tsptalk
12-11-2004, 10:47 PM
Open season ends Dec 31. One of our members forwarded me this info about the future of open seasons. They are trying to do away with them to allow to make changes any time. Yeah!....
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Subject: CONGRESS APPROVES BILL TO ELIMINATE TSP OPEN SEASONS
The Senate unanimously approved on Tuesday the Thrift Savings Plan Open Elections Act of 2004 - a bill to reform the federal Thrift Savings Plan to allow participants to make changes at any time to their retirement account.
The bill passed the House of Representatives by unanimous voice vote on Nov.19 and now heads to the president's desk to be signed into law.
The act permits participants to begin or stop contributing to the TSP or to alter their contribution levels at any time, with the change to take effect "on the earliest date after the change is made." Right now, participants can only start, end or adjust their contributions during two open seasons periods each year.
"Every day, federal employees across the nation and around the globe perform critical duties that keep this nation running smoothly," said Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), sponsor of the bill. "Away from work, they experience all of life's events - births or deaths in the family, new homes, new jobs, salary adjustments, and so on. With enactment of H.R. 4324, TSP participants can adapt their retirement savings to meet their changing circumstances."
The final version of the bill does not affect when agency matching contributions take effect. Employees must wait until the second open season following their start of federal service to receive matching contributions of up to 5 percent of salary, meaning some employees receive agency matching funds after seven months, and some have to wait nearly a year. Davis intends to introduce legislation next year to address this internal inequity.
[line]
Subject: CONGRESS APPROVES BILL TO ELIMINATE TSP OPEN SEASONS
The Senate unanimously approved on Tuesday the Thrift Savings Plan Open Elections Act of 2004 - a bill to reform the federal Thrift Savings Plan to allow participants to make changes at any time to their retirement account.
The bill passed the House of Representatives by unanimous voice vote on Nov.19 and now heads to the president's desk to be signed into law.
The act permits participants to begin or stop contributing to the TSP or to alter their contribution levels at any time, with the change to take effect "on the earliest date after the change is made." Right now, participants can only start, end or adjust their contributions during two open seasons periods each year.
"Every day, federal employees across the nation and around the globe perform critical duties that keep this nation running smoothly," said Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), sponsor of the bill. "Away from work, they experience all of life's events - births or deaths in the family, new homes, new jobs, salary adjustments, and so on. With enactment of H.R. 4324, TSP participants can adapt their retirement savings to meet their changing circumstances."
The final version of the bill does not affect when agency matching contributions take effect. Employees must wait until the second open season following their start of federal service to receive matching contributions of up to 5 percent of salary, meaning some employees receive agency matching funds after seven months, and some have to wait nearly a year. Davis intends to introduce legislation next year to address this internal inequity.