The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board was established as an independent agency of the United States government by the Federal Employees Retirement System Act of 1986. It is one of the smaller executive branch agencies, with just over 80 employees. It was established to administer the Thrift Savings Plan, which provides Federal employees the opportunity to save for additional retirement security. The Thrift Savings Plan is a tax-deferred defined contribution plan similar to a private sector 401(k) plan. The Thrift Savings Plan is one of the three parts of the Federal Employees Retirement System, and is the largest defined contribution plan in the world with over 3.7 million participants and assets worth over $244 billion dollars. Both the board and its Chairman are nominated by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate. The current Chairman is Andrew Saul.
Governance of the agency is carried out by a five-person, part-time Board of Presidential appointees and by a full-time Executive Director selected by those appointees. Each of these persons is required by FERSA to have "substantial experience, training, and expertise in the management of financial investments and pension benefit plans." 5 U.S.C. 8472(d). The Board members collectively establish the policies under which the TSP operates and furnish general oversight. The Executive Director carries out the policies established by the Board members and otherwise acts as the full-time chief executive of the agency. The Board and the Executive Director convene monthly in meetings open to the public to review policies, practices, and performance.
The first Chairman of the board was Roger W. Mehle, who was appointed on October 1, 1986. In 1988 he was reappointed and served continuously until January 31, 1994. President Clinton appointed James H. Atkins to replace him, and the board named Mehle the agency's executive director. Clinton named Atkins to another term in 1997, and to a third term via a recess appointment in 2000. He was succeeded by Andrew Saul, who named Gary Amelio executive director in 2002, replacing Mehle. The current Executive Director is Gregory Long.
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