ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE ROUTINE R 232216Z MAY 02 ZYB MIN ZYW PSN 921912J24 FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1// TO NAVADMIN UNCLAS //N07000// NAVADMIN 151/02 MSGID/GENADMIN/N1// SUBJ/THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN ENROLLMENT OPEN SEASON// REF/A/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/022110ZOCT2001// AMPN/REF A IS NAVADMIN 258/01 EXPLAINING U.S. NAVY POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR CONTRIBUTING TO THE UNIFORMED SERVICES THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN (TSP).// RMKS/1. THE FIRST OPEN SEASON TO SIGN UP FOR THE THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN WAS A HUGE SUCCESS. MORE THAN 64,754 ACTIVE DUTY AND 3,277 RESERVE COMPONENT SERVICE MEMBERS IN THE U.S. NAVY HAVE ENROLLED IN THE PROGRAM TO DATE. 2. THE SECOND TSP OPEN SEASON HAS BEGUN AND WILL RUN THROUGH 31 JULY 02. IF YOU START PUTTING AWAY WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD AND PAY YOURSELF FIRST USING THE THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN, IT REALLY CAN ADD UP QUITE QUICKLY THROUGH THE POWER OF COMPOUNDING. 3. YOU SHOULD HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED A PAMPHLET ENTITLED "SUMMARY OF THE THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN FOR THE UNIFORMED SERVICES." IF NOT, GO TO THE TSP WEB SITE OR YOUR SERVICING PERSONNEL OFFICE FOR A COPY. THE WEB SITE, WWW.TSP.GOV, ALSO HAS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, FORMS, SAVINGS CALCULATORS AND RECORDS OF FUND EARNINGS. 4. TSP WORKS LIKE THIS: YOU CONTRIBUTE FROM 1 PERCENT TO 7 PERCENT OF BASIC PAY AND FROM 1 PERCENT TO 100 PERCENT OF ANY SPECIAL, INCENTIVE OR BONUS PAYS. TSP HAS FIVE FUNDS WITH DIFFERENT INVESTMENT GOALS AND VARYING RATES OF RETURN. YOU CAN PLACE YOUR MONEY IN ANY OR ALL THE FUNDS YOU WISH. THERE IS AN $11,000 LIMIT FOR CONTRIBUTIONS THIS YEAR. 5. TSP IS A WAY TO SAVE AND INVEST MONEY ON A TAX-DEFERRED BASIS. CONTRIBUTIONS AND EARNINGS ARE NOT REPORTED AS INCOME UNTIL THEY'RE WITHDRAWN FROM THE PLAN. TSP IS A GOVERNMENT-RUN PLAN THAT HAS HISTORICALLY HAD GOOD RATES OF RETURN AT A VERY LOW ADMINISTRATIVE COST. 6. THE TSP FUNDS ARE GOVERNMENT SECURITIES G FUND; STANDARD AND POOR'S 500 COMMON STOCK INDEX C FUND; GOVERNMENT AND CORPORATE BOND INDEX F FUND; INTERNATIONAL STOCK INDEX I FUND; AND WILSHIRE 4500 "SMALL BUSINESS" STOCK INDEX S FUND. ONLY G FUND ACCOUNTS ARE GUARANTEED BY THE GOVERNMENT; ALL OTHERS ARE SUBJECT TO MARKET FORCES. 7. THOSE WHO HAD TRADITIONAL INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS (WHICH IS ANY IRA THAT IS NOT A ROTH IRA, A SIMPLE IRA, OR AN EDUCATION IRA), OR EMPLOYERS' 401-K ACCOUNTS BEFORE THEY JOINED FEDERAL SERVICE MAY MAINTAIN THEM IF THEY CHOOSE. HOWEVER, YOU CAN TRANSFER THE ACCOUNTS INTO THE THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN AND THEN HAVE JUST ONE ACCOUNT TO MANAGE. TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THESE OPTIONS (INCLUDING ANY POTENTIAL TAX IMPLICATIONS), REFER TO INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE (IRS) PUBLICATION 590, OR VISIT THE TSP WEB SITE. 8. TSP IS A "PORTABLE" SAVINGS PROGRAM. EVEN IF YOU DON'T STAY IN THE MILITARY FOR A CAREER, YOUR TSP ACCOUNT BELONGS TO YOU. IF YOU DO STAY IN THE MILITARY FOR A CAREER, YOU'LL HAVE EVEN MORE SAVINGS AVAILABLE FOR YOUR RETIREMENT. 9. THE SUCCESS OF YOUR ENROLLMENT IN TSP DEPENDS ON YOUR VERIFICATION THAT THE INFORMATION ON YOUR FORM IS CORRECT AND THAT YOU KNOW WHETHER THE PAY YOU WANT TO CONTRIBUTE IS BASIC PAY, A BONUS, SPECIAL, OR INCENTIVE PAY. IF YOU ARE NOT SURE, REFER TO THE DOD FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS AT WWW.DTIC.MIL/COMPTROLLER/FMR/07A/INDEX.HTML FOR DETAILS CONCERNING THE PAY OR BONUS YOU RECEIVE. IF YOU SUBMIT YOUR FORM BEFORE JULY 02, IT WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE IN JULY 02. IF YOU SUBMIT YOUR FORM DURING JULY 02, IT WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE NO LATER THAN THE FIRST PAY PERIOD AFTER YOUR FORM IS ACCEPTED. PAY OR BONUSES DISBURSED BEFORE YOUR TSP ACCOUNT BECOMES EFFECTIVE ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR CONTRIBUTION TO THE THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN. 10. DFAS MILITARY PAY ADVISORY (MPA) 133/01 AND MPA 134/01 OUTLINE VERIFICATION OF TSP ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES FOR ALL PAY/PERSONNEL OFFICES. SECTION V OF THE TSP-U-1 ENROLLMENT FORM MUST BE FILLED OUT BY YOUR SERVICING PAY/PERSONNEL OFFICE AND A COPY OF THE FORM FURNISHED TO YOU. THIS COPY WITH SECTION V COMPLETED IS YOUR OFFICIAL RECEIPT OF TSP ENROLLMENT. 11. IF YOU CHOOSE TO SIGN UP VIA DFAS' EMPLOYEE/MEMBER SELF SERVICE (EMSS), YOU WILL RECEIVE THE FOLLOWING ON-SCREEN NOTIFICATION: "E/MSS HAS SAVED YOUR ACTION, AND YOUR TSP ELECTION WILL TAKE EFFECT ON XX/XX/XX. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO VIEW YOUR TSP ELECTION UNTIL AFTER THAT EFFECTIVE DATE." DURING THE NEXT OPEN SEASON, EMSS WILL PROVIDE THE CAPABILITY TO PRINT OUT A VERIFICATION LETTER. UNTIL THAT TIME, YOUR PAY AND PERSONNEL OFFICE CAN REQUEST DFAS VERIFY YOUR TSP ENROLLMENT ON EMSS. 12. IF YOU ANTICIPATE THAT DUE TO DEPLOYMENT OR OTHER DUTY DURING AN OPEN SEASON YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO ENROLL IN TSP, YOU MAY EXECUTE A SPECIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY TO DESIGNATE SOMEONE WHO HAS THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE A TSP ELECTION ON YOUR BEHALF. 13. CONTACT YOUR PAY/PERSONNEL OFFICE CONCERNING ENROLLMENT IN TSP OR CALL THE FOLLOWING DFAS NUMBERS FOR QUESTIONS CONCERNING TSP ENROLLMENTS ON E/MSS OR THE NATIONAL FINANCE CENTER (NFC) THRIFTLINE FOR QUESTIONS CONCERNING YOUR PIN NUMBER, AND FUND INFORMATION: A. NAVY FIELD/SYSTEM PROCESSING/DATA MANAGEMENT/PERS-333: (901) 874-4734/DSN 822. B. NAVY TSP POLICY/DCNO/N130G2: (703) 614-5636/DSN 224. C. DFAS - ACTIVE DUTY PAY QUESTIONS: (800) 346-3374. D. DFAS - RESERVE PAY QUESTIONS: (800) 255-0974. E. NFC-THRIFTLINE: (504) 255-8777. 14. RELEASED BY VADM NORB RYAN, JR., N1.// BT