COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update, Sept. 30, 2020
Here are the latest updates:
Throwback Thursday Classic Post – Step 6 to Crush the TSP – Rebalance Annually
We’ve talked about steps 1-5 to crush the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Now we move on to the final step (unless I think of more), step 6 – rebalance annually.
What is Rebalancing?
Let’s say that your desired TSP asset allocation is 70% stocks and 30% bonds. After the last year, though, stocks earned more than bonds and now you’re sitting at 85% stocks and 15% bonds. In order to rebalance back to your desired asset allocation, you’d sell approximately 15% of your stocks and buy bonds, restoring your desired asset allocation. It’s that simple.
Why Should You Rebalance?
If you don’t, you may be assuming more or less risk than you desire.
Also, by rebalancing you force yourself to sell what has overperformed and buy what has underperformed. Although this seems counter-intuitive because you are selling what has given you the largest return, by doing this you are systematically selling high and buying low. When left to themselves, investors typically buy high and sell low, the opposite of what you want to do. Rebalancing forces you to do it right.
How Often Should You Rebalance?
Vanguard has researched this, and you can read their full report here:
Best Practices for Portfolio Rebalancing
Their conclusion is:
We conclude that for most broadly diversified stock and bond fund portfolios (assuming reasonable expectations regarding return patterns, average returns, and risk), annual or semiannual monitoring, with rebalancing at 5% thresholds, is likely to produce a reasonable balance between risk control and cost minimization for most investors.
In other words, you rebalance annually or semiannually (twice per year) whenever your current asset allocations are off by 5% or more from your desired allocations. If the current and desired allocations are within 5% of each other, you do nothing.
How Do You Rebalance in the TSP?
You just log on and do what they call an “interfund transfer” or IFT. You can read all about it on this page from the TSP website.
Because you are doing it in a tax-advantaged retirement account, there are no expenses, fees, or taxes associated with rebalancing (unlike if you were rebalancing a taxable account).
You can only do it twice per month without restrictions, but since you are smart you are only doing it once per year anyway.
Do You Need to Rebalance With Lifecycle Funds?
No, you don’t. This is one of the major advantages of the L funds. If you are hitting the easy button on your TSP and just using a Lifecycle fund, you don’t need to rebalance…EVER!
That’s It. Crush the TSP!
That’s the final step to crush it in your TSP account. Read the whole series, maximize your TSP contributions, and get rich in the military.
CTF-80 Surgeon Position – Norfolk, VA
The CTF-80 Surgeon position is opening in 2021 and the PD with all the info on the billet is here:
Packages must include submission of a Bio, CV and Letter of Intent (LOI) no later than 1 NOV 20. The POC for submission is CAPT Todd Gardner, Senior Detailer. His e-mail address is in the PD above.
More Promotion Board Changes Likely Coming
Here are some promotion board changes that are likely coming our way:
- A recent SECDEF memo told the services to “review and revise promotion selection board precepts and convening orders, as applicable, to emphasize the importance of having senior leaders with Indo-Pacific region experiences.” Maybe going to Guam and Okinawa isn’t so bad after all.
- An article entitled “Military Leaders Reveal Plans to Make Promotion Packages Totally Anonymous” says that the DoD has plans to remove all personal identifying characteristics, such as gender and name, from promotion packets to avoid potential bias by selection boards.
- Here’s another article from Military Times about the same thing entitled “Services to consider removing all identifying information from promotion board packets.“
Defense News – The Pentagon is Eyeing a 500-Ship Navy
Here’s a link to this article:
MOAA – Tell Congress to Stop Cuts to Uniformed Services University
Here’s a link to this article:
September Message from the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs to the Military Health System Team
MHS Team:
Last week I had the opportunity to see our MHS team in action and observe a training rotation at Joint Readiness Training Center at Ft. Polk, Louisiana. I was humbled by the warm hospitality and support for our visit, even in the midst of their recovery from Hurricane Laura. Through it all the Ft. Polk medical team has continued operations while also helping their community. The incredible team at Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital showed me examples of their successes and challenges in providing safe, high-quality care to patients. I also got to observe the awe-inspiring training of 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division during their rotation at the world-class JRTC. Thank you to COL Jody Dugai, BJACH commander and BG Patrick Frank, Commanding General of Ft. Polk and JRTC – and their teams – for an extremely productive visit.
September is Suicide Prevention month. Suicide remains far too common in our ranks. It is unfortunate that so much stigma is still attached to mental health issues. I want to emphasize how important it is for us to establish and maintain an environment where people feel comfortable asking for the help they need. I encourage each of us to use the resources available if we are struggling, and I want all of us also to be one of those resources for those seeking help. We each may have the chance to intervene at any time with our friends, family, or coworkers if we reacquaint ourselves with the signs of trouble. Let’s renew our vigilance and work to reduce and ultimately eliminate suicides amongst our peers.
September is also Pain Management month. The MHS has implemented a comprehensive pain management and opioid safety strategy using the evidence-based Stepped Care Model for Pain developed in the Department of Veterans Affairs. We’re educating beneficiaries to better participate in their own pain management with an approach that considers opioid safety. We’re leading a culture change in pain management, towards a biopsychosocial approach that emphasizes use of non-pharmacologic treatments and, when necessary, safe opioid prescribing. Our data indicate MHS providers are actively modifying their prescribing behaviors in line with emerging evidence-based guidelines, clinical standards, and DHA policies. One positive data point is a decrease in cases of active-duty service member Opioid Use Disorder – from about 3,000 (in 2013) to about 550 (in 2019) – significantly lower than the U.S. adult population as a whole.
Operation Warp Speed. One of the ways the Department is participating in the whole-of-government COVID-19 vaccine effort is through the participation of five DoD MTFs in the AstraZeneca candidate vaccine’s Phase 3 trials at MTFs in San Diego, San Antonio, and the National Capital Region. We’re actively preparing those sites to meet the rigorous standards needed for these important trials. It is a tribute to the high-quality health care in the MHS that DoD locations are being included in the clinical trials.
Some updates on current MHS issues –
COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma: As directed by Secretary Esper, DoD made a strong months-long push to collect COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma. Thanks to COVID-recovered MHS beneficiaries who have answered the call, we’ll reach the Secretary’s goal of 10,000 units collected to increase the medical readiness of our uniformed forces. We will continue to collect convalescent plasma to ensure we maintain adequate amounts where we need it, to ensure readiness, and to provide high-quality care for families. https://go.usa.gov/xGEuj.
DoD COVID Testing: DoD has now administered more than 1 million COVID-19 tests and has been consistently conducting more tests per capita than the United States as a whole. This milestone is not a celebration but rather, an indication of the tireless work of the Diagnostics and Testing Task Force, working in lockstep with the DHA, the military Services, combatant commands, and other agencies. Our testing is showing a steady decline in overall DoD and active-duty service member positivity rates since mid-July, which is consistent with national trends. Now, we’re entering the next phase of this fight, with advanced therapeutics as well as vaccine development and dissemination. We’re dedicated to continuing to integrate new and proven technologies into the testing strategy with a variety of testing modalities, including point-of-care tests and oral-saliva tests – all focused on military medical readiness. Kudos to Maj Gen (Dr.) Lee Payne for leading this outstanding and sustained team effort!
One last thought about health care. As flu season approaches, I encourage everyone to get this year’s flu vaccine. There is a ready supply of vaccine this year and the DHA has planned for enough doses to support our beneficiaries. Either at an MTF or in the TRICARE network, flu shots will be available. Please help protect our medical resources by getting your flu shot. I remain humbled by all of your continued efforts to ensure our Nation has a medically ready force and ready medical force.
To close out, we note a couple of important new additions to the Health Affairs team. I would like to welcome Dr. Robert Mabry, our new Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense. His multi-disciplinary clinical expertise and experience as an operator will be a superb asset to Health Affairs and the entire MHS. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Dave Smith for stepping up these past many months to serve as acting PDASD. His time as acting PDASD has included not only some of the most significant changes to the MHS in decades, but also the Department’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you, Dave, for an outstanding job.
And, finally, I would like to introduce Dr. David Strong, a White House Fellow coming to us from Detroit. He is an emergency medicine physician and holds a Ph.D. in Immunology. Dr. Strong will be spending the next year working with the Health Affairs front office and also with DHA. Welcome to the team, Dr. Strong.
Tom
Finance Friday Articles
Here are some more articles on the social security withholding change:
- More Guidance Released on Social Security Withholding Change
- Some Light Shed on Repayment of Social Security Tax Suspension
Here are my favorites this week:
- 5 Reasons to Pay Off Debt (Instead of Investing)
- Staying in Bounds
- The Power of Financial Freedom
- There is No Such Thing as “Good” Debt
Here are the rest of the articles:
- Achieve Better Cash Flow Diversification
- Coming Up With a TSP Withdrawal Strategy
- Early Retirement Checklist Part One
- Exclusive: The Billionaire Who Wanted To Die Broke . . . Is Now Officially Broke
- Guide to Financial Wellness for the Academic Physician
- How Much Lifestyle Creep is Okay?
- Medical Degree to Financially Free Course Review
- My Recent State Tax Audit
- Negativity Is Not an Investment Strategy
- Our 2019 Tax Return Revealed: Total Income $522,662, Taxable Income $253,906
- Positive Cash Flow: Open Secret In Early Retirement
- Saved by a Crash
- The Disability Insurance Process
- The Ultimate Passive Income
- The Vanishing Difference Between ESG and Conventional Funds
- When to Change
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 