The TSP finished 2023 with $845 billion on investment, an all-time high. Image: Kuba Kwiatkowski/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffStrong gains in the stock-based TSP funds in 2023 pushed the average account for federal employees and retirees back to roughly the levels before the losses of 2022, with the average $175,700 for those under FERS and $197,300 for those under CSRS at year-end 2023, according to figures released at the January meeting of the TSP governing board.
During 2022, the average balance for FERS account holders—numbers that include both active and retired persons under that system, mostly the former—fell to about $157,0000 from about $181,000 at year-end 2021. Meanwhile the average account for CSRS account holders—mostly retirees—had fallen to about $175,000 from about $195,000.
Most of the gains were due to investment returns since the TSP had a net inflow of about $4 billion, with $44 billion in withdrawals and loan disbursements partly offsetting $48 billion in new investments and loan repayments.
The TSP finished 2023 with $845 billion on investment, an all-time high. Due to investment losses in 2022, the total in the TSP had fallen over that year to $726 billion from $812 billion at year-end 2021. That was despite adding about 230,000 participants during that year, bringing the total to above 6,750,000. The TSP added about the same number of account holders in 2023, bringing the total now almost to 7 million.
The data also show that above 95 percent of FERS employees are investing at least some of their own money. Of those, 87 percent are investing at least 5 percent of salary, which captures the maximum government contribution for them.
Both of those rates have been rising over time due to a policy of having personal investments begin by default on hiring, for those hired starting in 2010. The default investment rate was 3 percent for the following 10 years but was increased to 5 percent for those hired in 2020 and after. Employees can opt out of default investment but as a practical matter only low single-digit percentages do so.
Other notable developments in 2023, the TSP said, include that 36 percent of account holders now have at least some money in Roth status, which now accounts for $54 billion of the total; and that usage of general purpose loans was up 40 percent in the year to nearly 480,000, with nearly $5 billion taken out in loans.
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See also,
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