If you’ve invested your money in the Thrift Savings Plan, then you can pat yourself on the back for getting a deal. The plan’s annual expense ratio for last year came in at 0.0285 percent. Put another way, every participant paid less than 29 cents in administrative costs per $1,000 invested.

It’s miniscule compared to 0.63 percent, the average expense ratio for 401(k)s invested in equity mutual funds, according to the Investment Company Institute.

“People need to be aware of that when they make decisions to roll their money out. You need to be aware that fees really do add up,” said Kim Weaver, external affairs director for the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which administers the TSP.

The board can keep its expenses so low because it has a simple and small line up.

“We use only passively managed index funds, and we have economies of scale,” Weaver said Tuesday on In Depth with Francis Rose. “We have 4.7 million participants and $440 billion invested. All of those add up.”

Weaver shared other highlights of this month’s board meeting. Here’s a brief recap:

Board sets its sights on IT security and other risks

The agency’s 2-year-old Office of Enterprise Risk Management has helped senior leaders identify, then tackle, the things that keep them up at night.

A few years ago, hackers penetrated network security at the agency’s data centers, which were maintained by a contractor. They compromised information of 123,000 plan participants.

Since then, the agency has doubled down on efforts to strengthen IT security. So it’s no wonder that’s the office’s top priority, Chief Risk Officer Jay Ahuja told board members at the meeting. Other priorities include streamlining business processes, strengthening project management discipline and increasing emphasis on human capital management.

The office also plans to check up on service providers, such as the investment firm BlackRock, which manages the C, S, I and F Funds.

“We want to make sure that BlackRock is doing everything it needs to be doing and that it is a healthy organization,” she said, adding that the firm had an “excellent risk posture,” based on a recent assessment the board did.

New way to set priorities

The board is working hard to make lifecycle funds, which are determined by age, the default for new federal employees by this fall. That priority was dictated by a law Congress passed in December.

“It’s to the top of the chart with a bullet because it’s something we absolutely have to get done,” Weaver said.

But to make it happen on time, the agency may have to delay other items on its agenda. It has developed a formula to help make those decisions. Criteria includes whether a project is mandated by law, helps mitigate risks, or supports a strategic goal (or two or three). The criteria is weighted, with a legal mandate being a “10” and something that improves customer service being a “2.” Other criteria fall somewhere in between. Then each project is scored.

“What we want to get better at is saying ‘no’ to things. Saying, ‘Here’s what is on our desks and we’ve committed resources to. The next idea might be a great idea but we either have to wait or bump something else,” she said.

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