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Started By
Message
Retirement Account Help Please
Posted on 7/10/25 at 8:07 pm
Posted on 7/10/25 at 8:07 pm
Evening all,
Long time TD lurker here, first time poster.
Background: 33 years old. Teacher/Coach in Texas, coming up on my 10th year.
I have a 403 B and a Roth IRA through National Life Group. I have been contributing to the 403 B for 7ish years and the Roth for 2 or so years.
I just recently realized that both the 403 B and Roth are in the form of an annuity. I guess I am an idiot, but I did not know any better in my mid 20's and thought I was doing a great thing starting an additional savings account to my TRS.
I have had a good experience with National Life Group but did not realize I was missing out on long term gains to my accounts.
National Life Group is free services to me being that I'm an educator in Texas and they contribute 5% to every contribution I make to either account. Their Roth limits yearly is also 8,000. But the yearly returns are very low compared to other things from what I have been told.
So, I need confirmation from the TD experts that I DO need to move my money away from NLG? And if so, where and what to?
I know I have come to the right place
Long time TD lurker here, first time poster.
Background: 33 years old. Teacher/Coach in Texas, coming up on my 10th year.
I have a 403 B and a Roth IRA through National Life Group. I have been contributing to the 403 B for 7ish years and the Roth for 2 or so years.
I just recently realized that both the 403 B and Roth are in the form of an annuity. I guess I am an idiot, but I did not know any better in my mid 20's and thought I was doing a great thing starting an additional savings account to my TRS.
I have had a good experience with National Life Group but did not realize I was missing out on long term gains to my accounts.
National Life Group is free services to me being that I'm an educator in Texas and they contribute 5% to every contribution I make to either account. Their Roth limits yearly is also 8,000. But the yearly returns are very low compared to other things from what I have been told.
So, I need confirmation from the TD experts that I DO need to move my money away from NLG? And if so, where and what to?
I know I have come to the right place
4
Posted on 7/10/25 at 8:42 pm to SmokeyRice92
Have you looked it up on 403Bwise.org
It's an advocacy group for teachers to improve 403b plan offerings. Founder is has come up on several finance podcasts I listen to and seems to have good perspective. Roth in an annuity sounds like a poor option. Good on ya for starting early and realizing now you need to get informed and take action to optimize.
eta: After looking up your district's other offerings might want to start here 'How to Get Out of a Bad 403b' 403bwise.org/education/bad403b
It's awful that the districts invite these predatory insurance peddlers into schools to take advantage of underinformed new teachers. All done under the guise of helping, educating, and empowering them.
It's an advocacy group for teachers to improve 403b plan offerings. Founder is has come up on several finance podcasts I listen to and seems to have good perspective. Roth in an annuity sounds like a poor option. Good on ya for starting early and realizing now you need to get informed and take action to optimize.
eta: After looking up your district's other offerings might want to start here 'How to Get Out of a Bad 403b' 403bwise.org/education/bad403b
It's awful that the districts invite these predatory insurance peddlers into schools to take advantage of underinformed new teachers. All done under the guise of helping, educating, and empowering them.
This post was edited on 7/10/25 at 8:57 pm
Posted on 7/10/25 at 8:57 pm to SmokeyRice92
can you transfer the roth?
Posted on 7/10/25 at 9:09 pm to TorchtheFlyingTiger
Thanks for the info, I will definitely read into that! I’m not against leaving the 403 B open as a “safe haven” but I feel it’s a decent chunk of change that could be more beneficial elsewhere.
Posted on 7/10/25 at 9:10 pm to SmokeyRice92
403bwise vendor rankings has National Life Group at the absolute bottom tier.
In a Green/Yellow /Red rating system with plus and minus,
National Life Group is ranked RED -
Rating System 403bWise
In a Green/Yellow /Red rating system with plus and minus,
National Life Group is ranked RED -
Rating System 403bWise
Posted on 7/10/25 at 9:21 pm to MSTiger33
Yes it can, I’m not sure if their 5 percent match or any gained interest will go with it or not. But I can definitely take out my contributions.
Posted on 7/10/25 at 9:23 pm to TorchtheFlyingTiger
So it looks like I should transfer both to Fidelity or Vanguard? I know those are both TD favorites.
This post was edited on 7/10/25 at 9:48 pm
Posted on 7/10/25 at 9:55 pm to SmokeyRice92
Your district offers Fidelity or Vanguard as 403b vendors? Or are you considering an in service rollover (if plan even supports that) to an IRA outside the 403b entirely?
Hopefully, others can help you navigate this. I dont have any 403b experience just know of that one resource. Good luck, keep us posted and pass your new found knowledge on to your fellow teachers when you get it sorted out.
Hopefully, others can help you navigate this. I dont have any 403b experience just know of that one resource. Good luck, keep us posted and pass your new found knowledge on to your fellow teachers when you get it sorted out.
Posted on 7/11/25 at 11:17 am to TorchtheFlyingTiger
Considering a service rollover and getting out of the 403 B altogether
Posted on 7/11/25 at 3:55 pm to SmokeyRice92
Are there any better vendors available to you for the 403b? While annuities probably aren't a good choice, 403b has much higher contribution limits than IRA and you may be passing up match if offered in 403b.
Posted on 7/12/25 at 9:47 pm to SmokeyRice92
Barron’s has an article about how bad teachers get screwed by these accounts.
quote:
The problem is that many investment options in 403(b) plans often come with big fees—often above 1% annually—eroding what teachers can save by tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars over their careers. By contrast, fees in 401(k) plans have plummeted in recent decades.
Posted on 7/13/25 at 5:06 pm to TorchtheFlyingTiger
I checked out that 403B site for a few of the districts I am familiar with and it's inaccurate.
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