You know the scene. Big cafeteria, folding tables, vendors with glossy brochures trying to grab you during your 45-minute lunch break. I was one of those guys, pitching retirement products to teachers. A lot of what was being sold in those rooms wasn't good.
High fees, complicated products, and people across the table with zero legal obligation to actually act in your interest.
"Eventually I couldn't keep doing it. So I went independent."
I've spent most of my career since then working only with California teachers and public school employees. Hundreds of them at this point. I know CalSTRS and CalPERS inside out. I know which vendors show up at your school and what they're selling. I know what those products actually cost you, and I know what better looks like.
CalSTRS and CalPERS both have rules that take years to really get. The 403(b) market built around educators is its own weird world. And your pension payout, survivor benefits, your DBS account, Social Security, your investments, none of that happens in isolation. By the time you're retiring it's all tangled together, and a generalist just isn't going to catch that.
I also know the pension isn't what it used to be. Teachers are working longer now for benefits that used to take fewer years to earn. You need someone to tell you that straight, not pat you on the head about it.
I run the numbers, show you every option, and tell you what I would do if it were my money. Sometimes that means recommending a product. Sometimes it means telling you to stay exactly where you are.
I'm not paid more or less depending on which way you go. My job is to give you a straight answer and let you make the call.
