As the Market Drops, Expect Doomsday Scenarios and Transferring to Safety of the G Fund
Federal employees are fleeing to the G Fund amidst the ongoing historic bear market.
Author: Ralph R. Smith
Back to the Future For Your TSP Funds
“Back to the Future” was a great movie–or series of movies. Still, no one likes to see their retirement investments sinking back to levels of six years ago. That is what has happened in the current bear market. Here are charts showing the results through the recent sell-off–and some hope for the future.
Faster Promotions Coming for Some Federal Employees
Some federal employees may be getting faster promotions and more money beginning in March based on a new rule change from OPM.
Pay, COLAs and Your 2009 Paycheck
COLA’s and pay raises are of interest to virtually all of our readers. There is also confusion about who gets what increase. Here is a brief explanation of the 2009 COLA and the 2009 federal employee pay raise–and why you do not get both a pay raise and a COLA.
October 2008: Worst Month in 21 Years
October was the worst month in 21 years for the index on which the TSP’s C fund is based. The good news: The last week of October was one of the best weeks for the C fund index. Here is a summary of the TSP results for October.
Pay Raise? What Pay Raise? Why Some Will See a Decrease in Income in 2009
The average federal pay raise under the GS schedule in 2009 will be 3.9%. Some federal employees will get a much smaller increase–or none at all.
The Stock Market Goes Up and Down: Who Knew? Will We Follow the Swedish Model?
An argument that risk can and should be avoided with retirement funds by removing money from the private sector and investing in government bonds (similar to the G fund) may gain popularity in the next Congress.
Has Your TSP Hit Bottom Yet?
The ideal time to transfer money from the G fund and back into the TSP stock funds is when the market reaches a bottom and is about to start heading back up. Have we reached that point with the current stock market?
Whoops
A couple of readers pointed out that in the initial posting of a column last week, we made an incorrect statement about the content of an article in the Washington Post. They were right.
Politics and Journalism in Washington: Celebrating the Departure of a Political Appointee
For those who make a career of living and working within the federal establishment, the view of people and their accomplishments can become one-dimensional with clear delineations between what is good and what is bad. Special Counsel Scott Bloch is departing. Many in the government community are applauding and the media is happily joining in.
