Bill will push new real estate fund for Thrift Savings Plan

[The Straight Story]

Bill will push new real estate fund for Thrift Savings Plan
By David McGlinchey
[email protected]

The Thrift Savings Plan might be gaining a real estate fund option, according to legislation that will be introduced Monday by two members of the House Government Reform Committee.


Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., chairman of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce and Agency Organization, and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., announced Friday that they will introduce a bill to add a real estate investment trust fund option to the Thrift Savings Plan. In January, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board discussed that option and decided they were against the introduction of a real estate fund.


The TSP, a 401(k)-style plan for federal employees, currently has five available fund options. The Thrift Board is also developing a sixth - the life-cycle fund, an automatically diversified collection of existing funds.


During a January meeting, the Thrift Board was told that lobbyists from the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts were on Capitol Hill pushing for a real estate fund in the TSP. Several board members - including Chairman Andrew Saul - said they were against the idea. No one spoke in favor. TSP Executive Director Gary Amelio noted that the Thrift plan already would be the 13th largest real estate mutual fund in the country, based on holdings in the five existing funds. Thrift officials were not immediately available Friday afternoon to comment on the proposed bill.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0405/040805d2.htm

[babylonsister]

1. The Thrift Savings Plan is great for

federal employees, but this sounds like a reward to me, a reward when so much more needs to be done for those that 'need', and this economy will get worse and explode with the needy before it ever gets better.

[dcfirefighter]

2. I think it's a plan

like privatizing social security, to spread the crumbs enough that any real reform will be unpopular.

If enough people depend on the stock market for their retirement, we can't touch the corporations

If enough people depend on real estate for their retirement, we can't touch the landlords.