2024 Has Largest TSP Roll-in Ever Recorded
Participants rolled in $241 million to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) in February, the largest monthly dollar amount ever recorded. The first two months of 2024 are the first time the TSP has received more than 5,000 roll-ins per month.
- Jan 2024—5,425 checks $240 million
- Feb 2024—5,082 checks $241 million
TSP Returns Moving Up in Month and 2024
TSP investors are enjoying a great start to 2024 with their TSP returns. The C Fund is up 9.77% so far this year and up 2.49% as of March 25. The S Fund is up 5.05% for the year, and the I Fund is up 5.56%.
Here are the returns for all of the TSP Funds as of March 25, 2024.
| Fund | Month-to-Date | Year-to-Date |
|---|---|---|
| G Fund | 0.30% | 0.98% |
| F Fund | 0.58% | -1.03% |
| C Fund | 2.49% | 9.77% |
| S Fund | 1.52% | 5.05% |
| I Fund | 2.97% | 5.56% |
| L Income | 0.89% | 2.56% |
| L 2025 | 1.08% | 3.11% |
| L 2030 | 1.66% | 4.87% |
| L 2035 | 1.80% | 5.24% |
| L 2040 | 1.92% | 5.62% |
| L 2045 | 2.04% | 5.94% |
| L 2050 | 2.15% | 6.28% |
| L 2055 | 2.51% | 7.59% |
| L 2060 | 2.51% | 7.59% |
| L 2065 | 2.51% | 7.59% |
TSP Investors React to Recent Returns
In 2022, TSP investors moved billions of dollars from the C Fund into the G Fund. In 2022, the C Fund declined 18.13% for the year. The chart below shows how TSP investments changed between December 2021 and December 2022 as stock market prices were declining.
Overall, TSP assets declined by almost $86 billion. Despite the decline in overall assets, the percentage of assets in the G Fund went up about 5% or about $30 billion. At the same time, the C Fund assets went from 33.1% to 28.9%—a decline of about $58.7 billion.
In other words, some TSP investors were transferring money from stock funds into the security of the G Fund during a bear market.
TSP Investor Reaction to a Bear Market
| Fund | Dec 2022 Per Fund Allocation | Dec 2022 Assets Per Fund (billions) | Dec 2021 Per Fund Allocation | Dec 2021 Assets Per Fund (billions) |
| G | 33.1% | $240.1 | 26.0% | $210.9 |
| F | 2.7% | $19.5 | 3.1% | $24.9 |
| C | 28.9% | $210.0 | 33.1% | $268.7 |
| S | 8.9% | $64.4 | 11.2% | $91.2 |
| I | 3.5% | $25.7 | 3.8% | $30.7 |
| Lifecycle | 22.9% | $166.0 | 22.8% | $185.3 |
| Total | $725.9 | $811.7 |
That is what happened when stocks were declining. What happens when the stock market goes up? One might expect TSP investors to transfer assets from the G Fund into stock funds. That happened as the stock market has increased in recent months.
The C Fund increased 26.25% in 2023. As noted above, it is up another 9.77% so far in 2024. The G Fund was up 4.22% in 2023—a solid return but way behind the C Fund’s performance. How have investors reacted with their investment money during a bull market?
This chart shows how TSP investors have entrusted their money to the TSP while stock prices are going higher.
| Fund | Dec. 2022 Per Fund Allocation | Feb. 2024 Per Fund Allocation |
| G | 33.1% | 26.7% |
| F | 2.7% | 2.2% |
| C | 28.9% | 33.5% |
| S | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| I | 3.5% | 3.6% |
| Lifecycle | 22.9% | 24.4% |
C Fund is Once Again the Largest TSP Fund
During a period of rising stock prices, investors switched to making the C Fund their investment fund of choice. As of February 2024, the C Fund is again the largest TSP Fund. It now has $293.5 billion in investments, while the G Fund has $234.3 billion in participant investments.
The TSP now has $877.2 billion in participant-allocated funds. The C Fund went from $210 billion in December 2022 to a total of $293.5 billion in February 2024—an increase of $83.5 billion. The G Fund went from $240.1 billion in December 2022 to $234.3 billion in February 2024—a decline of $5.8 billion when total TSP assets went from $725.9 billion to $877.2 billion.
TSP officials often point out that the money transferred between Funds during market volatility is a relatively small percentage of total funds. That is true. Still, the amount of money involved is hundreds of billions.
