Employee Relations January 2023 G Fund rate is 3.75%. It's definitely not exciting. International stocks also perform well in prosperous times, especially with low and/or falling interest rates. Roth Other experienced bond market experts have also turned bearish. Federal employees, including uniformed services members, participate in the Thrift Savings Plan, or TSP as part of their retirement plan. Nobody goes to cocktail parties and brags about owning shares of the G Fund. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary The chart and table below show the recent history of the G Fund rate. What to do now going forward, of course, is not very clear. With the business-as-usual accounting, Treasury would have to redeem G Fund holdings at higher values even though Treasury has elected to stop paying interest to the G Fund. After the "debt limit impasse" ends, according to the statement, the "G Fund will be made whole. It was established by Congress in the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986 and offers the same types of savings and tax benefits that many private corporations offer their employees under 401(k) plans. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly The TSP is the military/government 401(k). Backlog Remember the point isnt to protect against inflation in the short term but in the long term. Money market funds earn close to zero percent. can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the The G Fund is often thought of as the "safest" TSP Fund as it never goes down. Were they More, Federal employees who are members of the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) have the potential of becoming a TSP millionaire, with More, Who is the greatest basketball player of all-time? Some participants have, including my More, How is your retirement income, specifically your FERS annuity, Social Security, and TSP withdrawals, taxed for federal income tax purposes? At these levels, what are the odds of significant capital appreciation versus losses? Lo and behold, TSP G Fund rate shot up from 0.875% to 1.125%. After you retire from the federal workforce, our externally certified financial planner will provide additional support for your future wealth. department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My The government securities of the G Fund, grow at a statutorily mandated rate. What does the The Trinity Study have to do with the TSP G Fund? The MRA + 10 retirement allows FERS employees who have reached MRA a chance to retire earlier than they otherwise could with some benefit reductions. From the tsp.gov website you can learn that the F Fund has so far compounded at 7.0 percent per year since first becoming available in January 1988. (No, its not as risky as a Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme the U.S. Government guarantees your return.). With regard to the price of gas, some analysts do not agree there is nothing the president can do or that the increase in the cost of gas is not the result of the administrations policies. Retirees interested in capital preservation will obviously want to have investment portfolios that are heavily invested in bonds such as the G and F Funds. No private sector fiduciary would allow the non-payment of interest on US government debt without legal challenge. These tactics have been every bit as effective as price controls in holding back Americas potential to respond to todays higher prices with more energy production. Topic Author mokaThought Posts: 476 Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2019 12:57 am Location: Texas TSP G Fund rate 3.00% (June 2022) by mokaThought Mon Feb 08, 2021 2:23 pm (thread title re-updated June 2022) I was looking at doing something with the yields on my bond side. However, in a really terrible real estate environment, debt real estate investors become equity real estate investors as they foreclose on the properties whose loans are in default. How Would Your Agency Do Under Biden's 2024 Budget? technologies for the following purposes: We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to Social Security MSPB While the increase might not seem like much on a per-share basis, it represents about $2.797 billion in missed interest payments for theapproximately $300 billion G Fund as of the end of January. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and Why is that? One of its most unique holdings is the G Fund, which provides treasury bond yields with money market risk. As of December 2012, the F Fund had an average duration of 4.6 years. Although the G Fund reports a Daily Share Price, the interest rate is calculated monthly, based on the last day of the previous month. by Rich Changes for 2023 TSP ALLOCATION 2023 The S&P 500 Index The Total Stock Market Index The Warren Buffett TSP Allocation Dave Ramsey TSP Investment Advice Paul Merriman TSP Allocation Recommendations Total World Stock Market Portfolio Balanced Index Fund Portfolio Three Fund Portfolio My Current TSP Allocation for 2023 Whereas a sudden sell-off of the G Fund was essentially impossible previously, now it is merely highly improbable. Yes, G Fund is an ideal fixed income holding in a rising rate environment. But payment of G Fund principal and interest is guaranteed by the U.S. government. Data from the TSP website. Personal Information. Get Gov Workers top 4 tips for federal employees! Most of us may have been planning to go on a driving trip this summer with the fear of the COVID pandemic decreasing. Rights link. Low-interest rates equal low returns for the G Fund. Just be glad youve won for the last decade while I was losing until I started winning this year. services we are able to offer. If you stop your research there, youd conclude that the F Fund must be a steady, safe source of returns. The 2000s ushered in the time of super low (and even 0%) interest rates. The interest rate paid by the G Fund securities is calculated monthly, based on the market yields of all U.S. Treasury securities with 4 or more years to maturity. The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Gets a New Lookand I Don't Love It, The G Fund, a Free Lunch -- Military Physician Series. Finally, it is worth noting that the G Fund isnt what it used to be. I was having a casual conversation with a colleague when he bragged about having 100% of his TSP in the G Fund. and analytics partners. The fund is so obscure that it receives essentially zero coverage in popular media. Debt real estate is a little bit safer than equity real estate. In fact TSP investors hold more G Fund than they do Lifecycle Funds. The TSP Wouldnt Be Affected By McCarthys Plan to Raise the Debt Ceiling and Cut Spending, Dont Overlook This Unloved Fund When Investing in the TSP, The rationale for continuing the business-as-usual accounting has historically been straightforward. web. So far, it seems very likely that the 2023 COLA will easily beat the 2022 COLA. 2023 returns will depend on several factors, including current inflation . We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising However, the value of the principal never goes down, so it is a very safe investment. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be This post may contain affiliate links. Published: June 17, 2023. Additionally, you may contact our legal But, to clarify, this calculation is based only on the averageofthe third-quarter months of July,August, and September. The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a retirement savings and investment plan for Federal employees and members of the uniformed services, including the Ready Reserve. The stock funds (C, S, and I Funds) are often in decline during times of market stress, and the total bond fund (F Fund) isnt necessarily a safe haven either. Private financial institutions such as Blackrock or State Street which each manage portions of the other four TSP funds would almost certainly proactively seek timely repayment if interest on government debt they manage were withheld. browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this Depending on how you count them, somewhere between 3-9 asset classes. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have While you cannot deny that the G Fund is popular among federal employees, I think its worth evaluating what the G Fund actually invests in and whether or not it is a good fit for federal employees. I cannot find in what year he made this More, What goes up, must come down begins the 1968 folk hit Spinning Wheel by Blood, Sweat, and Tears. Regardless of the underlying reasons, an increase in the cost of fuel ripples through the economy. However, the value of the principal never goes down, so it is a very safe investment. Here is why the TSP funds have fallen sharply and what it all means for the 2023 COLA estimate. Before the most recent inflation data was released, President Biden said, I know you gotta be frustrated. As John Bogle, founder of Vanguard and inventor of the first index fund put it recently: the outlook for bonds over the next decade is really terrible.[5] Mr. Bogle adds that investors cant just hold stocks, and should diversify: Enter the TSP G Fund. That will be the January 2023 COLA increase. However, since I started investing in it in 2006, it has been a pretty lousy investment. ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy Performance & Risks Composition Fees & More Info More info in the newsletter I sent out a month or two ago. More, Its been over a year since the Thrift Savings Plan implemented a new record-keeping contract, with Accenture and Alight being More, Opening your TSP statement and seeing your balance lower than you expected can feel like a punch to the gut. Any extra money is returned to our users. Upgrade now. This does not mean inflation for the previous months is not relevant. your data under the CCPA. Gold tends to keep up with inflation in the long run, but it generally does so through sharp rises in value every few decades rather than any sort of steady rise. That sounds like gobbledegook to most of us. Cash does particularly well in terrible economic times. Under what types of economic conditions do the various asset classes tend to do well compared to other asset classes? If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising. The yield on the G fund is an interest rate calculated once a month from the average yield of all (nominal) US treasury securities with four or more years to maturity. Our system is made by federal employees and for the federal employees. Postal Service From 1900 to 1980, U.S. government bonds provided an annualized real return of only 0.2 percent. The G fund does well in periods of rising interest rates, but the last time they went up a lot was the early 1980s and the G fund didnt start until the early 1990s. While it's not healthy to obsess about death, naming a TSP beneficiary is an important part of estate planning. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The book summarizes the most important information on the blog and contains material not found on the site at all. Re: TSP G Fund rate 3.00% (June 2022) by Groundhog Tue Aug 02, 2022 6:33 pm. Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies, Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the Do you think thats possible or is this only available through a government authority? My point is that the G Fund is just a contract between you and the government to earn a guaranteed interest rate. Sadly, my coworker isnt the only one with all of his nest egg tied up in the G Fund. The G Fund is comprised of special short-term U.S. Treasury securities that are non-marketable. Federal retirees and Social Security recipients are in for a substantial increase in January 2023. Vaccinations Those who urge federal employees to set More, Carole King crooned its too late baby, its too late in 1971 and it truly is too late for some More, Do your plans include retirement this year? Both of these challenges have been directly exacerbated by Putins war in Ukraine according to President Biden. But that doesnt mean that the G Fund will help you achieve your investment objectives. When I first started investing, it seemed like stocks could only go in one direction: up. There's not much with positive returns in 2022. Commodities have done well. Therefore, the G Fund is a rare exception to the risk/reward tradeoff typically found in investments. traffic on our website. YES! It has changed a bit over the years but has generally been a very good deal with low expenses and broadly diversified index funds. Armed with our longer-term insights into the bond market, it should not come as a surprise that interest rates will eventually rise, and the TSP F Fund will struggle. Lots of exceptions there, though. Get the latest pay and benefits news delivered to your inbox. ", The TSP website tooissued a short statement noting the lapse in funding, adding that G Fund account balances will continue to accrue earnings and will be updated each business day, and loans and withdrawals will be unaffected.. For example, see the latest commentary from Bill Gross, Founder and Co-Chief Investment Officer of PIMCO, a pre-eminent bond management firm: For example, between January 1999 and January 2001, interest rates rose from 4.3% to 6.1%. Also available on Audible! NEXT STORY: What it Takes to Be a TSP Millionaire in Today's Dollars. After 90 days risk-free trial, this service costs $2 per month for the first three years and is reduced to $1 monthly. The Poor Swiss recently performed a similar analysis to the Trinity Study and found that a portfolio with 100% bonds was the most likely portfolio to fail.). Their value seemed to rise just fine as the dollar was strengthening, but their performance in the first real episode of inflation in decades has been underwhelming at best. added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. Low correlation is not the same thing as inverse correlation, as many have learned in the first half of 2022 as both their stocks and bonds cratered. But diversification between asset classes (and sub-asset classes) can help minimize the damage most of the time, decreasing volatility and increasing long-term returns. THOSE are the conditions for which the G Fund was made. After 90 days risk-free trial, this service costs $2 per month for the first three years and is reduced to $1 monthly. The debt holder in first lien position does just fine even when the owners aren't doing that great. But for some reason, no investments in Canada, which I've never understood, which pretty much is a developed market as far as I'm concerned. Breaking Down the TSP Investment Funds. It also presents an opportunity to center discussion on TSP participants property rights and the constitutionality of Treasury withholding payments to the G Fund during any debt ceiling impasse. Photo credit: shawncampbell. No price increases or decreases due to interest rate changes, just the interest payments. The two challenges on the minds of most working families are prices at the pump and prices at the grocery store. We are providing TSP-related fund messages twice a month. G Fund, which is guaranteed to never lose money and whose interest rate calculated by U.S. Treasury. Compare this to a longer-duration bond fund such as the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), which has a duration of 16.8. Thus, riskier assets, like stocks, become more attractive. Aggregate Bond C Large-cap U.S. stocks Standard & Poor's 500 S Small & mid-cap U.S. stocks Dow Jones U.S. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org Over the past decades, when the debt ceiling debate rages in congress, the Treasury Department invokes extraordinary measures to avoid the risk of default. [3], The longer a bonds duration, the greater the volatility and potential losses when interest rates change. Here is a chart comparing the monthly percentage rates for the two since 1988: Also built into the law is the ability for Treasury to enact what is called a "debt issuance suspension period." However, its hard to not think of the G Fund as a $200 billion dollar Ponzi scheme. That is an increase of about 96% since he became our president. Annuity Less high inflation than rising interest rates, but thats part of the reason rates went up of course. It's Wednesday night . FRTIB So if youre counting on a 4% safe withdrawal rate from your portfolio, you cannot have all of your bond market portfolio in the G Fund. Sure, wed all be able to time the market perfectly but its kind of impossible. Reason being, the interest rate is set using the weighted average of intermediate and longer term treasuries, but it has a 1 day maturity (like a money market fund). Follow Lee online at tspstrategies.com, and @TSPstrategies on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This article has some results More, Have you received a message from the Thrift Savings Plan with a Lifetime Income Illustration? The G Fund. IRA Dr. Fauci Advises Young Scientists to Stay out of Politics, Stories of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, I Am Against Retreat: The Louis DeJoy Ethos and the Future of the Postal Service, GovExec eBook: Workforce Training Initiatives. For those new to the blog, you may find it useful to see our asset allocation. FLRA I guess I get that G-fund is technically nominal, but if it behaves in a protective manner during unexpected inflation, why not consider it inflation-protective (like TIPS) instead of nominal? So far, there has been an even bigger increase in the CPI-W index than in the overall index that is used to report the annual inflation figure. Darin sung about multiplication in his 1961 hit Multiplication (#1 in the UK, but More, What it Takes to Be a TSP Millionaire in Todays Dollars, Lessons Learned Growing a TSP Balance Beyond $1M, Law Enforcement Retirement Countdown Clock, Webinar: Your Federal Retirement Benefits, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (Sponsored), Report: Federal Employee Benefits & Divorce, Military Service Credit for Federal Retirement, FLTCIP Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program, FEGLI Federal Employees Group Life Insurance, Dual Employment in the Federal Government. On More, Not everyone who starts a federal career will end up still being a federal employee at the time they retire. Even 10-year Treasury bonds reached a low point of 1.4% last year, and had a yield of 1.6% just last month. The longer the term of the bond, the better they do with falling interest rates and vice versa. TSP Funds Looking Ahead to TSP in 2022 Fund Choices in the TSP - Regular Funds Fund Description Index G Government securities No index (interest rate based) F Mix of government & corporate bonds Barclay's Capital U.S. They are particularly good in deflationary times, such as the Great Depression. [1] But youd be wrong. For one, since these are specially issued obligations, there is no counterparty to sell them to, so the only accounting as such is for TSP participants. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking Companies can also grow using borrowed money when interest rates are low. (lots of stocks and real estate, inflation protected bonds, and keeping nominal bonds short duration. The rate is calculated monthly, based on the average yield of all U.S. Treasury securities with 4 or more years to maturity. The boglehead in me said stay the course. Hindsight being 2020 I should have pulled the trigger but interest rates and inflation have to revert sometime right . During 1999, the F Fund struggled to break even in this rising interest rate environment. 2023 by Government Media Executive Group LLC. Yet, given the size of the fund and structural changes to the TSP, the fact that the G Fund has not received any interest payments for over 90 days might pose some underlying challenges during this or future extended budget ceiling impasses. Donald Trump When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect RMDs came into More, How is Congress like Bobby Darin? user asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your As of Q2 2023, there are over 88,000 TSP accounts with over a million-dollar account balance, and well over . Because the G Fund is not tradeable, the only counterparty is the U.S. government itself, meaning that in any sort of sell-off the U.S. government would have to buy back G Fund securities directly at the now-increased share price due to continued accounting practices. Im not suggesting that things will get this bad for the F Fund. With an average cost of a gallon of gas now about $5.00, filling a 20-gallon tank will be $100unless you are driving in one of the many states with gas prices higher than the national average. browser. Low-interest rates and prosperous times do seem to lead to more people speculating in these assets, but they're really too new to say much more than that. A bucket More, Youve got to take the bad along with the good. Most of us have heard that saying many times over More, As of Q2 2023, there are over 88,000 TSP accounts with over a million-dollar account balance, and well over 300,000 More, Special category employees (SCEs) have somewhat different rules regarding FERS retirement and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). As it turns out, the fear of more rapid inflation was justified. Here is why this is important though if you are wondering about the 2023 COLA amount. While boring, the fund is not inconsequential: Millions of TSP participants held almost $300 billion in investments in the G Fund in January this year, either directly or in the Lifecycle Funds. While the G Fund can be thought of as a bond fund in your portfolio, it is important to understand that not all bond funds are made equally. But you know what's doing great? The G Fund and 10-year are 98.4% correlated since 1988, the first full year of the G Funds operation, through February this year. Lee Radcliffe is a U.S. Army veteran with over 20 years of federal government and data analytics experience who has written extensively about Investing in the Thrift Savings Plan for Government Executive, Federal News Network, Federal Times, and other publications. The technology stocks crash in 2000-2001 was a rude awakening! FedSmith Polls Here is how the various TSP funds have performed year-to-date: The bond funds retained most or all of their value while the equity funds are down significantly, including about -29% for the C Fund . Since then, Ive appreciated the insights gained from studying much longer asset class histories. OPM Comment below! Investment objectives change as you age. That is normally not a great return, but it is the only TSP fund with a positive return in 2022. Even if youre not convinced that rates will rise anytime soon, you may want to consider your options in terms of risk-to-reward (i.e., whats the potential upside versus the potential downside).[4]. There are only five More, Weve gotten good feedback about our earlier survey says article and theres no shortage of statistics (most from surveys) to More, Its easy to get confused if youve been reading articles about the economy in general and the stock market. Whistleblower. Insurance You will still The G Fund is quite possibly the most boring investment vehicle available to any group of investors in the United States. The TSP G fund is designed to earn inflation-beating interest with no risk of losses. The TSP Folio strategy backtest picked up on this weakness, favoring the stronger G fund over the F Fund during much of this period. It was established by Congress in the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986 and offers the same types of savings and tax benefits that many private corporations offer their employees under 401(k) plans. This question has been trending lately as LeBron James neared, and then More, Those of you who watch Family Feud are used to hearing the phrase Survey says.