The number of account holders, including military personnel and retirees, rose from just shy of 7 million to for the 7.2 million. Image: Cherdchai101/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe TSP “had a record year in 2024 in many ways,” including highs in the percentage of investors receiving the maximum government contribution and in total assets, according to a presentation at the late-January monthly meeting of the TSP governing board.
The total account value in the TSP was $963 million at year-end, up from what had been the previous year-end record of $845 billion in 2023. That however was below the $986 billion at the end of November as December was a down month in what otherwise was a strong year for the stock-based funds.
The increase was due to investment gains, since the year ended as the first in the TSP’s history with a net negative cash flow; $900 million more was taken out in withdrawals and loans than was put in as new investments and loan repayments.
The “full matching rate” for FERS investors—that is, the percentage who invest at least 5 percent of their own money in order to capture the maximum 5 percent from the government—was 87.9 percent at year-end, up from 79.3 at year-end 2020, for example. That is in part due to the default rate having been set at 5 percent for those newly hired in recent years, a rate many never change.
While that is a closely watched figure for FERS employees, it is not a consideration for CSRS employees since they receive no employer contributions.
The average balance for CSRS account holders—counting both active employees and retirees—stood above $220,000 at year end and for FERS account holders it was above $194,000, up about $23,000 and $19,000, respectively.
Other developments the presentation highlighted were that in 2024:
The number of account holders, including military personnel and retirees, rose from just shy of 7 million to for the 7.2 million;
The number with “Roth” balances grew from 2.5 million to 2.7 million and the average Roth balance grew from $21,600 to $26,000.
There were a record 60,000 rollovers into the TSP from retirement savings plans of prior employers, totaling $2.8 billion.
The percentage of accounts with at least some money in at least one lifecycle L fund and the percentage with all of their money in one or more each rose by 1 percentage point, to 55 and 39.
The common stock C fund remained the largest of the funds; counting its portion in the L funds, it held 44.5 percent of TSP assets as of year-end, up from 40.1 percent over the year. The second-largest, the government securities G fund, fell from 34.9 to 30.6 percent.
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