Does the G fund beat inflation?
Nope. The G won't beat inflation. So if your investment goal is to have a return the outpaces inflation, it's not the fund you want to be all-in on. You might want to consider allocating some to other ones.
The G Fund, which is made up of government securities, grew at its statutorily mandated rate of 0.33%. The G Fund has increased 0.67% in the first two months of 2024. Get the latest pay and benefits news delivered to your inbox.
Payment of principal and interest is guaranteed by the U.S. government. Thus, there is no “credit risk.” Although the securities in the G Fund earn a long-term interest rate, the Board's investment in the G Fund is redeemable on any business day with no risk to principal.
While you are working, down markets are an incredibly powerful time to buy low so you can sell high later. If you go all in to the G Fund right now, that is doing the exact opposite: buying high and selling low. Over time, this strategy could be detrimental to how much money you'll have by retirement.
The S&P 500, through index funds from the likes of Vanguard and SPDR, provides long-term returns that have historically outpaced inflation.
TSP Investment Funds 8/31/1990 - 3/19/2024 | TSP G Fund | TSP F Fund |
---|---|---|
Change (1-Day) | 0.01% | 0.25% |
YTD Return | 0.91% | -1.46% |
1-Year Return | 4.32% | 0.93% |
3-Year Return | 3.09% | -2.49% |
- C Fund: 26.25%
- S Fund: 25.30%
- I Fund: 18.38%
A protected account is an investment account that can grow but cannot lose money. The G Fund (the G stands for Government Securities) is the only account in the TSP that is a protected account. It's a popular choice since your money is safe from market downturns.
Your investment in the G Fund is safe – at least as safe as any investment you'll find. Whether, or not, the debt ceiling is raised, your investment in the G Fund, and the interest that is due, is guaranteed by the federal government as a matter of law.
This means that while the G Fund itself is invested in short-term securities, TSP investors get a higher interest rate. The interest paid by the G Fund interest is computed monthly. When inflation goes up, you will earn a higher interest rate when the interest rate paid on longer-term Treasury securities goes higher.
What is the average return on G fund?
Last Value | 0.33% |
---|---|
Last Updated | Mar 11 2024, 10:01 EDT |
Next Release | Apr 10 2024, 10:00 EDT (E) |
Long Term Average | 0.37% |
Average Growth Rate | 6.94% |
As of year-end 2023 just under 117,000 TSP investors had $1 million or more in their accounts, an increase of some 40,000 during the year, another impact of the rebound in stock-based investment funds during the year making up for their losses of 2022.
![Does the G fund beat inflation? (2024)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Nim-ro1XFsk/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEcCNAFEJQDSFXyq4qpAw4IARUAAIhCGAFwAcABBg==&rs=AOn4CLBETVv_3qmLISsm2koh15-osY90aQ)
You might consider investing more in our stock funds (C, S, and I) than in the more conservative G and F Funds at this stage of your career. Stocks present more risk but offer the opportunity for potentially higher returns over time.
- Stocks. Stocks have historically outpaced inflation—annualized returns have averaged about 10% historically. ...
- Inflation-protected bonds. ...
- Real estate. ...
- Diversify your investments. ...
- Explore bond laddering or CD laddering.
Even the top investors put their money in index funds.
In fact, a number of billionaire investors count S&P 500 index funds among their top holdings. Among those are Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Dalio's Bridgewater, and Griffin's Citadel.
Common anti-inflation assets include gold, commodities, various real estate investments, and TIPS. Many people have looked to gold as an "alternative currency," particularly in countries where the native currency is losing value.
G Fund | 0.34% | C Fund |
---|---|---|
S Fund | -2.41% | L Income |
L 2025 | 0.37% | L 2035 |
L 2040 | 0.41% | L 2050 |
L 2055 | 0.45% | L 2065 |
The conservative funds are the G and F funds and the aggressive funds are the C, S, and I funds.
If you want your TSP balance to be able to generate an inflation-indexed annual income of $10,000, most financial planners will suggest that you have a $250,000 balance at the time you retire. If you extrapolate this number, you can see that if you want to get $40,00 a year, you're shooting for a $1,000,000 balance.
- Invest 5% in your TSP. Most federal employees will get a dollar-for-dollar match on 3% of their take-home pay, then $0.50 for every $1 on the next 2%. ...
- Max out a Roth IRA. Once you invest 5% in a TSP, Ramsey advises you to switch to a Roth IRA. ...
- Invest the rest in your TSP.
What is the difference between the TSP L Income Fund and the G fund?
The G Fund is intended for very conservative investors. A Lifecycle (L) Fund serves as the default fund for new plan participants who don't specify a contribution allocation when they make their contribution.
By starting early, contributing regularly, investing in a diversified portfolio, taking advantage of catch-up contributions, and considering the impact of taxes, you can maximize your retirement savings and enjoy a comfortable retirement.
By age 50, you would be considered on track if you have three-and-a-half to six times your preretirement gross income saved. And by age 60, you should have six to 11 times your salary saved in order to be considered on track for retirement.
Gains and losses in your TSP are tax-deferred, and there's no provision of law that allows you to claim gains or losses in the value of your TSP on your current year tax return.
It is important to remember that one of the only ways to lose money while investing is to sell when the market is down. If the market drops and we don't sell (or move to the G fund) then we haven't lost anything yet. We only lock in our gains or losses when we sell.
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