Retirement Savings in TSP Have a Bad Month, Again

August was a bad month for the retirement funds in the federal employee Thrift Savings Plan, and September was not a whole lot better, according to monthly returns released Thursday.

The only two offerings that ended last month in the black were government securities, which grew 0.18 percent for September, and fixed income bonds, which were up 0.75 percent. The G Fund also was above water for the year to date, with 1.51 percent growth so far in 2015. The F Fund was up 1.44 percent for the year.

All of the stock-based offerings lost ground in September, on the heels of even bigger losses in August. The international stocks in the I Fund fell the most last month, dropping 5.02 percent. The I Fund was also down for the year to date, by 4.33 percent.

The small and midsize companies represented in the S Fund ended September down 4.8 percent, and lost 5.98 percent for 2015. The common stocks in the C Fund decreased 2.47 percent last month and 5.24 percent for the year to date.

The lifecycle offerings – which move investors to less risky portfolios as they near retirement – were all in the red for September as well. L Income, for people who have already started withdrawing money, was down 0.51 percent; L 2020 fell 1.67 percent; L 2030, 2.26 percent; L 2040, 2.67 percent; and L 2050, 3.09 percent.

The L Fund returns for the year to date were similarly grim. L Income was up barely, by 0.31 percent, but the rest lost ground in 2015 so far. L 2020 fell 1.55 percent, L 2030 was down 2.56 percent, L 2040 decreased 3.27 percent and L 2050 dropped 3.96 percent. 

(Image via Nate Allred / Shutterstock.com)