund — you must formally acknowledge that you understand and accept the risks involved.....
....What are the risks of investing in the C Fund?
The risks of investing in the C Fund are the same as for any stock index fund, as explained in "What are the risks of investing in the TSP stock funds?".
Only you can decide whether your TSP account should include a C Fund investment. For more detailed information about the C Fund, read the the Guide to TSP Investments......
.....What are the risks of investing in the S Fund?
The risks of investing in the S Fund are the same as those for any stock index fund; these risks are outlined in "What are the risks of investing in the TSP stock funds?". In addition, historically, stocks of mid-size and smaller companies tend to be more volatile in price and therefore potentially riskier than stocks of the larger companies in the C Fund's S&P 500 index.
Only you can decide whether your TSP account should include an S Fund investment. For more detailed information about the S Fund, read the Guide to TSP Investments......
.....What are the risks of investing in the I Fund?
Most of the risks of investing in the I Fund are outlined in "What are the risks of investing in the TSP stock funds?".
However, the I Fund also carries the risk of foreign currency fluctuations. The stock prices of the companies in the EAFE index are expressed in the currency of each respective country and then converted to U.S. dollars to determine the value of the EAFE index. Thus, the value of the EAFE index will rise as the value of the U.S. dollar falls — and fall as the value of the U.S. dollar rises — relative to the currencies of countries with companies that are represented in the EAFE index.
Historically, the stocks held by the EAFE Index Fund tend to be more volatile in price, and therefore potentially riskier than the stocks held by the index funds underlying the C and S Funds, respectively. Only you can decide whether your TSP account should include an I Fund investment. For more detailed information about the I Fund, read the the Guide to TSP Investments.
tsp.gov
Guide to TSP Investments
Diversification and Risk (page 2)
Risks and Returns of TSP Investment Options (page 3)
F Fund (page 21)
C Fund (page 24)
S Fund (page 26)
I Fund (page 29)
Comparing F, C, S, and I Fund Performance
with Index Performance (page 36)
tsp.gov
The Thrift Savings Plan
....Who administers the TSP?
....Your employing agency also plays an important role in TSP administration.....
....Your Agency.
Your agency is responsible for determining your retirement coverage and reporting to the record keeper the dollar amount of contributions to your account each pay period. Your agency also distributes TSP materials and answers your questions about the TSP. While you are employed, your agency is your primary TSP contact.
tsp.gov
Booklets
Summary of the Thrift Savings Plan
48 pages
A comprehensive booklet explaining the TSP, its features, benefits, and generally how it works.
tsp.gov
Managing Your Account
19 pages
A compact guide that provides information about the TSP and how to manage your account.
tsp.gov
Guide to TSP Investments
69 pages
The most comprehensive booklet about the five TSP investment options.
tsp.gov
TSP Fund Information Sheets
12 pages
Provides investment information about each of the five TSP funds, historical returns, etc
tsp.gov
TSP Video Brochure and Order Form
Used primarily by agencies and services to order the TSP Video. Participants can also use it to order their own copies
tsp.gov
Order Form for Complimentary Copy of TSP Video
For agency use only. One complimentary copy of the video is provided when an agency requests it.
tsp.gov
tsp.gov
GAO Report
9 In the federal retirement system, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), rather than
TSP, is required to establish a training program for all retirement counselors. However, the
Board has responsibility for providing information to plan participants to facilitate
informed decision making with respect to what level of contribution to make and how to
invest those contributions. See GAO, Thrift Savings Plan, HEHS-96-66R (Washington, D.C.:
Nov. 14, 1995).
gao.gov
TITLE 5--ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL CHAPTER VI--FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD
Part 1601_PARTICIPANTS' CHOICES OF INVESTMENT FUNDS
Acknowledgment of risk means an acknowledgment that any investment in the F Fund, C Fund, S Fund, or I Fund is made at the participant's risk, that the participant is not protected by the United States Government or the Board against any loss on the investment, and that neither the United States Government nor the Board guarantees any return on the investment.
peo7.com
A participant who wants to invest in any investment fund other than the G Fund must execute an acknowledgment of risk for that fund. If a required acknowledgment of risk has not been executed, no transactions involving the fund(s) for which the acknowledgment is required will be accepted. (b) The acknowledgment of risk may be executed in association with a contribution allocation or an interfund transfer using the TSP Web site, the ThriftLine, or Form TSP-50.
peo7.com
From the January 2005 TSP HIGHLIGHTS
Asset Allocation
Your Most Important Investment Decision
....In the graph below, the shaded area shows the risk and
return associated with different combinations of TSP
funds. The G Fund-only allocation falls on the far left
point of the curve; it has the lowest risk and the lowest
return over time. Risk and return both increase as we
move from left to right along the curve. An investor aim-
ing for a higher rate of return must also assume a higher
level of risk by investing in more volatile assets, such as
small capitalization and international stocks.....
From the October 2004 TSP HIGHLIGHTS
Risk & Time Horizon
tsp.gov
From the April 2004 TSP HIGHLIGHTS
Checkup Time (for your TSP account)
Investing Wisely (risk mentioned 8 different times)
tsp.gov
From the November 1998 TSP HIGHLIGHTS
Understanding the F Fund (Yes, you can!) (describes bonds, index funds, F Fund risks and advantages)
tsp.gov
From the November 1996 TSP HIGHLIGHTS
Ready or Not... (four basic principles of investing)
tsp.gov
From the May 1995 TSP HIGHLIGHTS
1994 Returns in Perspective (what should my strategy be?)
How can I learn more about the TSP?
tsp.gov
From the May 1993 TSP HIGHLIGHTS
Managing the Risks of C and F Fund Investments (allocating your contributions; dollar cost averaging; rebalancing; changing your strategy)
tsp.gov
From the May 1991 TSP HIGHLIGHTS
Participants Ponder C & F Funds (returns vs. risks; minimizing risk with dollar cost averaging; role of interfund transfers)
tsp.gov
Fish & Wildlife Service New Employee Orientation
Personnel and Benefits - Retirement
Thrift Savings Plan...
training.fws.gov |
