403(b)

What You Allow Is What Will Continue

How do these guys sleep at night? In addition to pillaging the retirement accounts of public school teachers, Some large insurers prey on churches and charities. This is from Ron Lieber of The New York Times: He also reviewed the 403(b) plans of the nonprofits that had them. People who worked there were not sure…

Helping Women Teachers Gain Confidence to Get in the Game

Dina here … For those of you who have been following The New York Times’ multi-part series on teacher’s retirement plans, it is truly disturbing what has been permitted to occur in the name of business at the expense of those with the noblest careers.  The fact that women outnumber men in the teaching profession…

Please! Leave Your Political Views Out Of Retirement Plans

Our dysfunctional hyper-partisan culture has reached a new low. The New York Times has been accused of spreading “nonsense” for merely pointing out that many teachers (including some with children that have severe disabilities) are being cheated in their 403(b) plans. This “liberal bias” includes a group of educators who are being charged as much…

The Fox, The Wolf, and The Sheep

My friends, Dan Otter, and Scott Dauenhauer over at 403bwise have been fighting the good fight against the big insurers for as long as I can remember. In fact, their site inspired me to start our business. I thought I was the only one out there who saw these awful retirement products for what they are. My wife Dina…

Only In 403(b) Land Could You Find This

Some public school teachers are being charged 10% annual fees on their modest 403(b) plans. This is their vendor’s version of negative interest rates. Similar to depositors who pay banks to hold their money, teachers are charged for the “privilege” of earning a negative rate of return on their funds. The New York Times is exposing abuses…

The World’s Most Sexist Investment?

  Dina, here… In a world where women continue to earn just $0.79 for every $1 earned by men, there is another inequity at work that seems to threaten their financial security when they will need it most, in retirement. Designed to be a “benefit,” their retirement plans may do more to secure the financial…

Some Investors Would Be Better Off Being Outsourced

Physicians and investors should focus like a laser on this credo, “First do no harm.” Few words of advice are more appropriate when making a decision to choose a financial advisor. This may mean having to choose an anonymous call center employee over a personal investment advisor. In some cases, this decision will at least…

Don’t Ask your Barber if you need a Haircut

The average public sector 403(b) plan is an unmitigated disaster. If anyone doubts this, they have simply not been paying attention. When I came across “How 403(b) Plans Can Inform 401(k) Plans,” written by Tim Walsh, a managing director of TIAA-CREF, I almost choked on my reheated panini.  In the words of my friend Scott Dauenhauer, “This article is…

The Fees in Bernie Sander’s Wife 403(b) are Burning Down the House

I bet if Paul Ryan’s wife had Jean Sander’s 403(b) account, he would not be leading the charge to block the Fiduciary Rule coming out on April 6. According to Scott Dauenhauer,  Her VALIC account’s average fund expense fee is 1.56%, says Dauenhauer — who also says that because the account holds 20 different investments,…

When Advisors Win Vacations- Watch Out!

Variable Annuities have no place in a retirement account. Though rare in a 401(K), Annuities comprise over 70% of the assets in 403(b) plans. This version of financial malpractice deserves a special place in the insurance broker’s “Hall of Shame. ”  Teachers have every right to expel these people and the products they hawk from their…