Understanding Your Own Fee Disclosure
Unlike a 401(k) at a private company, there is no single 403(b) plan for your school district. Districts are required to let a long list of approved vendors sell products directly to employees, and many districts have dozens of vendors on that list, each with different investment options, share classes, and fee structures.
Some of what is available is straightforward and low-cost. Some of it is a variable annuity wrapped in a surrender charge schedule that can cost you thousands of dollars to unwind. The only way to know which one you have is to actually look.
A one percentage point difference in fees does not sound like much. Over a 25 or 30 year career, it can mean tens of thousands of dollars in retirement income you never see.
What's in the guide
The download walks you through exactly what to ask your provider for, how to add up your true all-in cost, the specific red flags that mean your account deserves a closer look, what your options actually are if you find a problem, and how to get a free second opinion from someone who is not the person who sold you the product in the first place.
It is five pages, written in plain English, with a simple fee comparison table so you know what "low-cost" and "high-cost" actually look like in dollar terms.
Prefer to just talk it through?
If you would rather skip the reading and have Jonathan look at your actual account, that works too. The free retirement assessment covers your 403(b) along with your pension, Social Security, and everything else in your retirement picture.