Contributed by a volunteer in The Carbon Almanac Community
Active and retired employees of the United States civil and armed services have the option to put 25% of their Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) assets into mutual funds of their choice.
Many employees of the U.S. civil and armed services probably wish all of their retirement contributions could be invested in funds that support companies building green energy infrastructure. However 25% is what we are currently allowed to invest in funds that support green energy, and social justice-oriented companies.
Allowing U.S. federal government employees this leeway with their retirement funds is in fact a brand new feature that was introduced in 2022. It’s called the TSP Mutual Fund Window. You might need to call customer service (+1-877-968-3778) to get the Mutual Fund Window function active in your online TSP account. Note: That’s what the author of this article had to do. More on this federal employee’s quest to divest from fossil fuels to come.
If you are not an employee of the U.S. federal government or U.S. military, you can take inspiriaton and action from this Daily Difference too! Write your U.S. congressional representative and ask for them to legislate more climate friendly funds into the TSP. Ask congress to mandate the TSP governors to allow U.S. federal employees to invest more of their retirement savings in environmentally friendly funds.
This is advocacy for highly-targeted climate action that could help change how one of the world’s largest retirement funds is invested. Some members of the U.S. Congress are trying to take this investment freedom privilege away from America’s military and civil service, but we won’t allow that. Support your local soldier, or government employee who wants to retire to a green future.