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Ny times blasts expensive teacher retirement plans
Could you please use the actual headline from NYT in your caption? (Just hit the edit function on the right.). Here is the actual headline as it appears in your NYT article: Think your retirement plan is bad? Talk to a teacher.
Reason: The Times is criticizing the cost (to the teachers) of their voluntary retirement plans like 403Bs. The Times does not address the cost of public retirement plans. I think that's an important distinction. Not reading beyond the caption would likely lead to a gross misunderstanding of what the NYT is saying.
@jerry I know quite a few retired and active teachers. Some have 2 Masters degrees, all have 1 Masters degree. 1. Their qualifying level of education for their work does not qualify them to have knowledge of their 403b plans or investments in general or the value of obtaining such knowledge that would be of great benefit to their retirement future. 2. I've had numerous discussions over a 30+year period with many of these teachers and I did not find the passion, curiosity or tenacity required to be involved in their 403b plan structure and/or vendor. 3. From my past explorations of 403b's related to teachers, I did discover that teachers have very few friends in this area; including, but not limited to the "NEA" (National Education Association), state education associations or their local unions.
Teachers and their 403b's require their full involvement, not unlike attempting to change a bad 401k plan at a public/private company. Until they are willing to form a large enough group and do battle about their circumstance; nothing will change. They are fighting against very large money sums supporting organizations and vendors. I recall recently, a teacher/union group or such sued the "NEA" regarding fees, charges or related; relative to investments products offered. One may suppose that "they" do eat their own.
Lastly, the teachers and their 403b plight is not different in many aspects to the circumstances many private sector folks discover. I do not find the lack of passion about investing their hard earned money for retirement any different from most of the folks I know. A big "DUH"!
I don't have time to investigate further, as the Michigan weather is most pleasant today and I must get work in progress before the sun sets and the snow flies.
Sounds like Bernie Madoff was running some of these plans, When a lady complained to her broker about her account losing money he told her that her account was "highly managed." LOL
Could you please use the actual headline from NYT in your caption? (Just hit the edit function on the right.). Here is the actual headline as it appears in your NYT article: Think your retirement plan is bad? Talk to a teacher.
The "actual" headline is arguably "Reading, Writing and Rip-Offs", as that's the headline that appears in the "real" NYTimes. That is, the real paper you can hold in your hand, not a virtual knockoff.
I don't know if that is any better or worse, though it is more terse and more clever.
The NEA has done a terrible job of representing teachers and their investment options beyond what defined benefit programs most states and school districts have offered. Now that many teachers are being forced into defined contribution retirement plans, the NEA and their state affiliates have an even greater responsibility. I doubt that they'll do better. Frequently, sweet-heart deals are cut with investment providers outside the collective bargaining process and teachers get terrible advice and plans, just the sort of arrangements the Times article speaks of. Paternalism and sexism color much of the way teachers have been treated. Educators are left out of the important role they should play in evaluating their own job performance, just as they are assumed to be unable to make decisions about their retirement money.
Higher education faculty and administrators have generally been better served by TIAA, but high management fees have been discovered and revealed in recent lawsuits by faculty at well-regarded institutions. In an ideal set-up, the default options would be a limited number of low-cost index funds with other funds available to employees who want to take a more active role in their investments. As unlikely as finding Eldorado...
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403bwise.com/
Could you please use the actual headline from NYT in your caption? (Just hit the edit function on the right.). Here is the actual headline as it appears in your NYT article: Think your retirement plan is bad? Talk to a teacher.
Reason: The Times is criticizing the cost (to the teachers) of their voluntary retirement plans like 403Bs. The Times does not address the cost of public retirement plans. I think that's an important distinction. Not reading beyond the caption would likely lead to a gross misunderstanding of what the NYT is saying.
@jerry
I know quite a few retired and active teachers. Some have 2 Masters degrees, all have 1 Masters degree.
1. Their qualifying level of education for their work does not qualify them to have knowledge of their 403b plans or investments in general or the value of obtaining such knowledge that would be of great benefit to their retirement future.
2. I've had numerous discussions over a 30+year period with many of these teachers and I did not find the passion, curiosity or tenacity required to be involved in their 403b plan structure and/or vendor.
3. From my past explorations of 403b's related to teachers, I did discover that teachers have very few friends in this area; including, but not limited to the "NEA" (National Education Association), state education associations or their local unions.
Teachers and their 403b's require their full involvement, not unlike attempting to change a bad 401k plan at a public/private company.
Until they are willing to form a large enough group and do battle about their circumstance; nothing will change. They are fighting against very large money sums supporting organizations and vendors.
I recall recently, a teacher/union group or such sued the "NEA" regarding fees, charges or related; relative to investments products offered. One may suppose that "they" do eat their own.
Lastly, the teachers and their 403b plight is not different in many aspects to the circumstances many private sector folks discover. I do not find the lack of passion about investing their hard earned money for retirement any different from most of the folks I know. A big "DUH"!
I don't have time to investigate further, as the Michigan weather is most pleasant today and I must get work in progress before the sun sets and the snow flies.
Regards,
Catch
I don't know if that is any better or worse, though it is more terse and more clever.
Higher education faculty and administrators have generally been better served by TIAA, but high management fees have been discovered and revealed in recent lawsuits by faculty at well-regarded institutions. In an ideal set-up, the default options would be a limited number of low-cost index funds with other funds available to employees who want to take a more active role in their investments. As unlikely as finding Eldorado...