The nominations had been held up over the issue of the I Fund investing in Chinese companies. That issue could again come into play now that account holders can invest in mutual funds. Image: Dilok Klaisataporn/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffUpdated: The Senate has confirmed nominees for four of the five seats on the TSP governing board, putting Biden administration nominees in charge of that board within a matter of weeks of confirmations to the MSPB and FLRA boards doing the same.
Current TSP board member Dana Bilyeu, executive director of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators, was confirmed for another term. The other confirmed nominees are Leona M. Bridges, a commissioner for the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System; Stacie Olivares, an investment industry veteran who currently serves on several corporate and retirement system boards; and Michael F. Gerber, and investment manager who previously was a board member for the Pennsylvania state employees’ retirement system.
However, Biden’s nominee to become TSP chairman remains pending after a party-line split on his nomination at the committee level. He is Javier E. Saade, managing partner of Impact Master Holdings and Venture Partner at Fenway Summer and a former SBA official in the Obama administration.
That will mean that for the time being at least the board will continue to operate with only four members, as it has since the 2020 resignation of one of the members. Trump administration nominees to replace him and others on the board did not clear the Senate.
The nominees were confirmed on a voice vote after Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., lifted a hold on the nominations over an issue that in recent years has raised the profile of the normally low-key board, the potential for broadening the international stock I fund to include China. That would have been one impact of a decision the board had made to add some two dozen more countries to that fund but was suspended indefinitely in 2020 after pressure from the Trump administration.
Rubio lifted his hold after the nominees essentially promised, in response to a letter he had sent them, that they would oppose having including China among the TSP’s offerings. However, that did not address the prospect of that possibility due to investments in outside mutual funds through the window, an issue that is beginning to draw attention of its own.
New TSP My Account update off to rocky start
The changeover in leadership occurs just after another initiative of the board took effect, the addition of a mutual fund window through which account holders can steer some of their money under certain restrictions – accompanied by other new account features. That change came with a requirement that account holders create new online accounts, a rollout that has proved to be rocky, with many complaining about being locked out of their accounts and long waits for responses when they call the TSP customer service line.
The TSP website is tracking issues related to account set up and verification – but some have reported needing to rely on USPS to complete the process, while others have reported delays related to loan requests (including for primary residence), distributions, and frustrating attempts to get through to support, long hold times, transfers and dropped calls. Many participants have reported missing or incomplete records such as those for beneficiaries, or limited historical share price and returns data.
A notice on the TSP website reads: ThriftLine call volume is currently very high, which means hold times are longer than normal. If you need help with the new My Account, please read through the list of known issues to see if the information you need is here. You can also ask the virtual assistant, AVA, for answers to most common questions.
The TSP board could not be reached for comment. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC, sent a letter to the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board seeking an update by June 17: “It appears that the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (Board) was not prepared to launch the new system. I ask that you respond in writing by June 17, 2022, outlining the steps the Board took to prepare for the launch of the new system, the cause of these problems and how they are being fixed. Federal employees and retirees need access to their TSP investments.”
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