135 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Note 21. Fiduciary Activities 

Fiduciary activities are the collection or receipt, and the management, protection, accounting, investment and 

disposition by the government of cash or other assets in which non-federal individuals or entities have an ownership interest 

that the government must uphold. Fiduciary cash and other assets are not assets of the government and are not recognized on 

the consolidated Balance Sheet. Examples of the government’s fiduciary activities include the TSP, which is administered by 

the FRTIB, and the Indian Tribal and individual Indian Trust Funds, which are administered by the DOI. 

 

Schedule of Fiduciary Net Assets as of September 30, 2019, and 2018 

(In billions of dollars) 2019 2018

Thrift Savings Plan ..................................................................................... 611.5 589.0

Department of the Interior ........................................................................... 5.7 5.4

All other ..................................................................................................... 6.5 5.2

Total fiduciary net assets .......................................................................... 623.7 599.6

In accordance with the requirements of SFFAS No. 31, Accounting for Fiduciary Activities, fiduciary investments in 

Treasury securities and fund balance with Treasury held by fiduciary funds are to be recognized on the Balance Sheet as debt 

held by the public and a liability for fiduciary fund balance with Treasury, respectively. 

As of September 30, 2019, total fiduciary investments in Treasury securities and in non-Treasury securities are $249.6 

billion and $362.7 billion, respectively. As of September 30, 2018, total fiduciary investments in Treasury securities and in 

non-Treasury securities were $250.3 billion and $363.0 billion, respectively. Refer to Note 11—Federal Debt Securities Held 

by the Public and Accrued Interest for more information on the Treasury securities. 

As of September 30, 2019, and 2018, the total fiduciary fund balance with Treasury is $1.5 billion and $1.8 billion, 

respectively. A liability for this fiduciary fund balance with Treasury is reflected as other miscellaneous liabilities in Note

16—Other Liabilities. 

As of September 30, 2019, and 2018, collectively, the fiduciary investments in Treasury securities and fiduciary fund 

balance with Treasury held by all government entities represent $7.8 billion and $6.6 billion, respectively, of unrestricted 

cash included within cash held by Treasury for governmentwide operations shown in Note 2—Cash and Other Monetary 

Assets. 

Thrift Savings Plan 

The TSF maintains and holds in trust the assets of the TSP. The TSP is administered by an independent government 

entity, the FRTIB, which is charged with operating the TSP prudently and solely in the interest of the participants and their 

beneficiaries. 

The TSP is a retirement savings and investment plan for federal employees and members of the uniformed services. It 

was authorized by the U.S. Congress in the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Act of 1986. The Plan provides federal 

employees and members of the uniformed services with a savings and tax benefit similar to what many private sector 

employers offer their employees under 401(k) plans. The Plan was primarily designed to be a key part of the retirement 

package (along with a basic annuity benefit and Social Security) for employees who are covered by FERS. 

As of September 30, 2019, and 2018, the TSP held $611.5 billion and $589.0 billion, respectively, in net assets, which 

included $243.4 billion and $245.5 billion, respectively, of Treasury securities. The TSF combines the net assets of the TSP 

and the FRTIB in its financial statements. Only the TSP net assets of the TSF financial statements are disclosed in this note. 

The most recent audited financial statements for the TSF are as of December 31, 2018, and 2017. For further information 

about FRTIB and the TSP, please refer to the FRTIB website at https://www.frtib.gov. 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 136

Department of Interior–Indian Trust Funds 

As stated above, DOI has responsibility for the assets held in trust on behalf of American Indian Tribes and individuals. 

DOI maintains accounts for Tribal and Other Trust Funds (including the Alaska Native Escrow Fund) and IIM Trust Funds in 

accordance with the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994. The fiduciary balances that have 

accumulated in these funds have resulted from land use agreements, royalties on natural resource depletion, other proceeds 

derived directly from trust resources, judgment awards, settlements of claims, and investment income. These funds are 

maintained by the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians and ONRR, both components of Departmental Offices 

and Indian Affairs for the benefit of individual Native Americans as well as for designated Indian tribes. DOI maintains 

separate financial statements for these trust funds, which are prepared using a cash or modified cash basis of accounting, a 

comprehensive basis of accounting other than GAAP. The independent auditors’ reports on the Tribal and Other Trust Funds 

were qualified as it was not practical to extend audit procedures sufficiently to satisfy themselves as to the fairness of the 

trust fund balances. The IIM Trust Funds received an unmodified opinion from the auditors. As of September 30, 2019, and 

2018, the DOI held $5.7 billion and $5.4 billion, respectively, in net assets. For further information related to these assets,

please refer to the DOI website at https://www.doi.gov. 

All Other Entities with Fiduciary Activities 

The government is responsible for the management of other fiduciary net assets on behalf of various non-federal 

entities. The component entities presented individually in the table on the previous page represent the vast majority of the 

government’s fiduciary net assets. All other component entities with fiduciary net assets are aggregated in accordance with 

SFFAS No. 31. As of September 30, 2019, and 2018, including TSP and DOI, there are a total of 20 and 19 federal entities, 

respectively, with fiduciary activities at a grand total of 66 and 65 fiduciary funds, respectively. SBA and LOC are the 

significant entities relating to the fiduciary activities of the remaining component entities within the “all other” aggregate 

balance. As of September 30, 2019, “all other” fiduciary net assets were $6.5 billion, compared to $5.2 billion as of 

September 30, 2018.