The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) completed SPQA Discovery in May 2025, a Pathways to Performance Excellence (Tier III) milestone. Pathways milestones include a Tier IV Award Recognition also based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. Embracing the performance improvement journey signifies a critical leadership commitment and a superior focus on customers, stakeholders, and employees. By adopting the SPQA Pathways and implementing the Baldrige Criteria, FRTIB has established a structured approach to continuous achievement.
FRTIB is the defined contribution retirement plan for Federal employees and uniformed service members. It provides a platform to save and invest for retirement via payroll contributions, and then spend that money, as needed, during retirement. Oversight is provided by a Board of Directors, appointed by the President and confirmed by the US Senate. The Employee Thrift Advisory Council (ETAC) is comprised of representatives from Federal and Postal unions and management associations, as well as a representative from the Department of Defense on behalf of uniformed service members. FRTIB is led by an Executive Director and has 277 employees.
The FRTIB was created by the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Act of 1986 (FERSA) to administer the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) as one element in the three-part retirement program for civilian employees covered under the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). In the thirty-five years since the TSP received the first civilian contributions, it has expanded to cover members of the uniformed services, initially as a voluntary supplement, and now as a key component of the Blended Retirement System (BRS). The TSP is now the largest defined contribution retirement plan with more than 6.2 million participants and nearly $709.6 billion in assets under management. (FRTIB 2022-26 Strategic Plan)