F e d e r a l R e t i r e m e n t T h r i f t I n v e s t m e n t B o a r d

2020 Financial

Wellness 

Survey 

April 2021
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 2

CONTENTS

Introduction........................................................................................................................................................ 3

Perceptions of Financial Wellbeing.................................................................................................................... 4

Emergency Savings........................................................................................................................................... 7

Retirement Planning .......................................................................................................................................... 7

Effects of Money Management Practices and Financial Advice ....................................................................... 12

TSP Offerings.................................................................................................................................................. 14

Key Findings and Recommendations .............................................................................................................. 19

APPENDIX A: Methodology............................................................................................................................. 22

APPENDIX B: 2020 Active Participant Survey................................................................................................. 27

APPENDIX C: 2020 Separated Participant Survey .......................................................................................... 31
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 3

Introduction 

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), created by the Federal Employees' 

Retirement System Act of 1986 (FERSA), administers the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), a defined 

contribution plan similar to private sector 401(k) plans. The TSP provides Federal civilian employees 

and members of the Uniformed Services the opportunity to save for their retirement. As of December 

2020, the TSP had over 6 million participants with approximately $634 billion in assets; the TSP is the

largest defined contribution plan in the world. 

The FRTIB's mission is to administer the TSP in the best interest of participants and beneficiaries. To 

meet its mission, the FRTIB conducts periodic surveys in order to better understand participant

satisfaction, expectations, perceptions of service, behaviors and preferences. In 2020, the FRTIB 

wanted to better understand how participants view their financial wellness and preparation for 

retirement. In particular, they wanted to understand any gaps and/or disconnects in participant 

retirement confidence, needs, behaviors, and money management practices relative to achieving 

their retirement goals. This understanding will inform FRTIB strategies to reduce identified gaps or

disconnects in participant retirement readiness. A key study goal was to understand differences as 

participants move through the early, middle and later part of their careers. 

Participants within the TSP fall under one of the four distinct federal retirement systems. The TSP has

approximately 4.3 million active participants. Of those, approximately 3.6 million are covered under

the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). This study focused on the FERS participants as 

it covers the majority of participants who rely on the TSP as a primary component of their retirement

savings. This is in contrast to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and original Uniformed 

Services participants who were excluded since they use TSP voluntarily and as a supplement to 

other retirement benefits. The study also excluded Blended Retirement System (BRS) participants, 

the newest retirement group demographic who are mostly in the early-career group and likely have

not thought as much about retirement at this point in their careers. 

This was the first survey FRTIB conducted that specifically focused on financial wellness and 

retirement readiness. Prior TSP Satisfaction surveys had included only a few retirement readiness

questions. The survey was initially planned to be fielded in the spring of 2020, but was postponed to

the fall of 2020 due to market turmoil caused by the coronavirus. pandemic. Markets were generally

well on the way to full recovery from March 2020 lows during the time in which the survey was fielded. 

Methodology summary 

Gallup attempted to reach FERS participants by both mail and email to invite them to participate in 

this study. On September 21, 2020 Gallup mailed a pre-notification postcard to a sample of 10,000 

FERS participants alerting them that a survey would be coming soon and inviting them to take the 

survey by web. On September 29, Gallup emailed the 34% of members with email addresses an 

email invitation with a link to complete the survey. On October 1, 2020, Gallup mailed a survey 

packet in a flat envelope that contained a cover letter and a four-page color survey booklet asking 

participants to complete and return the survey back to Gallup. A total of two mail and four web 

reminders were sent to all following the initial mailing, and all mail communications included the URL 

and access code for completing the survey online if desired. 
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 4

The total of 2,235 returned surveys (paper and online) received before the survey closed on 

November 15, 2020, resulted in a raw response rate of 22.4%. When responses with unusable results 

were excluded (e.g., blank, partial completes, duplicates, etc.), the final sample size was 2,093, for a 

response rate of 20.9%. The total sample was allocated optimally across different strata to ensure an 

adequate sample size for different groups and subgroups of interest to FRTIB. 

Career Stage Total Population 

Size Total Sample Size

Number of 

Completed 

Surveys

Response Rate (%)

Total 3,251,805 10,000 2,107 21.1%

Early-Career 

(Under age 35) 484,772 1,900 203 10.7%

Mid-Career 

(Age 35-49) 1,112,839 2,950 385 13.1%

Late-Career 

(Age 50+) 1,654,194 5,150 1,519 29.5%

Data were weighted to correct for bias in the estimates caused by both intentional disproportionate 

sample and unintentional disproportional response rates. Data were weighted to reflect the known 

population of TSP FERS participants by employment status, career stage and email availability. 

Throughout the report, results are shown by career stage and by Separated and Active participants. 

Additionally, references of a subgroup (e.g., career stage) being higher or lower than another group 

are noted only if the difference is statistically significant. See the full methodology report included in 

Appendix A for more detail.

Perceptions of Financial Wellbeing 

Just over half of participants are satisfied with their current financial condition. 

When asked to think about their household’s assets, debts and savings, just over half of all FERS 

participants are satisfied with their current financial condition (55%). This is higher than the findings 

from the Global Benefits Attitudes Survey1, which found 43% of all US workers are satisfied with their 

current financial condition. Separated and retired/not working participants are the most satisfied with 

their current financial condition (72%), compared with just 65% of those separated and employed and 

52% of active participants satisfied. Career stage impacts satisfaction as late-career participants 

(63%) are more satisfied with their financial condition when compared with mid-career (50%) and 

early-career participants (38%). 

1 https://www.willistowerswatson.com/en-US/Insights/2020/02/global-benefits-attitudes-survey-report
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 5

FIGURE 1.

Household income also appears to impact one’s satisfaction with their current financial condition.

Specifically, participants with a household income of more than $100,000 (62%) are more satisfied 

than both those with a household income of $40,000 to $100,000 (47%) and those who have a 

household income under $40,000 (47%).

FIGURE 2.

62%

47%

47%

19%

23%

21%

19%

28%

29%

HH Inc $100K+ (n=1,109)

HH Inc $40K-$100K (n=742)

HH Inc <$40K (n=140)

Satisfied (4/5 ratings) Neither Satisfied/Dissatisfied (3) Dissatisfied (1/2 ratings)

43% of all US 

workers 

satisfied

(Global Benefits 

Attitudes Survey)

Overall, thinking of your household’s assets, debts, and savings, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with 

your current financial condition?

55% 52%

65% 72% 63%

50% 38%

21% 22%

18%

19%

19%

23%

23%

23% 25% 16% 8% 17% 26%

35%

Overall Active

(n=1,310)

Separated

and

Employed

(n=158)

Separated

and

Retired/

Not

Working

(n=599)

Late

Career

(n=1,509)

Mid

Career

(n=381)

Early

Career

(n=203)

Satisfied (4/5 ratings) Neither Satisfied/Dissatisfied (3) Dissatisfied (1/2 ratings)
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 6

Two-thirds of participants are satisfied with their relative standard of living – similar to 

national figures. 

When comparing themselves to other people that they spend time with, two-thirds (66%) of TSP 

participants are satisfied with their standard of living. This compares favorably to the findings of the 

2020 Gallup National Adult Study2 which reported 61% of adults found their standard of living 

satisfactory. Specifically, separated participants, whether still working (75%) or retired (74%), are 

more likely to be satisfied with their standard of living when compared to active participants (64%). 

Late-career participants (70%) are more satisfied with their perceived standard of living than both 

mid- (64%) and early- career (54%) participants. Satisfaction with standard of living also increases 

with household income. Specifically, those with a household income of over $100,000 are most likely 

to be satisfied (75%). 

FIGURE 3. 

2 Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index 2020. https://news.gallup.com/poll/246200/gallup-national-healthindex-work.aspx

Compared to the people I spend time with, I am satisfied with my standard of living.

61% of US adults satisfied

(Gallup National Health and Wellbeing Index 7/30-8/3 2020 )

66% 64% 75% 74%

39%

57%

75%

54% 64% 70%

24% 25%

18% 21%

27%

30%

19%

27%

28% 20%

10% 10% 7%

32%

12% 5%

18% 8% 9%

Overall

(n=2,093)

Active

(n=1,312)

Separated

and

Employed

(n=158)

Separated

and

Retired/

Not

Working

(n=598)

HH Inc

<$40K

(n=140)

HH Inc

$40K-

$100K

(n=742)

HH Inc

$100K+

(n=1,109)

Early

Career

(n=203)

Mid

Career

(n=381)

Late

Career

(n=1,509)

Satisfied (4/5 ratings) Neither Satisfied/Dissatisfied (3) Dissatisfied (1/2 ratings)

61% of US 

adults satisfied

(Gallup National 

Health and Wellbeing Index 7/30-

8/3 2020 )
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 7

Emergency Savings 

Large majority of participants have an emergency fund. 

Eight in ten (81%) of all TSP participants have a special fund or savings set aside for emergencies, 

while only 19% do not. Those who reported having this emergency fund are twice as likely to be at 

least somewhat confident in their retirement savings (67%) as those who did not report having an 

emergency fund (32%). When asked how much of an unexpected one-time expense a participant 

could handle without using a form of lending (e.g., loan, credit card, borrowing), half of TSP 

participants reported being able to accommodate a $5,000 expense. This compares quite favorably to 

a similar benchmark from the 2020 Bankrate.com survey, which found that 41% of Americans could 

handle a lesser $1,000 expense.

3

 

FIGURE 4. 

Retirement Planning 

Just over two-fifths of participants plan to retire between age 60-65 – similar to the ages that 

separated participants retired.

The bulk of TSP participants plan to retire between the ages of 60-65, with active participants

planning to retire at similar ages as current retirees. However, more early-career participants

currently plan to retire earlier (only 17% plan to retire after 65) than their late-career counterparts

(32% plan to retire after 65).

When asked how many years these participants think they will need their TSP funds to last in 

retirement, the majority (61%) reported needing it to last for 20 years or more. In alignment with their 

retirement age goals, 33% of early-career participants reported the need for their funds to last 30+ 

years into their retirement. Furthermore, 14% of participants are uncertain of how long they expect to 

need their TSP to last in retirement. 

3 https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/financial-security-january-2020/

Yes

81%

No

19%

Do you have savings or a fund set 

aside for emergencies?

About how much of an unexpected one-time expense could you 

handle without taking out a loan, using a credit card, or otherwise 

borrowing money to pay for it?

4%

5%

8%

14%

16%

50%

4%

$0

$1 - $499

$500 - $999

$1,000 - $2,499

$2,500 - $4,999

Greater than $5000

Don’t know

Total (n=2,093)
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 8

FIGURE 5

About half of participants (48%) know how much they need for a comfortable retirement –

most base estimate on monthly/annual income needs. 

Overall, 48% of TSP participants reported having an idea of how much money they would need to 

retire comfortably. This compares favorably to the 44% of Americans who said they did not know how 

much they will need in retirement, as reported in the Northwestern Mutual 2019 Planning and 

Progress study.4 Separated participants, both those who are not working/retired (67%) and who are

still employed (61%), are more likely to have an idea of how much money is needed than active

participants (44%). However, 33% of those who are retired and 40% of those who are in the late 

stages of their career report that they don’t have an idea of how much they need for a comfortable 

retirement. 

For those who have an idea of a needed amount, the majority (66%) of participants estimate based 

on the amount of monthly or annual income needed in retirement, whereas only 44% estimate based 

on a total figure (e.g., $5,000 or $1 million). 

4 www.news.northweternmutual.complanning-and-progress-2019

2%

23%

41%

21%

6%

8%

2%

23%

40%

21%

6%

9%

3%

19%

42%

21%

9%

5%

3%

24%

45%

21%

7%

1%

Before age 50

50-59

60-65

66-70

After age 70

Don’t know

Total

(n=2,104)

Active

(n=1,316)

Separated and

 Employed

 (n=159)

Separated and Retired/

Not Working

(n=606)

At what age do you plan to, or did you, retire from 

full-time employment?

How many years do you think you will need your TSP 

to last in retirement?

5%

20%

38%

23%

14%

5%

11%

42%

33%

10%

2%

17%

36%

25%

19%

7%

24%

39%

18%

12%

0-9 years

10-19 years

20-29 years

30 years or more

Don’t know

Total

(n=2,101)

Early Career

(n=203)

Mid Career

(n=382)

Late Career

(n=1,516)
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 9

FIGURE 6

FERS annuity is the primary additional source of retirement income besides TSP and Social 

Security. 

Nearly three quarters (72%) of participants report the FERS annuity/pension as the top source of 

additional retirement income outside of the TSP and Social Security. Nearly half of TPS participants 

also report having private savings/investments as a supplemental retirement income. Separated but 

not retired participants are twice as likely to rely on a retirement plan from an outside employer (65%) 

and part-time work (33%) compared to separated participants who are retired and active participants. 

Overall, only 10% of FERS participants haven’t thought about retirement, with early-career 

participants twice as likely to have not thought about retirement (22%). 

FIGURE 7.

48%

44%

61%

67%

29%

39%

60%

Overall (n=2,078)

Active (n=1,306)

Separated and Employed (n=159)

Separated and Retired/Not

Working (n=590)

Early Career (n=203)

Mid Career (n=383)

Late Career (n=1,492)

%Yes

FERS annuity/pension

Private savings and investments

Retirement plans/stock ownership from previous employer

Income from a spouse/other family members

Part-time work

Home equity (e.g., reverse mortgage or downsizing)

Uniformed Services annuity/pension

Rental income and royalties

Have not really thought about it/Not sure

Do you have an idea of how much money you need in 

retirement to retire comfortably?

How do you think about the amount of money you 

will need to retire comfortably?

66%

44%

6%

20%

Estimate of amount of

monthly or annual income

needed

Estimate of total amount of

money need to have saved

(e.g. $500,000 or $1 million)

Estimate of multiple of pay

needed (e.g. 10 times pay)

Estimate of percentage of final

salary needed (e.g. 80% of

final salary)

Total (n=2,101)

In addition to your TSP and Social Security, select the sources of income that you currently have or 

plan to have, during retirement (select all that apply):

10%

12%

14%

17%

19%

27%

35%

48%

72%

Overall

(n=2,101)
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 10

A ajority of participants are confident they are on track to a comfortable retirement lifestyle –

those closest to/in retirement are most confident. 

Overall, 61% of TSP participants are confident that they have saved or are on track to save enough 

income to support a comfortable lifestyle throughout their retirement. Separated participants who are 

retired are the most confident they are on track to have saved enough for retirement (76%)

compared with both those separated but still employed (60%) and active participants (59%). Latecareer participants (67%) are more likely to feel confident they are on track than both mid-career 

(56%) and early-career (50%) participants. Of the 19% of participants who are not confident, the top 

reasons are not saving enough (71%), too much debt (37%) and outliving savings (33%). 

FIGURE 8. 

Those participants who are not confident that they are on track for retirement reported which debt 

categories specifically affected their ability to save. The top three categories that prevented 

participants from saving were mortgage/rent (62%), personal debt (50%) and student loans (29%). 

Specifically, late-career participants are more encumbered by housing costs, while early-career 

participants are more encumbered by student loans that impede savings.

76%

60%

59%

61%

14%

22%

20%

20%

10%

18%

21%

19%

Separated and Retired/Not Working (n=601)

Separated and Employed (n=159)

Active (n=1,311)

Overall (n=2,093)

Confident (4/5) Neither Confident/Unconfident (3) Not confident (1/2)

How confident are you that you are on track to/have saved enough income to support a comfortable 

lifestyle throughout your retirement?
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 11

FIGURE 9.

Career Stage

Early

(n=35*)

Mid

(n=76)

Late 

(n=182)

50% 62% 67%

54% 51% 46%

53% 28% 18%

21% 28% 13%

5% 17% 20%

3% 9% 13%

17% 2% 8%

One-third rely on themselves for retirement planning guidance – but those using financial 

planners are 1.25 times more likely to be confident than non-financial-planner users. 

When receiving retirement planning guidance, TSP participants are most likely to rely on themselves 

with little or no assistance (35%). This is closely followed by the TSP website or information from TSP 

(33%), retirement planning seminars/information from their agency (33%) and financial investment 

publications or websites/tools not provided by the TSP (33%). Nearly half of both retired (46%) and 

employed (49%) who are separated participants say they rely on themselves with little assistance

compared with only 33% of active participants. Furthermore, participants late in their careers are

more reliant on retirement information from their agency/service, whereas early-career participants

are more likely to rely on friends/relatives. Early-career participants are also the most likely to not 

have planned for their retirement. The use of financial advisers slightly increases with career tenure 

rising from 19% for early careerists to 30% for those late in their career. 

What kind of debts or living expenses affect(ed) your ability to save as much as you would like for 

retirement?

7%

9%

16%

21%

29%

50%

62%

Not applicable

Medical debt

Other

Child/Elder care

Student loans

Personal debt

Mortgage/Rent

Overall Not Confident on Track (n=293)
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 12

FIGURE 10.

Career Stage Retirement Status

Early

(n=203)

Mid

(n=383)

Late

(n=1,508)

Separated 

and 

Retired/Not 

Working 

(n=601)

Separated 

and 

Employed 

(n=158)

Active

(n=1,312)

Rely on yourself with little or no 

assistance 34% 33% 37% 46% 49% 33%

TSP website/information from 

TSP 32% 32% 35% 39% 27% 33%

Retirement planning seminar/

information provided by your 

agency/service

20% 31% 39% 37% 26% 33%

Financial investment publications 

or websites/online tools not 

provided by the TSP

33% 29% 35% 32% 38% 32%

Friends/Work colleagues 49% 32% 26% 19% 22% 34%

Professional financial adviser 19% 27% 30% 31% 33% 26%

Relatives 35% 26% 15% 16% 20% 22%

None/Haven’t really planned for 

retirement yet 31% 15% 9% 2% 5% 17%

Effects of Money Management Practices and Financial Advice 

Nearly all TSP participants follow at least one money management practice. 

Overall, 99% of TSP participants use at least one money management practice, with tracking of 

spending/knowing their expenses (79%) and paying down debt the most used (70%). But half or more 

also track savings and investment totals (54%) or have a budget (48%). Specifically, active 

participants are more likely to control or pay down debt (72%), while both working and retired 

participants who are separated tend to manage investments and make allocations (36% and 51%, 

respectively). 

What are your top three sources of information for retirement planning guidance?

35%

33%

33%

33%

32%

27%

22%

14%

(n=2,094)
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 13

FIGURE 11.

Retirement Status

Separated and 

Retired/Not 

Working 

(n=601)

Separated and 

Employed 

(n=158)

Active 

(n=1,299)

Track spending/

Knowing your expenses 83% 78% 78%

Control/Pay down debt 59% 69% 72%

Track savings and investment totals 61% 65% 52%

Have a budget 50% 45% 48%

Pay yourself first (put money into 

savings before discretionary spending) 30% 48% 47%

Review/Understand/

Manage credit report 27% 38% 39%

Manage investments/Make allocations 36% 51% 32%

Regularly meet with a financial adviser 15% 14% 12%

Only 12% of TSP participants regularly (at least a few times a year) meet with a financial adviser. 

However, half of TSP participants have met at least once with a professional financial adviser or 

retirement planning adviser to receive retirement planning advice. Specifically, late-career participants

(58%) are most likely to have done this compared to both mid-career (47%) and early-career 

participants (34%).

FIGURE 12.

Overall, 28% of TSP participants practice 0-2 money management techniques, while roughly 33% 

use five or more. Those who use multiple money management practices are more likely to be 

confident in their financial future (76% vs. 44% of those with 0-2 practices). Early-career participants 

are just about as likely to use multiple money management practices as are late-career participants 

(36% using 5 or more money management practices vs. 35%). 

9%

6%

12%

13%

14%

11%

15%

12%

15%

13%

17%

15%

15%

18%

49%

66%

53%

42%

Overall (n=2,078)

Early Career (n=201)

Mid Career (n=383)

Late Career (n=1,512)

Regularly, at least a few times a year About once a year Once every few years Met with one once Have never met with a professional financial adviser

Which, if any, of the following money management practices do you use?

79%

70%

54%

48%

45%

37%

34%

12%

Overall (n=2,094)

How often, if ever, do you receive retirement planning advice from a professional financial and/or 

retirement planning adviser?
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 14

Specifically, those who track savings/investments (74% vs. 46%), manage investments (79% vs. 

52%) and meet with financial advisers (83% vs. 58%) are nearly one and a half times as likely to be 

confident that they are on track for retirement as those who don’t practice these.

FIGURE 13.

TSP Offerings 

Multiple tools are reported as useful to assist in retirement planning.

Overall, 80% or more of TSP participants think that enhanced retirement savings and withdrawal

calculators will be the most useful for them when making retirement decisions. Conversely, relatively 

fewer participants think that webinars (71%), balance comparisons (67%) or that paid online financial 

advice would be useful (48%). 

FIGURE 14. 

Overall

 (n=2,073)

44%

61%

76%

31%

18%

13% 26% 22% 12%

0-2 (n=550) 3-4 (n=773) 5+ (n=770)

Number of Money Mgt Practices

Not confident (1/2)

Neither

Confident/Unconfident (3)

Confident (4/5)

Total Useful

88%

87%

87%

85%

71%

67%

48%

How confident are you that you are on track to/have saved enough income to support a comfortable 

lifestyle throughout your retirement?

How useful would each of the following be in helping you make retirement-related decisions?

(n=2,073)_

59%

56%

57%

57%

34%

31%

17%

29%

31%

30%

28%

37%

36%

31%

Tool/online calculator to help you determine how to withdraw from

your TSP account to make your funds last through your retirement.

Tool/online calculator to help you determine the amount

you need to save in your TSP for retirement.

Tool/online calculator which tells you if you are on track to save

enough to meet your monthly income needs in retirement.

Tool/online calculator that provides retirement income

estimates by accounting for all your retirement income sources.

Webinars or podcasts related to retirement decisions.

Information on how your TSP balance

compares to a pool of similar participants.

Online financial advice (for an additional fee).

Extremely useful Somewhat useful
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 15

Perceptions about TSP in supporting retirement planning.

Overall, 67% of TSP participants believe that the TSP makes it easy for them to manage their TSP 

retirement savings and is a trusted partner in achieving their retirement outcomes. Conversely, 

providing personalized service is the lowest-rated aspect in participant’s perception that TSP supports 

financial wellbeing, with only 26% agreeing. 

Participants who believe TSP helps them make better retirement planning decisions (44%) and 

makes it easy to manage retirement savings (67%) are more likely to have retirement confidence. 

Specifically, those who strongly agree the TSP makes it easy for them to manage their retirement 

savings are 1.44 times more likely to be confident in their retirement. Likewise, those who strongly 

agree the TSP helps them make better retirement planning decisions are 1.53 times more likely to be 

confident in their retirement.

FIGURE 15.

Overall

 (n=2,073)

A majority of participants think automatic savings features would be useful. 

Overall, most TSP participants indicate that they would find automatic features useful in achieving 

their TSP savings goals. Specifically, 66% think that automatic annual increases in their TSP 

contribution until reaching a set percentage would be either somewhat useful or extremely useful. 

Further, 65% of participants think that quarterly automatic reallocation/rebalance features would be 

useful. Finally, 41% of participants also think that auto re-enrollment after one year of not contributing 

would be useful in assisting them to achieve their TSP savings goal. There were few to no differences 

by career stage or retirement status in participant opinion of usefulness of automatic plan features. 

Times More Confident 

in Retirement if 

Strongly Agree

1.44x

0.63x

1.53x

0.73x

0.60x

Thinking about your overall relationship with the TSP, how much do you agree or disagree that the 

TSP:

26%

43%

44%

67%

67%

26%

24%

30%

21%

18%

21%

10%

11%

5%

9%

26%

23%

15%

7%

6%

Provides personalized service

Has right mix of retirement

planning products and services

Helps me make better retirement planning

decisions

Is a trusted partner in achieving

my desired retirement outcomes

Makes it easy for me to manage

my TSP retirement savings

Agree (4/5) Neither Agree/Disagree (3) Disagree (1/2) Don’t know
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 16

FIGURE 16.

Seminars on retirement planning are most requested by participants. 

Overall

(n=2,073)

When asked what the TSP could do or provide to better assist participants in understanding or 

reaching their retirement goals, nearly a quarter of participants indicated their desire for seminars on 

retirement planning or instructional materials/aids such as informational tutorials and videos. 

Additionally, participants also referenced a want of personalized retirement planning advice (18%) 

and more sophisticated planning calculators 16%). Specifically, seminars and planning calculators 

are most useful for the early-career participants (32% and 24% respectively) while being least useful 

to late-career participants. Furthermore, personalized retirement planning is least useful to earlycareer participants (4%) but more useful for both mid- (21%) and late-career (20%) participants. 

% Extremely/

Somewhat useful

66%

65%

41%

How useful would the following additional automatic plan features be in assisting you achieve your 

TSP savings goal?

18%

21%

26%

23%

44%

40%

13%

9%

12%

14%

5%

7%

33%

22%

16%

Auto re-enrollment after one year of not

contributing

Quarterly automatic reallocation/rebalance

Automatic annual increases in your

TSP contribution until you reach a set

percentage

Extremely useful Somewhat useful Not very useful Not at all useful Don't know/Have not thought about
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 17

FIGURE 17.

FIGURE 18.

Career Stage Retirement Status

Early

(n=48)

Mid

(n=401)

Late

(n=89)

Separated 

and Retired/

Not 

Working 

(n=54)

Separated 

and 

Employed 

(n=20*)

Active 

(n=218)

Seminars on retirement 

planning/instructions/

information/tutorials/videos

32% 24% 23% 21% 17% 25%

Personalized retirement planning 

adviser/financial 

advisers/retirement goals

4% 21% 20% 8% 20% 20%

More sophisticated planning 

calculators/estimate 

growth/under different scenarios

24% 19% 13% 4% 10% 19%

More investment 

options/precious metals/

crypto currencies

6% 14% 11% 9% 7% 12%

Allow more transactions/ease of 

moving 

funds/making changes/daily time 

for changes

9% 3% 12% 18% 12% 7%

Better communications/contact/ 

emails/alerts/newsletters/ 

reminders 

6% 12% 8% 7% 2% 10%

Key Confidence Drivers 

Throughout this report numerous aspects have been examined around retirement planning and how 

the TSP can help support participant planning for a comfortable retirement. While functional attributes 

such as personal income and how close one is to retirement play a role in determining how confident 

participants are that they are on track for a comfortable retirement, there are a number of actions 

participants can do (and the TSP can support) to increase retirement planning confidence. 

Overall, 61% of FERS TSP participants are confident they are on track to have a comfortable 

retirement. Gallup examined numerous participant perceptions, actions, and statuses to identify which 

correlate to higher retirement confidence amongst participants. While the list is not exhaustive, 

analysis of the measured actions identified some which had very little positive or even negative 

impact on a participant’s retirement confidence (e.g., not thinking about or having planned for 

retirement) and others which would significantly increase participant confidence compared to those 

who don’t take the action (e.g., having amount in mind needed for retirement or having and 

emergency fund). 

What can the TSP do or provide to assist you in understanding and reaching your retirement goals? 

(among those with an opinion)

24%

18%

16%

11%

9%

9%

Those with opinion (n=538)
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 18

Overall, the survey results show that the best thing for TSP participants to do (and TSP to encourage) 

is to be engaged in their financial practices and retirement planning. This starts with thinking about 

retirement planning needs early and having an idea of how much they will need for a comfortable 

lifestyle throughout retirement. Participants who have an idea of how much they will be need in 

retirement are 2.3 times more confident (85% confident) than those who don’t have an idea (just 

37%). It doesn’t appear to matter how one thinks about the needed retirement amount (e.g., monthly 

or yearly amount, lump sum, percent of salary, etc.), but only that they have some target in mind. 

Aside from just contributing to a retirement savings account, participants need to be actively engaged 

in managing their retirement accounts. Money management practices play an important role in driving 

confidence amongst participants. The more engaged they are and actions they take, the more 

confident participants are. Being engaged means taking actions like tracking savings/investments, 

managing accounts (either alone or with and advisor), making account adjustments when 

appropriate, and meeting regularly with a financial advisor. Specifically, meeting with a financial 

advisor regularly most helps participants feel confident in their retirement future. 

Nearly seven of eight (83%) TSP participants who say they meet regularly with financial advisor are 

confident in their financial future (vs. 58% confidence for those without a financial advisor). The more 

actions taken, the more likely participants are to have confidence in their retirement futures, with 81% 

of those using five or more management practices confident in comfortable retirement as compared 

to just 59% of those using 0-3 practices. [see Q10 on survey in Appendix C for list of top measured 

actions]

Participants with an emergency fund (81% of all TSP participants), are twice as likely to have 

confidence in a comfortable retirement compared to those participants who don’t (67% vs. 33% of 

those without an emergency fund). 

Lastly, when planning for retirement, the sources from which participants receive information can also 

have an impact on their retirement confidence. TSP participants who get retirement planning 

information from a professional financial advisor, their agency or non-agency source or TSP provided 

financial investment materials/tools are 1.3-1.4 times more likely to be confident in their retirement 

future compared to those who do not. In contrast, those who only rely on family/friends or themselves 

are less likely to have retirement confidence than others. 
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 19

FIGURE 18.

Key Findings and Recommendations 

Survey results from the 2020 FERS Financial Wellness survey yield insights into areas that 

FRTIB should consider to better meet the retirement planning needs of FERS plan participants. 

The Agency values participant input and will use this survey to explore ways to enhance plan

features and the participant experience. 

Financial Confidence 

Overall, two-thirds of participants are satisfied with their relative standard of living

(compared to those they know), while about one-quarter of participants are not satisfied 

with their current financial condition. Both statistics improve with career tenure and 

income levels.

• Continue to emphasize the benefits of retirement savings to early careerists and demonstrate

potential growth of current retirement savings to young/early careerists.

Overall, 40% of participants feel they are not on track to have enough in retirement. Early 

careerists are least confident and least clear on the amount they need and fear that they 

are not saving enough. 

• Consider ways to help early careerists envision and estimate their future retirement needs and

translate that into current savings goals.

How confident are you that you are on track to/have saved enough income to support a 

comfortable lifestyle throughout your retirement? 
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 20

• Emphasize the importance of starting early and the benefits of gradually increasing retirement

savings for early careerists.

• Further develop tools and calculators which help participants envision and estimate retirement

needs, define appropriate savings goals and strategies, understand long term implications of

current savings rates, and gauge their progress toward meeting goals.

About 20% of participants have no emergency savings, however those with emergency 

savings are more confident in their retirement futures. From experience (government

shutdowns /COVID) we know participants access TSP savings during times of financial

distress thus depleting their TSP balances available in retirement.

• Explore providing education about the benefits of having an emergency fund. 

Retirement Planning

While most believe their TSP funds need to last 20 years or longer, 14% of participants 

don’t know how long they expect to need it. Younger/early-career participants think TSP 

will be needed 30 or more years in retirement. 

• Educate participants on the average length of retirement in education and outreach materials.

• Leverage the belief among early careerists that TSP will be needed longer into their

retirements to encourage them to start saving earlier and more for retirement.

One-third of retired participants say they don’t know how much money they need to live in 

retirement. Sixty percent of mid-careerists say they don’t know. Participants with an idea in 

mind (regardless of what format they use) are much more confident in a comfortable 

retirement future.

• Encourage participants to begin thinking earlier about total retirement needs.

• Consider tools and calculators to help early careerists envision and estimate their future

needs in retirement.

Two-thirds of participants generally think about a monthly or annual amount they will 

need in retirement, while the remainder think in terms of a total amount.

• Continue to promote monthly income equivalents on statements.

• Review communications materials to ensure consistent messaging in regards to benefits of

thinking in terms of income replacement.

Nearly nine in 10 (87%) of participants have, or plan to have, retirement income in addition 

to their FERS/US annuity, TSP, and Social Security and 85% of participants indicate a tool 

that accounts for ALL sources of retirement income would be useful.

• Explore the development of planning tools which incorporate all sources of retirement

income.
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 21

Financial Planning Practices

Participants who utilize multiple money management practices are much more confident in 

their retirement planning funds. Tracking savings/investment totals, managing 

investments, and regularly meeting with a financial adviser have the greatest influence on 

retirement confidence.

• Encourage participants to use a combination of money management best practices to track

retirement savings and assess financial wellness.

Participants think enhanced retirement savings and decumulation calculators will be most 

useful to them in making retirement-related decisions.

• Review calculators to ensure they are flexible enough to deal with a wide range or

participant needs.

A majority of participants think automatic contribution increases and rebalancing would 

be useful features. 

• After current record keeping transition efforts are completed, consider implementing

features that allow automatic contribution escalation and automatic rebalance options.
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 22

APPENDIX A: Methodology

Sample design

Gallup employed a stratified sample design to meet the objectives of the FRTIB Financial Wellness 

Survey to reach a representative sample of participants from the Federal Employees Retirement 

System (FERS), based on the population as of mid-2020. The primary goal of the sample design was 

to increase the agency's understanding of participants' perceptions of their retirement planning 

readiness and how TSP (Thrift Savings Plan) can support improved readiness. The TSP FERS 

participant pool5 was used as the sampling frame. The total of 2,235 returned surveys (paper and 

online) resulted in an overall response rate of around 22.4%. When respondents who provided unitmissing data leading to unusable results are excluded, the final sample size was 2,107, with a 

response rate of 21.1%. The total sample was allocated optimally across different strata (career stage 

by Active/Separated and email/no email availability) to ensure adequate sample size for different 

groups and subgroups of interest to FRTIB. The main steps of the sampling process follow. 

Sample stratification

FRTIB set the overall sample size of 10,000 based on the expected response rate as achieved in the 

2020 participant satisfaction survey among FERS participants with the goal to achieve 2,000 

completed surveys. The sample design included disproportional stratified sampling across three 

career stages, based on expected response rates of respondents by the level of available contact 

information (if email was available) and work status. 

The career stage of participants is of special interest to FRTIB as the thought patterns, preparations

and retirement savings are thought to differ by these groups and were chosen as the primary 

stratification variables. Within each of these populations (primary strata), additional stratification was 

used to ensure sufficient sample sizes for different subgroups of interest, primarily employment status 

(Active/Separated) and email availability (as response rates have been found to be three to four times 

higher among participants with email addresses – as these participants were more likely to have 

registered on the TSP website, and they received multiple communications points for the survey).

Thus, the substrata were further stratified by the availability of email contact information in the FRTIB 

database. The sample plan included a total of 12 strata:

Table 1: Strata Definitions

Strata Career Stage Employment Status Email Total Population

1 Early-Career (Under age 35) Active No email 214,529

2 Mid-Career (Age 35-49) Active No email 294,068

3 Late-Career (Age 50+) Active No email 318,140

4 Early-Career (Under age 35) Active Email 262,789

5 Mid-Career (Age 35-49) Active Email 755,628

6 Late-Career (Age 50+) Active Email 867,661

7 Early-Career (Under age 35) Separated No email 2,136

8 Mid-Career (Age 35-49) Separated No email 22,312

5 While FRTIB still has participants in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), that participant base represents a small (about 3%) and diminishing proportion of 

participants, and as such was not included in this survey.
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 23

Strata Career Stage Employment Status Email Total Population

9 Late-Career (Age 50+) Separated No email 119,567

10 Early-Career (Under age 35) Separated Email 5,318

11 Mid-Career (Age 35-49) Separated Email 40,831

12 Late-Career (Age 50+) Separated Email 348,826

Sample allocation

Gallup carried out sample allocation across different strata and sub-strata while keeping in mind the 

sample size requirements at different levels. Instead of allocating the sample proportionally across 

strata (i.e., assigning sample size based on the size of strata), Gallup determined it was necessary to 

use disproportional sample allocation across strata and sub-strata to ensure a minimum sample size 

for each stratum and sub-stratum and to achieve the highest response rate possible given known 

participant information. The expected response rates derived from past TSP surveys were taken into 

account to determine the sample size to be assigned at different levels, with a higher sample 

selection of participants with email addresses.

Table 2 provides the sample size and the corresponding number of completed surveys for the three 

primary sampling strata (or populations). Respondents who returned a survey with all missing data 

have been excluded from the table. 

Table 2: Sample Size and Number of Completed Surveys by Career Stage

Career Stage Total sample size

Number of 

completed 

surveys

Response rate 

(%)

Total 10,000 2,107 21.1

Early-Career (Under age 35) 1,900 203 10.7

Mid-Career (Age 35-49) 2,950 385 13.1

Late-Career (Age 50+) 5,150 1,519 29.5

Sample selection

Sampling was carried out independently within each sampling stratum and sub-stratum. Once Gallup 

finalized the sample size to be allocated to a particular sub-stratum, FRTIB staff selected a simple 

random sample of the specified size that was drawn from each sub-stratum and sent to Gallup for 

processing. The probability of selection was, therefore, the same for all cases within a sub-stratum. 

Data collection

Completed surveys were collected September 24-November 15, 2020.

Data collection involved a multimode invitation (email and mail) and survey mode (web and paper)

protocol during the fall (about six months after the start of COVID-19). Gallup mailed pre-notification 

postcards to all sampled participants on September 21, 2020, via the United States Postal Service 

(USPS). The postcard explained the purpose of the upcoming survey and contained the URL and 

access code to complete the survey online. On October 1, 2020, Gallup mailed a survey packet in a 
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 24

flat envelope that contained a cover letter and an eight-page color survey booklet asking participants 

to complete and return the survey back to Gallup. In addition to the mail survey packet, all 

participants with an email address (63% of sample) were also sent an email invitation with a 

personalized link to take the survey online.

Gallup sent a reminder/thank-you postcard to all sampled participants on October 6. A final reminder 

postcard was sent on October 22 to all participants who had not yet completed the survey. All mail 

communications included the URL and access code for completing the survey online if desired.

Non-responders in the six strata with email addresses were sent email reminders on October 10, 

October 17, October 28 and November 6, 2020.

Gallup scanned received paper surveys throughout the field period, combined the information with 

completes from the web and provided weekly response rate reports to FRTIB. At the end of the 

survey field period, Gallup scanned all final paper surveys and processed the combined data. In 

cases where a respondent completed both a mail and web survey, the data from the web survey was 

retained, and the mail survey data was not included in the data set. A total of 2,235 participants 

returned a survey (web or mail) and were included in the initial data set. One-hundred twenty-eight

participants either progressed to the end of the survey and submitted it but did not provide a response 

to any of the questions, returned a blank paper survey or completed less than 25% of the appropriate 

survey questions. If these respondents are excluded, 2,107 participants provided non-missing data. 

Fifty-nine percent of respondents completed the survey via web and 41% via mail. The following table 

provides the number of returns by mode and by career stage.
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 25

Table 3: Number of Completed Web Surveys by Retirement System

Total 

FERS members

Mail ONLY invite and 

reminders

Mail and web invite and 

reminders

Total 

SM6

Total 

CM7

Resp. 

rate8

% of SM 

w/ 

emails

% of CM 

via web

Total 

SM

Total 

CM

Resp. 

rate

% of 

returns 

via web

Total 

SM

Total 

CM

Resp. 

rate

% of 

returns 

via web

Total 10,000 2,107 21% 76% 68% 2,410 219 11% 22% 7,560 4,353 24% 64%

Early-Career 

(Under age 

35)

1,900 203 11% 76% 73% 460 13 3% 54% 1,410 190 13% 75%

Mid-Career 

(Age 35-49) 2,950 385 13% 75% 69% 750 38 5% 37% 2,200 347 16% 73%

Late-Career 

(Age 50+) 5,150 1,519 30% 77% 54% 1,200 219 18% 17% 3,950 1,300 33% 61%

Significantly more web surveys were received from respondents who received mail and email invites 

and reminders. Among participants who received only mail communications, 22% completed the 

survey via web compared with 64% web returns from respondents who received mail and email 

communications. This was consistent with the participation pattern in the 2017 and 2020 FRTIB 

Participant Satisfaction Surveys.

Overall, response rates were higher from respondents who received both mail and email 

communications. This is, in part, undoubtedly because respondents with email were contacted using 

more than one method and received more reminders than those who received only mail 

communications. However, TSP members who provided the TSP with an email address may also be 

more engaged members and, therefore, more likely to complete the survey, which may have also 

contributed to the higher response rates from this group. 

Weighting of sample data

Sample data were weighted to minimize bias in sample-based estimates. The final weight assigned to 

each respondent in any sub-stratum was equal to the ratio of (i) the total number of participants in 

that sub-stratum and (ii) the number of completed surveys obtained from that sub-stratum. The 

weighting process corrected for (i) unequal probability of selection across sub-strata and (ii) unit-level 

non-response or the failure to obtain participation from the sampled respondents. Using the final 

weights, the results obtained from participants within a sub-stratum can be projected to all 

participants of that sub-stratum. Data were weighted by the following strata:

• Career stage

• Employment Status

• Email availability

6 SM=sampled N

7 CM=completed surveys N

8 Response rate= %CM/SM
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 26

Precision of estimates

Ignoring design effect, the margin of error associated with the estimate of a population proportion (P) 

for the three retirement systems combined (n=2,107) is roughly ±2.1% at 95% level of confidence. 

The margin of error after taking into account estimated design effects due to disproportional sample 

allocation will be around ±3.1%.

The precision of estimates for any subgroup will depend on the number of completed surveys 

obtained for that subgroup. As shown in Table 1, the numbers of completed surveys for the three 

career stages are 203, 385 and 1,519, respectively. Ignoring design effect, the margin of error 

associated with estimates of a population proportion (P) for the three retirement systems, for 

example, will be roughly ±6.8%, ±5.0% and ±2.5%, respectively, at the 95% level of confidence. The 

corresponding values of margins of error after taking into account estimated design effects due to 

disproportional sample allocation will be around ±12.7%, ±5.8% and ±3.0%, respectively, for the three 

career stages.

Profile of plan participants

Similar to the participant satisfaction survey in 2020, FRTIB employed a disproportional, stratified 

sample design to ensure a sufficient sample size of key target groups. As noted, the data were 

weighted post-stratification by demographics and plan characteristics to reflect the known population 

profiles of the TSP's participant groups. Thus, the weighted profile of respondents is an accurate 

depiction of TSP FERS plan participants.

Table 5: FERS Participants by Employment

Federal employment status Number of completed surveys Percentage of Surveys Percentage of all 

FERS participants

Separated 788 37% 16%

Active 1,319 63% 84%

Total 2,107 100% 100%
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 27

APPENDIX B: 2020 Active Participant Survey
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 28
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Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 31

APPENDIX C: 2020 Separated Participant Survey
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 32
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 33
Copyright © 2021 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. 34