Q. I’ve heard that if you have several years before you plan on withdrawing money from you TSP account, that you can invest in a stock fund (such as the C Fund). I have between nine to 11 years before retiring. I already have $400,000 in the L 2040. Would it be a safe bet for the next five years to invest in the C Fund?
A. About 40 percent of the money you have invested in the L 2040 Fund is actually in the C Fund. Money invested in stocks and bonds is never a safe bet. There is always a significant risk that things will not turn out the way you expect. The trick is to minimize that risk through diversification — which the L Funds attempt to do — and to make sure that your retirement plan allows for bad luck in your risky bets.
