2011 a ‘mixed bag’ for TSP

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2011 a ‘mixed bag’ for TSP

Tom Trabucco, the director of external affairs at the FRTIB joined In Depth with Francis Rose to discuss the year in TSP.

Federal News Network Staff

January 3, 2012 4:20 pm

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wfedstaff | June 4, 2015 3:37 pm

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By Jack Moore
Federal News Radio
@jmooreWFED

Federal employees (401)k-style retirement plans posted varied returns over the past year.

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which oversees the Thrift Savings Plan, announced the year-end TSP numbers Tuesday.

Tom Trabucco, the director of external affairs at the board told In Depth with Francis Rose, 2011 was “a mixed bag” for TSP returns.

The G Fund, which invests in Treasury securities and has the highest rates of participation, and the C Fund, which is tied to the performance of the S&P 500, both posted modest gains for the year.

The F Fund, which tracks a broad index of government and corporate bonds, posted the largest gain for the year at nearly 8 percent.

“A stellar performer and a consistent performer I must say if you look back over the last five or six years,” Trabucco said of the F Fund.

The I Fund, which tracks international stocks faced a sharp downturn at the end of 2011, which Trabucco said makes sense given the debt crisis in Europe.

The Lifecycle funds, which invest in a combination of the common index funds and are “tailored” to meet retirement target dates, also posted mixed gains. The L Income posted a 2.23 percent gain and the L 2020 (for federal employees looking to retire between 2015 and 2024), was up only slightly for 2011 — 0.41 percent.

The L 2030 and L 2040, with retirement targets surrounding those dates, ended in the red for 2011.

December TSP returns