The troubles started the day after President’s Day, traditionally the busiest day of the year for the Thrift Savings Plan call centers. Participants dialing the ThriftLine, the customer-service line for the TSP, heard busy signals and were cut off. They could neither reach agents nor be placed on hold.

Nearly a week later, some callers continue to encounter busy signals, according to the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which operates the TSP.

The board is not sure exactly what caused the havoc, but Chief Operating Officer Mark Walther traced the problems to the Feb. 17 snowstorm that engulfed the East Coast. One of the two call centers is located in Clintwood, Virginia, west of Richmond. It was hit particularly hard, Walther said. The board shut the call center for the day and routed callers to its one remaining center in Frostburg, Maryland.

“As a consequence of that storm, we hit capacity limits on our phone system so many of our participants received fast-busy responses when they called,” Chief Operating Officer Mark Walther said Monday at the board’s monthly meeting. “We apologize for the inconveniences and frustrations that many of our participants are experiencing and we are certainly working this this issue as a top priority.”

He said it was not clear how many callers to the ThriftLine had gotten busy signals or been disconnected. The board is continuing to collect data, he said. Participants often have a lot of questions around this time of the year, when they receive TSP annual statements in the mail and prepare their tax returns, said Kim Weaver, the board’s director of external affairs.

“The day after President’s Day is always our highest caller volume,” she said. “So [it’s] a very bad day to have a snowstorm and shut down one of our call centers.”

FERS participation in TSP at all-time high

A record number of federal employees under FERS invested in the TSP in January. The participation rate rose to 88 percent.

“It’s nice but not shocking,” Weaver said.

She attributed the rise to new employees who are enrolled automatically in the TSP when they join the government. While they could drop out, they are choosing to stay in the plan, she said.

In addition, some employees stop contributing to their TSP towards the end of the year because they have reached the maximum to receive the employer match. They return to the TSP in January.

TSP gets new chief investment officer

Ravindra Deo will succeed Chief Investment Officer Tracie Ray, who is retiring after 10 years with the board. Deo will be formally introduced to board members at their March meeting. He is now the chief investment officer of the Altura Capital Group, based in Seattle, according to his LinkedIn profile.

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