Bad 403b what can I do ?

[mystang52]

DW is a teacher here in New Jersey. About 10 years ago we switched from one "caretaker" to another allowed provider and saved a bit on fees. Last year we stopped her contributions (she is still actively employed there) and rolled over the entire kit and caboodle to a Vanguard rollover IRA, saving a significant amount if $$ in fees.
I don't recall anymore if this was permitted by her Plan, or it's permitted as a matter of law, but you may want to research this for your situation.

 

[mcguiret]

Yea, I tried the same thing and other ideas. I was thwarted at every attempt. My suggestion is to fully fund a Roth IRA.

Complain to your [-]supposedly omnipotent[/-] teacher's union. Mine would fuss over minor stuff in the contract while the teacher's were being financially violated by the 403b funds. Over time I am sure many dedicated and hard working teachers lost many thousands of dollars to high fees and poor performing funds (compared to an index fund, for example). I never understood that. Had it been cuts in pay or benefits they would have been screaming, but.... Of course I was an unusual K-12 teacher: Business major in college with a minor in Chemistry.

Yes the union... I checked out a plan the nea pushed, it had a 5.75% sales load in addition to management fees. I'm glad they have our back!

 

[mcguiret]

Yes the union... I checked out a plan the nea pushed, it had a 5.75% sales load in addition to management fees. I'm glad they have our back!

We're you ever able to do anything with your 403?

 

[Mulligan]

Youbet, I used the 403b to exchange for years, which added to my total years, i think i added 5.9 years. With age and years, I was able to retire at 55.5. Including investments, it has worked out well. Not sure when I will take social security, Seems the math supports waiting, but longevity stats are questionable. Hope this helps.

That was the best thing I ever did with my 403B money. I was able to buy 3.5 social security years and .5 supplemental that is available to anyone. I was able to have 28 years in at 45. I never knew that working a part time job at college at a grocery store would eventually be parlayed into early retirement! Of course when I was in 403B I was a clueless. People with nice pensions need to be very wary of this. Why take a 15% tax deduction in your early years only to pay 25% in taxes when you pull it out? That is crazy. I should have been more aggressive in my Roth funding in my early years but I was an idiot.

 

[LitGal]

I'd think carefully before increasing my stake in nearly any pension plan: municipal, state, federal, union, or corporate. It is not necessarily a bad move (can be looked on as another means of diversifying to decrease overall risk) but some plans are simply not going to be able to keep their promises.
If you've got money in an account you control (IRA, 401K, etc) you can always buy an annuity to get an income stream, if that's what you want. It's usually not possible/practical to go the other way.

Yes, I had these same concerns before deciding to buy back service credits. Despite bad press about some of the CalSTRS "unfunded obligations," the system will still be funded for at least the next several decades (which allayed some of that fear).

I also looked into the cost of buying an annuity for myself. At age 65, as a female, an annuity to replace my current pension would have cost over $300,000. Yet, my pension check reflects an STRS acct. that had less than half of that in it. Plus, I was able to start collecting that check at age 59......so I could enjoy an extra 6 years of retirement.

Deciding against an annuity left me with other savings to fund ER and my future. (Might still buy immediate annuities in later years, as needed.)

So far, so good!