The Thrift Savings Plan, or TSP Board may need more funding for the fiscal year 2016. The main reasons behind it are the cyber security upgrades and the external audits. Another reason is due to the increasing membership. The board is not sure about the extra money needed for the budget, but plans to lay it out soon.
TSPTSP Board Budget Data
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) was assigned $220 million in 2016. The board is predicting that it could spend $151 million even before the beginning of third quarter. The main reason behind such spending is the need to have resources that help in cyber security upgrades and external audits.
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The announcement regarding the need for more funding was made by the FRTIB executive director, Greg Long. He made this announcement during the monthly meeting of the board that was held on April 25. He said that though the agency needs to do a bit of work regarding the budget allocation, it seems almost certain that they will need more money from the board. The estimate regarding the amount of extra money required would be clarified next month.
The Cost of Cyber Security
The main reason behind the agency running ahead of schedule on the budget is that it is putting a lot of money in to boost its cyber security. The agency is working with external auditors to finish a study of best practices with regard to cyber security in the private sector firms.
More Data and Better Service
The agency is also focused on using more data to take better decisions and offering better communication and services to the TSP participants. The TSP enrollment is higher than it has been before, and it is expected to continue to grow until 2018.
About 89% of people who have opted for Federal Employment Retirement System (FERS) have enrolled in TSP. The number of active duty military members who are enrolled in the TSP is about 44%.
Call Centre Service
In order to provide better service to the growing TSP members, the agency is aiming to create a better consolidated call service center as a part of the Expanding Participant Retirement Engagement Services and Solutions (ExPRESS) contract. The draft related to the RFP of ExPRESS participant call center services is scheduled to be released during the first week of May according to the board.
