European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 23, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                              June 2007 stars and stripes Mideast edition Page 19 your Money tsp passes on Roth by Chris Fowler stars and stripes the Agency overseeing the Thrift savings plan voted tuesday to postpone seeking a Roth 401 k option for at least two despite a recent Survey that showed 60 percent of tsp participants were in favor of adding a Roth the Federal retirement Thrift investment Board decided to hold concerns Over required massive implementation efforts and participant communication Chal Lenges were strongly and frequently wrote the boards executive Greg in a memorandum released after tuesdays meet in the Days leading up to the the employee Thrift advisory which does not support the Roth cited the difficulty of pay Roll and personnel offices having to significantly modify both procedures and systems if a Roth option were specific areas of concern cited in Longs memo were anticipated programming challenges with the online programs and w2 tax re porting and correction Long suggested it would take tsp one to two years to implement a Roth option and it would Cost million to million in programming expenses tsp would then have to support the option with a massive informational Campaign that could drive the total Cost to participants somewhere around he Longs memo said the councils uniformed ser vices representative emphasized that a Roth option was of great interest to service members be cause they Are Likely to Complete their military Ca Reers at a relatively Young age and move into a Sec Ond tsp getting some changes while the Roth option was put on me shelf the Federal retirement Thrift in vestment Board did recommend submitting legislation for other changes to the Thrift Sav Ings the first change would automatically enrol new employees and service members into tsp unless they elect to opt th0 second change would adjust me default who dont specify in which fund option to place their the current default is me g a relatively the proposed de fault is the life Cycle which offers a mix of tsp funds but comes with a higher risk to the Chris Fowler with a participants Are not allowed to continue contributing after retiring from the with a Roth 401 investors May invest into per adding a Roth option to tsp became possible on May when president Bush signed the tax increase prevention and reconciliation act of which included a provision dealing with con versions of traditional iras to Roth into in addition to the Cost of implementing a Roth Long said the committee wants More time to see How the newly launched Large fund Roth options perform in the private tsp has about million participants and manages assets valued at email Chris Fowler at  thursdays Market Exchange 1 indexes rates euro costs june 25 52week High Low Ltd 52wk last chg chg chg buys june 25 British Pound june 25 japanese yen june 25 South korean won june 25 com Nordal rates Bahrain Dinar British Pound Dow 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facilities in the country of issuance for South the Netherlands and the United for no local currency Exchange rates purchasing British pounds in Germa key defense stocks key Mutual Check with your local military banking commercial rates Are inter Ltd name div be last chg Nav rates provided for reference when buying All figures Are foreign currencies to one except for the British which is represented in and the which is  19 9931 j Armor holdings 25 Boeing 31 computer sciences 30 invest Greco Fidelity invest Grolnic Fidelity spartan  Putnam funds a or snap general dynamics 17 general electric 19 Halliburton 16  Rani Century inv Ultra Fidelity invest Amorso Fidelity invest Oversea precious Harris 16 Allied signal 22 l3 communications 23 Lockheed Martin 16 Northrop 17 1 in Al 55 74 12 investments a const p Frnk a Sec Para aim investments a Char tap Dws Scudder Eisig Roncs Fidelity advisor Tel let York merc dose Gold Rockwell 8 21 Texas instruments 13 advisor Putnam funds a Globe qty p Dws Scudder cd s into ads interest text Ron 24 United technologies 19 advisor Dws Scudder cd s corp sinc Putnam funds a go Gap rate rate funds Market rate Bill 472 the associated Bank of America bitter split Over making a care open to All vets since january nearly veterans have been denied enrolment in the department of Veter ans affairs a health system be cause they have no service con nested disabilities and have in comes that sex nil 11 i need a a Means the same one used to screen for Federal housing the Bush administrations decision to suspend enrolment in a health care for these priority group 8 veterans was explained four years ago As necessary to ensure continued a Cess to a care for higher priority veterans those with service Low incomes or Spe Cial Are denied enrolment if incomes Rise above he tied the need to reopen a care to any vet eran to sacrifices being made in current any planned military surge must be accompanied by a surge for health care for vet we must be prepared to serve those that have served us and we Are not pre pared at this Filner but republicans argue that wars in Iraq and in make open ing a health care to All veterans More difficult Given the rising Strain on staff and group 8 veterans who have served in these wars in gain Access to a health care for ii tary update Tom Philpott whether Congress should Force two years under current and the administration to reopen the if they enrol during that period they can remain Steve the committee former chairman and ranking said a needs to do More for disabled vet Erans and those in financial need the Vas Core constituency rather than open the Gates for a surge of group 8 the a Esti mates that Mil lion new group 8 veterans would in if Given the and would seek a the added Cost to a Over the next 10 years would be Filner shot Back that buyer and re publican col leagues Are All too willing to sup port a surge when it comes to Mili tary action but cannot have a in your when it comes to treating our the first witness Filner called to testify was Steffie Wool an a system to new group 8 enrollees was the topic of a contentious hearing wednesday of the House veterans affairs the timing might seem questionable Given How veterans physically and mentally wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan Are a rising Challenge for a medical staffs and resource but the treat ment of priority 8 veterans is tied to democratic elec Tion promises of full funding for a health its an Issue guaranteed to Light off partisan fireworks on which so Many lawmakers today seem to for Many veterans who were not disabled or indigent could gain Access to a facilities Only on a Caseb Case and space available said Michael Vas under Secretary for it was the veterans health care the treatment of priority 8 veterans is tied to democratic election promises of full funding for a health its an Issue guaranteed to Light off partisan eligibility act of 1996 that a professor of Medicine at Edva to build Many More clinics Harvard and Confounder of phys and establish an enrolment by scans for a National health pro Tern based on seven and later she cited 2004 surveys eight priority showing million veterans had starting in a no health insurance and were not health care was opened to any vet receiving a an additional Over the next three million people living with the proportion of these veterans also Lack health no disabled veterans enrolled the a system climbed to 30 per republicans buyer by then a Secretary said it was hard to get past the Anthony Principi decided the Titie of Wool handlers flood of group 8 veterans was veterans a stain on angering the systems ability to America s buyer said he care for higher priority he used his authority under the 1996 Law to suspend new group 8 those already enrolled were group 8 veterans remain 27 percent of Allva care Bob Filner com Mittee said the current situation represents a accept found it particularly galling Given that Wop handler is on the faculty of a University that has such an ant military Bias that it wont support an Roth program or youre changing the Woolhandler this is not about Able rationing of noting that veterans without disabilities to email write to military Box a 201201111 or visit