Like most plans, the federal program offers general education on its website about investing but leaves decisions to workers. Current and former employees can choose to roll money from other sources into the plan, as well as out. To fight against defections, Thrift Savings officials are considering adding more investment options.

“Why are people taking money out when they don’t need to?” said Kim Weaver, a spokeswoman for the plan. “Our concern is the Thrift Savings Plan is the lowest cost plan in the country. To move out, you should be doing it for a good reason.”

‘Don’t Move Out’

Alicia Munnell, director of Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research, has some simple advice for anyone approached by a broker seeking to roll over money from the government plan: “Don’t move out. You can’t duplicate those fees anyplace else.”

That’s not the advice that federal employees are likely to find on the Internet. From January through April, the Navy Federal Credit Union, which caters to the military, offered up to $200 to those rolling over their retirement plans and opening their first IRA, which would be invested in certificates of deposit.

“Time is running out!” the ad on the credit union’s website said, next to a photo of a hand grasping two $100 bills. “Start saving today!”

The Vienna, Virginia-based company, the largest U.S. credit union, says the campaign was aimed at getting young soldiers to open their first IRAs. They could have received $100 for starting an account with as little as $50.

Older Clients

Those who rolled over retirement plans tended to be older and looking for the convenience of consolidating their investments, as well as the safety of certificates of deposit that paid as much as 3 percent annually, said Sharon Sutherlin, who manages Navy Federal’s IRA business.

“It depends on what’s right for the member,” Sutherlin said. “That’s what the bottom line is here.”

In his memo, Long, the Thrift Savings Plan executive director, expressed concern about another financial company focusing on the military: the United Services Automobile Association. Its website cites the advantages of an IRA over the federal plan, such as “thousands of investment choices, including stocks, bonds and no-load mutual funds.” It also provides a link to the government forms needed to transfer.

USAA’s stock mutual fund that tracks the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index costs about 9 times as much as the one in the government plan. Funds with managers who pick stocks are even more expensive.

Until recently, a military retirement guide that the company distributed online urged service members to roll over their thrift savings plan to a “USAA no-fee IRA.”

Misleading Term

In 2013, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the industry’s self-policing group, said the term “no-fee IRA” could be misleading when there are management fees and other expenses associated with the account.

In an e-mail, Laura Propp, a USAA spokeswoman, said the company had distributed the guide from 2005 until September 2012, when it published a new guide without the “no-fee” language. On Aug. 1, after Bloomberg News asked about it, the company removed a link to the older guide that USAA had intended to deactivate, she said.

“The advice given in the new guide shows that USAA recommends a member contact an adviser to get advice that is tailored to their situation,” Propp said. Its website features a pro and con list for customers considering rolling over from the Thrift Savings Plan that mentions its low fees, she said.

‘Ridiculously Cheap’

Scott Halliwell, a financial planner at San Antonio, Texas- based USAA, said the government plan is “ridiculously cheap” and his company wouldn’t “go out and say, ‘Just roll it over.’”

Still, Halliwell said many former federal employees don’t have the time, expertise or inclination to manage money themselves and could benefit from a rollover to USAA.

Companies such as Regal Assets LLC are encouraging Thrift Savings Plan members and others to put their retirement money into “Gold IRAs,” which invest in bullion and coins. Under a banner headline, “Rollover your IRA or 401(k) into inflation- proof gold and silver,” the company’s website provides a testimonial from a former Thrift Savings Plan participant who transferred money to Regal Assets. Identified as “Dennis R.,” he is quoted as saying that he was “very happy with the outcome and would recommend Regal Assets to anyone wanting to invest in precious metals.”

Finra and the Federal Trade Commission warn investors about gold’s price swings and the possibility that dealers may be selling at inflated prices.

Regal Assets

Regal Assets customers typically pay a markup on gold coins of 5 percent to 9 percent, Tyler Gallagher, chief executive officer of the Waco, Texas-based company, said in an interview. In addition, they pay $250 annually for storage and an administrative fee, he said. Investors are looking for a hedge against inflation and a decline in the dollar.

“People are paying for peace of mind,” Gallagher said.

Among those forsaking the federal plan is John R. LaRandeau, a civil engineer from Omaha, Nebraska, who left the Army Corps of Engineers last year and rolled over $200,000 into an IRA. First, he chose a brokerage account he managed himself and then an account with Omaha-based Carson Wealth Management Group, which charges 1.8 percent of assets under management for accounts up to $2 million.

LaRandeau’s adviser at Carson, Phil McBride, said customers want to protect themselves because bonds, the traditional choice for conservative investors, could lose value when interest rates rise. Carson hedges against that risk, he said.

Downside Risk

“If you’re looking for active management -- something that really protects you from downside risk -- we have strategies that make sense,” McBride said.

Worried about such losses, LaRandeau, 67, said he is pleased with the arrangement. Still, he’d advise 95 percent or more of account holders in the government plan to stay put, he said.