A bill introduced on Capitol Hill on Sept. 6 seeks to give the federal government’s 401k-like Thrift Savings Plan a watchdog.
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill to establish an inspector general for the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), which manages the TSP, considered the world’s largest defined contribution plan with $743 billion in assets and 6.6 million participants.
“I am deeply concerned about the widespread problems with the new TSP online system,” Norton said in a statement announcing the proposed legislation. “I hear frequently from constituents about the many problems with the new system, including discrepancies in account balances, difficulties accessing accounts, lost beneficiary information, and hours-long wait times for customer service. I will continue to demand immediate fixes to the problems, but we need to understand how this debacle occurred and to create new accountability mechanisms at FRTIB, which is why I introduced my bill to establish an inspector general.”
The TSP’s years-in-the-making move to Accenture Federal Service’s recordkeeping system on June 1 has been much publicized, thanks in large part to repeated criticisms from participants during a very bumpy transition. The new service suffered from a variety of issues right out of the gate, most notably staggeringly long call center wait times and troubles setting up new log-in credentials.
Progress since the botched launch has been significant, executives from Accenture Federal Services told the FRTIB board at its monthly meeting in August. At that time, the average call wait time for customer service was 24 seconds, down from a staggering two hours on June 1. The TSP ThriftLine was receiving roughly 21,000 calls per day as of late August, a figure that is trending downward.
FRTIB Chair Michael Gerber told Accenture during the meeting that the board was “very disappointed” with how the rollout unfolded, and while they appreciate the change and vast improvement, they want frequent communication with FRTIB Executive Director Ravindra Deo to monitor progress as well as another update from AFS staff in early 2023.
Norton sent a letter to FRTIB on June 13, 2022, raising the initial concerns she heard from constituents about the new TSP system. FRTIB responded on June 17, 2022. On June 30, 2022, Norton spoke with Ravindra Deo, the Executive Director of FRTIB, who committed to providing Norton with weekly updates on the new TSP system.
At the request of Norton and Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), the Government Accountability Office will soon conduct a comprehensive review of the planning, contract award and implementation of the new TSP system, as well as oversight by FRTIB. The review is expected to begin in November.
SEE ALSO:
• New TSP Recordkeeper Apologizes for Botched Transition
• TSP Recordkeeper Transition Off to Rocky Start
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.
