Thread: From 1984 to 1987 FERS question

I was in the military, no TSP for us then..............

I'll go look at my past statements after work today. (I hoard documents. )....

But my memory tells me that when they finally kicked off the TSP, we were given our 1% automatic contribution for those "missing years" as a lump sum in our TSP accounts, along with earnings to that 1%.

So, basically we were screwed....no employee contributions were possible, and of course no matching contributions either.

Of course, I wasn't focused on retirement way back then, so I may have missed something.....

I did some digging into old TSP bulletins and this is what I uncovered:

In 1987 FERS employees received a 1 percent government basic contribution of their salaries covering the period January 1, 1984 to the final full pay period in March 1987. This money was deposited in the G Fund, or some interest bearing account. There were two conversion periods, as discussed in TSP Bulletins 87-3 (TSP One percent Basic Government Contribution Conversion Computation) and 87-7 (Second Conversion Process). The TSP as we know it opened in January 1988 with the G, F, and C funds. All funds were available to FERS employees for their contributions, but only the G Fund was open to CSRS employees. FERS employees were limited to investing only their own contributions in the C and F funds. The C and F funds were opened to CSRS employees in January 1991 when FERS employees were also allowed to invest government contributions into C and F Funds.

I was hired 8 December 1986, and no doubt during my indoctrination into the world of the federal employee, received a pamphlet describing the FERS system. I still have that document. (I'm a sick man).

From the OPM FERS guide dated September 1986, and quoting exactly:

“Overview
Why FERS?

The need for a new retirement system for Federal employees began with Public Law 98-21, which provided that Federal employees hired after December 31, 1983 would be covered by Social Security.
A second law, Public Law 98-168, provided for a transition period from January 1, 1984 to January 1, 1986 for employees hired after December 31, 1983. During this period employees were fully covered under Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Social Security benefits. This transition period was extended to December 31, 1986 with the passage of Public Law 99-335, which established the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).”


Later, when talking about the “Savings Plan”:
“All Federal employees covered by FERS on January 1, 1987, are eligible to participate in the Savings Plan. Employees hired after that date will generally have 6-12 month waiting period.”
(Note: This guide is so old, it never refers to the “Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)”….Just “The Savings Plan”.)

So, I think the answer to the question is that FERS, and therefore TSP, didn’t really exist before 1 January 1987! You can’t contribute to something that didn’t exist!

I also recall a delay after that date, and thus the lump sum payment for the first few months. In fact, check out the PDF document currently available on the TSP site. (http://www.tsp.gov/forms/comparison.pdf) According to this, the inception date for the G fund was 1 April 1987. (C and F inception date 29 January 1988). So, that may explain my memory of a lump sum contribution...it may have been for pay periods prior to 1 April 1987. Just don't know if it was from 1 January to 1 April 1987, or from actual date of hiring to 1 April 1987.

Still need to check my personal records.

Added: EW Guy slipped in some good information while I was composing....I leave my post unedited, but some of my holes were answered by EW. Tom

I also was hired during this time (11/4/1984) and this has allways bothered me. when I was hired my pay statement said (not covered under retirement) and I still have those pay stubbs. I am ATC so I already have a shortened career (age 56). No one ever contacted me
or briefed me on my retirement. no one I worked with could explain what FERS was or how it worked, let alone what a SS suppliment was or if I should pay back my military time. the advise i recieved from the FAA was
" it just makes since, the more you put in to retirement the more you get out." My first retirement briefing was held in 1989. that was the day I started contribing the full amount into the TSP.
five years of no matching funds hurt.

Originally Posted by Rick

I also was hired during this time (11/4/1984) and this has allways bothered me. when I was hired my pay statement said (not covered under retirement) and I still have those pay stubbs. I am ATC so I already have a shortened career (age 56). No one ever contacted me
or briefed me on my retirement. no one I worked with could explain what FERS was or how it worked, let alone what a SS suppliment was or if I should pay back my military time. the advise i recieved from the FAA was
" it just makes since, the more you put in to retirement the more you get out." My first retirement briefing was held in 1989. that was the day I started contribing the full amount into the TSP.
five years of no matching funds hurt.

Hey, I was hired in 1984 as well, and the same thing happened to me, mostly because I needed every single penny to raise my children.....there was never enough money.

Let's don't cry over spilled milk, though. Let's make the most of it while we can.

GA

Originally Posted by GeorgiaGal

Hey, I was hired in 1984 as well, and the same thing happened to me, mostly because I needed every single penny to raise my children.....there was never enough money.

Let's don't cry over spilled milk, though. Let's make the most of it while we can.

GA

It's Al Gores fault for not inventing the internet earlier...............

true.
At least I can day trade my retirement

Now Spaf that was down right malevalent. Let's give the man credit where credit is due. You know very well his legacy is the 1.6 gallon toilet. And I try to offer a daily vigil and contribution to his legacy. Have you ever tried to find that measly and pithy amount of water without turning on the lights - it's danged impossible. Yes, Al is always on my mind.

Now I have to flush twice to keep the toilet from clogging.