Returns on the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program took a dive last month, with the Thrift Savings Plan’s two core domestic investment funds finishing March in the red, while two others treaded water.
The downward trend comes as the Trump administration has worked to fire thousands of federal employees across government and across the country, and as the president weighs implementing tariffs across broad swathes of the economy.
The TSP’s G Fund, which is made up of government securities, saw the best performance, growing by its statutorily mandated rate of 0.37% last month. So far this year, the G Fund has grown 1.12%.
The fixed income (F) fund stayed positive last month, growing by just 0.04% and bringing its 2025 gains to 2.77%. And the international (I) fund barely kept its head above water, increasing 0.02% in March. Since January, the I Fund has grown 4.65%.
The common stocks of the C Fund fell 5.64% last month, wiping out all previous growth this year and bringing its 2025 performance to 4.28% in losses. And the small- and mid-size businesses of the S Fund crashed 7.92% in March. So far this year, the S Fund has lost 8.94% in value.
Similarly, all of the TSP’s lifecycle (L) funds, which shift to more conservative investments as participants get closer to retirement, lost value last month. The L Income Fund fell 0.81%; L 2025, 0.93%; L 2030, 2.27%; L 2035, 2.52%; L 2040, 2.78%: L 2045, 3.00%; L 2050, 3.21%; L 2055, 3.94%; L 2060, 3.94%; L 2065, 3.94%; and L 2070, 3.93%.
So far this year, the L Income Fund has grown by 0.46%, and the L 2025 by 0.38%. Since January, the L 2030 lost 0.53%; L 2035, 0.69%; L 2040, 0.86%; L 2045, 1.01%; L 2050, 1.17%; L 2055, 1.81%; L 2060, 1.81%; L 2065, 1.81%; and L 2070, 1.80%.
