What Is the Purpose of the I Fund and How Much Should You Invest in it?

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What Is the Purpose of the I Fund and How Much Should You Invest in it?

By Carol Schmidlin

The objective of the I Fund is to match the performance of the MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index. The earnings consist of gains (or losses) in the price of stocks, dividend income, and change in the relative value of currencies.

This was proposed in 2017 and put on hold for several years. TSP is now considering this again. As you can see the MSCI EAFE is limited and is not a true representation of the international index. This is scheduled to go into effect this year!

If you are not sure how much to contribute you can either choose a lifecycle fund the coincides with your retirement date. I also highly encourage you to visit www.MyTSPVision.com and do a risk analysis. This is a great website run by Brad Kasper.

Also, please feel free to contact me at 856-401-1101 or email me at carol@franklinplanning.com.

Source: www.TSP.gov

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does Combat Time Earn A Special Exception From FERS Requirements?

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“I recently saw a friend who works for the FAA and said, “I thought you were ‘going to retire in a year’ a couple years ago.’ He responded “I am.” He’s wanting to get something resolved that I’ve not heard of, and don’t believe is correct. Click HERE to read more.

 

Debate Over Federal Telework Fumes In House Subcommittee

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Agency HR officials defended their approach to workplace flexibilities and highlighted budgetary issues as bigger drivers of poor customer service. Click HERE to read more.

Ideas For AI in Government are There. The People Aren’t, Experts Say

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Job competition and recruitment concept, Robots waiting in line together with humans for vacant job competition of people and robots for jobs vector illustration. (Getty Images.)

The federal government has put forward a number of policy blueprints to ensure ethical and transparent use of artificial intelligence in government. They mean little if agencies lack the leadership and workers to enforce them, which they currently do, tech experts said before Senate lawmakers on Tuesday.

AI has been gaining popularity over time as agencies have been attracted to the idea of automating rote processes. The concern is that without an expert workforce to guide its trajectory, AI could lead to situation where agencies are riding without training wheels, causing harm to themselves and others, experts said before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Government Affairs on May 16.

Consider: there is a vacancy for the director of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office within the White House — a role that is key to coordinating AI policy and research across government. There are agencies who’ve yet to install a chief AI officer. There are some 40,000 cybersecurity jobs to fill in the public sector to support government’s approach to ethical, safe AI use. During a separate hearing the CEO of ChatGPT himself urged government intervention as necessary to mitigate risks of powerful AI systems.

Such leadership holes make it difficult for agencies to craft and curb the technology, said Lynne Parker, a professor at the University of Tennessee and the former director of NAIIO. Experts urged specific guardrails for automated technology that at its most extreme can formulaically cut subsistence funding for Medicaid beneficiaries without so much as a review by a benefits officer — an example given by a witness attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. Click HERE to learn more.

 

How to Avoid Taxes on Your Federal Retirement

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We’ve all heard it. There is nothing we can do to avoid death and taxes, but is that really true?

When it comes to death, I have nothing for you. I have not yet found the fountain of youth but I’ll keep you posted.

While avoiding 100% of taxes is probably not going to happen, there are certainly strategies you can use to decrease your tax burden throughout your retirement.

Here are some of the best strategies.

Roth Conversions

Getting money over to an after-tax bucket can be an incredible way to lower your tax bill over time.

Roth Conversions become even more attractive given the fact that tax rates are most likely going to be going up in the future. This article goes into more depth on when and how to do Roth Conversions.  Click HERE to read full article.