TSP and Private Sector Plan Managers Provide a Similar Range of Customer Service Options but Emphasize Different Approaches

Though they emphasize different approaches, TSP and private sector plan  managers enable customers to select their preferred means of service from  a similar range of service options—including telephone, Internet, and on- site assistance (fig. 1). In  addition, both TSP and private managers provide Web sites that deliver  plan information and allow participants to conduct personal transactions,  but private plan managers emphasize the use of their Web sites as the  primary vehicles for delivering retirement education and information to  participants. Finally, while both TSP and private managers use on-site  coordinators to provide plan information, this customer service function is  more heavily used by TSP. Whereas TSP managers said that agency  representatives serve as the initial contact points for actively employed  TSP participants to learn about TSP, private managers use on-site  representatives less and do so to supplement call center representatives  and Web-based resources. Call Centers Are Used to Provide Customer Service by Both TSP and Private Sector Plan Managers

TSP managers provide an automated, toll-free telephone system and call  center staff that help answer participants’ questions, and TSP managers  measure the efficiency of the call centers based on quantifiable standards,  such as the time it takes to respond to incoming calls. Private Sector Plan Managers Have Adopted Various Practices That TSP Managers Could Consider to Improve Customer Service

Private sector plan managers we contacted have adopted various other  practices that are not featured within TSP, such as regularly assessing  customer satisfaction and using regularly updated technology to improve  customer service. Private managers frequently assess their performance  by gathering participant feedback on the services provided and use this  information to improve their customer service delivery. Although TSP  managers have surveyed participants, they have not done so since the  early 1990s and currently have no systematic approach to assess whether  the plans customer service meets participants’ needs. In addition, private  managers that we spoke with appear to utilize more up-to-date  technologies to provide customer service than do TSP managers. Some managers also use short on-the-spot surveys to  gather feedback about a participant’s experience on the plan manager’s  Web site. These plan managers also survey participants after they have interacted  with the plan’s contact center and voice response telephone system  through short, automated surveys at the end of a call. All of the plan managers we spoke with emphasized the importance of  incorporating participant feedback into their customer service delivery  models in order to better meet the needs of their participants. Instead, TSP managers rely largely on indirect  feedback from NFC and TSP staff and others, such as agency  coordinators, who respond to complaints or requests for assistance from  participants. For example, one plan manager’s Web site allowed  participants to instantly create and print account statements for any  period of time. Privately managed plans also use their Web sites to help participants  understand their retirement plan and the options available to them within  the plan. Appendix II: Comments from the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
Why GAO Did This Study

Intended to resemble private sector 401(k) pension plans, the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) held more than $128 billion in retirement assets for over 3 million participants at the end of 2003. Customer service-related difficulties during the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board's (TSP's governing body) record-keeping system conversion in 2003 led the Chairman of a Senate Committee to ask GAO to examine the customer service provided to TSP participants. This review describes (1) customer service provisions within TSP and those offered by private sector managers and (2) customer service practices used by private sector plan managers that could be considered for use in TSP.

What GAO Found

TSP managers and private managers (servicing multiple pension plans) enable participants to select their preferred means of customer service from a similar range of options--such as telephone, Web sites, and on-site representatives--but each emphasizes different approaches. Both TSP and private plan managers provide customer service through automated telephone assistance as well as live representatives located at call centers. Both TSP and private managers also use standards to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of their call centers. However, TSP managers emphasize the efficiency of call centers based on quantifiable standards, such as the time it takes to respond to incoming calls, while private plan managers place a greater emphasis on the policy of satisfying each customer's needs in one call. Both TSP and private sector plan managers also use Web sites to deliver plan information and allow participants to conduct personal transactions, and private plan managers emphasize the use of their Web sites as the primary vehicles for delivering retirement education and information to participants. Finally, while TSP managers said that agency representatives serve as the initial contact points for TSP employees to learn about TSP and receive counseling, private plan managers use on-site representatives less to supplement services provided by call center representatives and Web-based resources. Private sector plan managers we contacted have adopted various other practices that are not featured within TSP, such as regularly assessing customer satisfaction and using regularly updated technology to improve customer service. These managers gather participant feedback on their voice response system via short, automated surveys at the end of participants' calls and use short, on-the-spot surveys to gather information on participants' experience with their Web site. These plan managers emphasized the importance of incorporating participant feedback into their customer service delivery model in order to better meet the needs of their participants. Although TSP managers have surveyed participants in the past, they do not have a systematic approach to assess whether their customer service meets participants' needs. TSP managers rely largely on indirect feedback from customer service staff, agency coordinators, and others who respond to complaints or requests for assistance from participants. The privately managed plans we studied also appear to utilize more up-to-date technologies to provide customer service, such as allowing participants to create account statements for any period of time or offering seminars over the Web on different plan topics that participants can access anytime. The TSP Web site provides fewer options and relies more on basic features.