Money Pilot Financial Advisor Podcast
Money Pilot Financial Advisor Podcast
Episode 84 21st Century TSP
You may have heard that the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) may finally be joining us in the 2st century. There are some good and important changes coming, and there's going to be a transition period when you won’t be able to access to your TSP.
According to TSP, it is launching its official mobile app that will give you access to your TSP My Account. You'll be able to log onto your account using biometric identification software on your mobile device, like fingerprint access and facial recognition which will add an extra level of security. They are also promising virtual assistance via the mobile app or the web. There will be an interactive virtual assistant and automated support 24 hours a day. The virtual assistant can transfer you to an in-person representative during business hours, if needed. TSP is also promising an online chat function to connect you directly to a real representative for personalized support during business hours.
New streamlined paperwork processing is also coming, promising the ability to complete many transactions online with an "Easy, secure, and legally binding e-signature.” In particular, they're promising assistance and a streamlined processing for rollovers from other 401(k)s or IRAs into TSP. And you should be able to make electronic transfers for loan payments and payoffs, and disbursements from your account.
Here's the key dates they need to know:
April 8 – Last day to request paper loan documents by telephone
- April 21 – Last day to submit paper loan documents
- April 29 – Last day to request all other paper forms, whether by phone or online.
- Mayy 16 – Last day to submit or access all forms (online or hard copy). This includes withdrawal, rollover or transfer requests as well as beneficiary changes..
- So basically if you want to make any request that needs a form you must submit it by May 16.
- May 16 is also the last day to contact TSP via email
- May 26 – Last day to make transfers between different mixes of investments or change contributions. So if you want to rebalance, do it before May 26th.
- May 26th is also the last day you can contact TSP via telephone.
- From May 26 at noon Eastern time through the first week of June, account access of any kind will NOT be available. All your investments in TSP will still be there, your automatic payroll contributions will continue, and invested funds will continue to reflect market changes.
Think of this May 26th through the first week of June as a total eclipse of the TSP. Seeing the world go dark in a total eclipse of the sun can be scary. But have faith the sun is still there and will come out again from behind the moon. In the same way TSP will “go dark” from May 26 through the first week of June. But what comes out on the other side should be a much improved, more participant-friendly TSP.
Now after the upgrade, all TSP users will have to update your login information before accessing your online account for the first time. TSP is promising step-by-step prompts to walk you through it. You’ll verify your identity, update your contact information and set up your account security.
Coming later this year, but not with this upgrade TSP plans to add a window within TSP where you could purchase outside mutual funds through the TSP website. I'm keeping an eye on this as well and will certainly do a podcast on that as details become available.
For more information watch your emails or go to tsp.gov and click on the banner right at the top of the page New features and other changes coming to TSP later this year.” Can I put a link to that in the show notes
Welcome to the Money Pilot Financial Advisor podcast, where you team up with Money Pilot founder, former Army helicopter pilot and your host Katie Cannon to put your money where your heart is. Together, we'll tackle issues big and small, so you can take charge and land your financial life. Hello, and welcome back to the podcast. You may have heard that the Thrift Savings Plan TSP may finally be joining us in the 21st century. If you're a TSP participant, you should be receiving emails with the news. I know I've been receiving emails every single day. So what's all this mean? There are some good and important changes coming, and there's going to be a transition period when you won't be able to access your TSP. So today, we'll go over the changes the new digital tools the TSP is rolling out, process streamlining, security enhancements, and the when and what details of the transition period, as well as what's not in this change just yet. So these changes have been in the works for a while and will now be implemented over the next couple months. These should make monitoring and making changes to your TSP account more streamlined and simpler, especially for military and federal employees on the move around the world. TSP is transitioning to a new service provider beginning in May as part of the major upgrade. So according to the multiple emails TSP has been sending out, it's launching its official mobile app that will give you access to your TSP My Account, you'll be able to log on to your account using biometric identification software on your mobile device, like fingerprint access and facial recognition, which will add an extra layer of security to TSP. They're also promising virtual assistants that you can access by logging into your account, either via the mobile app or the web, there will be an interactive assistant and automated support 24 hours a day. Now the virtual assistant is powered by artificial intelligence technology, which can transfer you to an in person representative during business hours if needed. And if you don't want to start with Robo assistant, TSP is also promising an online chat function to connect you directly to a real representative for personalized support during business hours. One of the more welcome improvements for many of us who've been working with TSP, moving money in or moving money out is a new streamlined paperwork processing. They are finally promising the ability to complete many transactions online with and I quote an easy secure and legally binding e signature, close quote. This hopefully will do away with the need to print out hardcopy documents, go find a notary at a bank or JAG and then mail or God help me fax the paperwork to TSP. In particular, they're promising assistance and streamlined processing for rollovers from other 401 K's or IRAs into TSP, including the ability to scan your rollover check with your mobile device. And you should be able to make electronic transfers for loan payments and pay offs and disbursements from your account. So while this sounds great, so what's the timeline for this stone age to 21st century TSP evolution? Okay, here's the key dates you need to know. First, there are three dates in April that affect you if you're requesting or submitting paper forms and documents. April 8, is the last day to request paper loan documents by telephone. April 21 is the last day to submit paper loan docs documents. And April 29, is the last day to request all other paper forms, whether by phone or online. The next key date is in mid May, May 16 is the last day to submit or access all forms, online or hardcopy. This includes withdrawals, rollovers, or transfer requests, as well as beneficiary changes. So basically, if you want to make any request that needs a form, you must submit it by May 16. Also, May 16 is the last day you can contact TSP by email. All right, the date that will affect all TSP participants, military and civilian May 26 is the last day to make transfers between different mixes of investments, like between the C Fund and the F Fund, for example, or to change your contributions. So if you want to rebalance, do it before May 26. And May 26 is the last day you can contact TSP by telephone. And finally, from May 26, at noon, Eastern Standard Time, through the first week of June, account access of any kind will not be available. All your investments in TSP will still be there, your automatic payroll contributions will continue and invested funds will continue to reflect market changes. Think of this May 26 through the first week of June, as a total eclipse of the TSP. Seeing the world go dark and the total eclipse of the sun can be scary, but have faith the sun is still there, and will come out again from behind the moon. In the same way, TSP will go dark from May 26 through the first week of June. But what comes out on the other side should be a much improved, more participant friendly TSP. Now after the upgrade, all TSP users will have to update your login information before accessing your online account for the first time. TSP is promising step by step prompts to walk you through it. You'll need to verify your identity, update your contact information and set up your account security. Coming later this year, but not in this upgrade, TSP plans to add a window within TSP where you could purchase outside mutual funds through the TSP website. The details of what mutual funds might be available through the window, and even more importantly, what additional costs might be associated with using the window have not been announced. But I'm keeping an eye on this as well and we'll certainly do a podcast on it when the details become available. Okay, to some things up. Old Reliable TSP is getting a makeover. A new and better TSP experience is on the way. But some services will temporarily stop beginning as early as April eighth. If you need to make any changes to your TSP get on it. TSP access will go entirely dark from May 26 through the first week of June. During this eclipse, you won't be able to access your account, contact TSP or make any changes or transactions. But your TSP investments are safe, are updating in the background and will emerge on the other side in a much improved customer environment. For more information, watch your emails or go to tsp.gov and click on the banner right at the top of the page. New features and other changes coming to TSP later this year. And I'll put a link to that in the show notes. I hope you found today's podcast informative and we'll talk with you again next week.
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