The agency that runs the federal Thrift Savings Plan and the contractor hired to modernize the TSP computer system want to make sure the new system is bug-free before it is put into operation, spokesmen said in explaining a five-month delay in the modernization project.
The TSP system modernization, which will give TSP participants two new investment options and allow them to check the value of their funds daily, was originally scheduled to debut in May. But the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which runs the TSP, announced this week that the launch of the new system would be delayed until Oct. 1.
Tom Trabucco, director of external affairs for the board, said thousands of tests must be run on the system. For example, a computer "script" must be created "to describe what would happen if a married [Federal Employees Retirement System] participant submits a request to withdraw all of his thrift contributions," Trabucco said. About 2,300 such scripts must be tested.
The board's contract with Fairfax, Va.-based American Management Systems called for the contractor to deliver the scripts to the board in November 1999, so the board could review them to make sure they were accurate. But AMS didn't deliver the first 1,600 scripts until December and has yet to deliver the remaining 700.
Harry Barschdorf, vice president of AMS' civilian agencies consulting and systems practice, said the testing process has turned out to be larger and lengthier than originally anticipated.
"The system is a fairly complex system with a lot of components," Barschdorf said. "We've been working on this system since May of 1997, and we are now in the process of completing the work."
Trabucco said the contract offered AMS monetary incentives for timely delivery of the scripts. About $18,000 to $30,000 in incentives will not be awarded, he said.
Barschdorf said AMS and the TSP board are working together closely on the project and are committed to meeting the new Oct. 1 rollout goal.
Oct. 1 was selected as the date in part because of a bill pending before Congress that would make changes to the TSP. The bill, H.R. 208, would allow new federal employees to roll over money from private-sector 401(k) accounts into Thrift Savings Plan accounts beginning Oct. 1. The bill would also allow new employees to immediately begin participating in the TSP. Under current rules, new employees have to wait a year before contributing money to their TSP accounts.
The House passed the bill last April and it is now pending in the Senate.
If the bill is approved, the new computer system will have to be updated, Barschdorf said.
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