403b Management

Do you have a 403b yet? If so, it’s great that you’re saving more money to fund your retirement! If not, don’t worry, the best time to start is now! If you do have one, here are some questions you need to be asking:

  • Are you in one that fits your goals and risk tolerances?
  • When was the last time you looked at your 403b?
  • Do you have more than one 403b? This is more common than people think.
  • Has the agent who wrote this policy been in contact with you recently? If not, your 403b is most likely without guidance, like a ship without a captain.

If any of these apply to you, we would love to help guide you in the right direction.

We believe our selection of 403b’s are far superior to others in the industry. Here’s why:

We are Fiduciaries

As such we are legally obligated to put our client’s best interests first. Depending on if you are looking to protect your assets or grow your retirement funds, we create the custom approach for you.

We don’t have surrender fees

Most other 403b’s contain what are called surrender fees. This means that if you decide to move your money to another plan, you have to pay a penalty charge to the insurance company (usually between 1-12%) if transferred within a certain timeframe (anywhere from 1-15 years). Most teachers haven’t been informed that they will be charged a fee until they’ve transferred their money and been hit with that fee. We don’t believe this is necessary or right in retirement plans, so we don’t have any. If you decide to work with us and at anytime in the future decide you would like to go a different route, we do not hold your money hostage. Mostly because we don’t think you’ll want to leave.

We don’t work off of commission

Most 403b’s are commission products. That means that when an agent or advisor opens a 403b for you, they might not have an incentive to make sure it does well. At Invested Educators we do not offer this option. We offer 403b’s where we participate with you monthly. It incentivizes us to work as hard as possible to grow or protect your money. Since we are on your side of the table unlike other advisors, we only do well, when you do.

We don’t limit growth

A big portion of 403b’s advertise that you can’t lose money when you invest in them. Unfortunately, this is misleading marketing.  What is often not said, is that growth is severely limited usually anywhere between 1-4%. We have seen many of these accounts that average less than 1% per year. In that scenario, you are almost better off in high-yield savings account. You also run the risk of losing money if you move or withdraw your money early because of surrender fees. Always remember with any investment, there is always a risk of losing money, it doesn’t matter if its portrayed that you can’t. At Invested Educators we know those risks and do our best to mitigate them, and as fiduciaries will always make you aware of all pertinent information before investing; and we will never limit how much your money can grow.