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TSP Drops Fast; 2009 COLA Rate Also Drops

Time to Buy

PERSEC
Army
Thu Sep 18, 2008 8:34 AM

Post Reply

Sounds like it's just time to dump all my TSP money into the I fund

Re: Time to Buy

Analsyt
DOD
Thu Sep 18, 2008 9:08 AM
That might not be such a good idea either, the I fund is down 27.89%

Re: Time to Buy

RMRF
DOE
Thu Sep 18, 2008 9:10 AM
I was thinking C or S, but the I fund takes some really big cahonas. Happy Retirement!

Re: Time to Buy

Nate 32
DOJ
Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:37 AM
Not too smart
The I fund will be -80% a year from now so why not buy then.. mean time transfer into G

Re: Time to Buy

IT Specialist
HHS
Thu Sep 18, 2008 1:18 PM
How do you know the I fund will be -80%?

It’s silly to worry about what the value of your funds are today. I will not touching the money in my TSP for another 30 years. I'm only concerned with the value of what it will be then. The stock market over 10 year periods have always produced positive returns, even with the big dips. This is the nature of financial markets if you can’t take the heat you should be 100% in the G fund all the time.

If you were retiring in the next couple of years, yes I would be concerned with these large drops, but that's also poor planning on the retirees' part.

Re: Time to Buy

PERSEC
Army
Fri Sep 19, 2008 2:21 AM
I've got 5 years in Service, a GG-12 and 30 years and 3 weeks left until my minimum retirement age.

I'm putting 15% into TSP currently. As soon as the I fund reached about ~18% down I started dumping money into it.

It's going to go up eventually, and I will make some nice, nice profits.

Re: Time to Buy

Electronics Engineer
FCC
Wed Oct 1, 2008 7:49 AM
No it is too soon. The I fund trend is still down. Wait until it starts up again, then buy into it. Point 2: Being near retirement simply means you have less time to work longer than you intended to try to make up a big loss. But losses are just as serious when you have 30 years to go. Don't think that because retirement is a long way away you don't have to try to avoid big losses. That is bad advice.

Financial meltdown on Wall Street

Program Manager
GSA
Thu Sep 18, 2008 8:45 AM

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I have argued for years that competency matters. Hopefully people will start to listen now that incompetency has gotten us into this situation. We need to rebuild all of our institutions starting with the educational and moral values systems. We need to get people to think about America as a nation, a society and and a culture. People (especially politicans) need to start acting for the good of the nation, not their own narrow special interest. Everything from Government to Finance is broken and needs to be corrected.

park your money now

Nate 32
DOJ
Thu Sep 18, 2008 8:57 AM

Post Reply

Again, the US economy is in shambles. Yes, I cannot forsee the future and tell you when to buy back but FOR SURE things are only going to get worse and remain stagnant for quite some time so SELL and PARK your money people.

Tranferring Funds to F and G

Chief Security
DOD
Thu Sep 18, 2008 9:13 AM

Post Reply

I commented last month about how stupid it is to leave your hard earned money allocated to all 5 funds when the sky is falling. Even financial planners are saying. "this has never happened before." So if it has never happened why are millions of people, losing their shirts only to be told, hey its all about risk, buy when it is low. Yes, thats smart advice, but not if you have lost 20-50 thousand dollars waiting for the market to return. I cannot see the future but 6 months ago, living in CA and in real estate saw that what was going on was completely irresponsible and the big financial companies had it coming to them. When there is no accountability we are humans, we take advantage; add a little or should I say alot of greed and you have a bad mix. Unfortunately it is the little guy that eventually pays the bill. Though it is not to late to take your money out, it probably is better late than never but as in all personal choices, I decided over 6 month ago and saved myself grief.

CPI

Engineer
FAA
Thu Sep 18, 2008 9:21 AM

Post Reply

How can the CPI go down >5 in August 08 and the CPI for the year only decline from 6.2 to 6 for the year

annuity for retirees

Progrsm Support Assistant
SBA
Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:22 AM

Post Reply

If a retirees puchased an annuity for a now bankruptied company, what happens to the annuity plan and future pay outs?

Re: annuity for retirees

Diversity Manager
DOL
Fri Sep 19, 2008 3:36 PM
You'll get a hardy handclasp pat on the back and told you'll need to find employment if you want to pay your bills

while employed, count number of shares ....

IT Specialist
US EPA
Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:23 AM

Post Reply

Since I'm still employed and have a long ways to go until retirement, I am keeping track of the number of shares added to my TSP each pay period. That eases the pain of a falling market since I know I'm buying 'cheap.' When I can buy cheap, I get more shares each pay period.

I don't think of the dollar amount of my TSP as having much value since it's meaningless until I cash out.

Re: while employed, count number of shares ....

(M)Sgt
Air Force
Thu Sep 18, 2008 12:58 PM
I completely agree. I imagine that the millions that are reported to be transfered to the G Fund is primarily retirees cutting their losses. I hate to say it, but the lower the I fund goes the better it is for my distant retirement future. I feel as there is low odds that International stocks are are going belly up.

Re: while employed, count number of shares ....

Supervisory IT Specialist
DON
Mon Sep 22, 2008 7:27 AM
They are not "cutting their losses" they are LOCKING in their losses by buying High and selling Low.

This is exactly the opposite of what we all should be doing.

Re: while employed, count number of shares ....

Retired Air Force
U.S. Navy
Wed Sep 24, 2008 3:59 AM
You are on the right track.
Total Comments: 52
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