“It’s very inexpensive,” LaRandeau said of the Thrift Savings Plan. “There are a lot of sharks out there taking your money, and pretty soon it’s gone.”

Few people are as knowledgeable about the government plan as Turner, 65, who has devoted his life to studying pensions.

Turner, an economics Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, worked more than 20 years for the Labor Department and Social Security Administration before heading the Pension Policy Center. Its clients for research and consulting include AARP, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the United Nations, Canada and Norway.

Calling Brokers

For two months, starting in January, Turner called up customer-service lines listed on the websites of nine financial companies, including T. Rowe Price Group Inc., Charles Schwab and Bank of America’s Merrill Edge. He told them he had $200,000 in his Thrift Savings Account and asked what he should do with it.

A representative of Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price recommended a rollover, Turner said. Part of the pitch: Turner would have access to small-company stock funds closed to new investors. Turner figured one of the funds had expenses more than 30 times that of a similar offering in the government plan.

Because Turner sought advice anonymously and did not note names of the employees he spoke with, the companies said they couldn’t determine what he was told. They said that their representatives provide appropriate information to callers.

‘Qualifying Questions’

T. Rowe Price noted in a statement that its small-company stock funds, after expenses, have outperformed the index tracked by the federal plan. Dennis Elliott, head of individual investor channels, said representatives determine prospective customers’ goals and offer options.

“We ask qualifying questions, but we do not provide advice,” Elliott said.

In an e-mail, Schwab said it educates potential clients about fees and services “to help them make an informed decision based on their specific circumstances.” Bank of America’s Merrill Edge said each customer’s goals are different and it provides information about choices, “including keeping their assets in place.”

Vanguard Group, known for its low-cost index funds, stood out for a more balanced approach, Turner said. The company’s representative asked about Turner’s tolerance for risk, he said. If it were low, the representative told Turner, he should stay with the government guaranteed fund. Otherwise, Vanguard could be a better choice.

Melissa Nassar, a principal with Vanguard’s retail investor group, said Turner would likely have been eligible for Vanguard funds with costs as low as .05 percent. While almost twice the price of the government plan, the increase would amount to only $40 a year. Turner then would have received the benefits of consolidated accounts and free advice from a financial planner - - something that could cost $100 to $200 an hour if done separately, she said.

Turner, who hopes to publish an academic paper based on his findings, isn’t following the brokers’ advice himself. Since his investigation, he took another $200,000 he had saved from other employers and rolled it over -- into the Thrift Savings Plan.

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