403b - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

mused76 · 10-14-2004, 07:13 PM

Our company's retirement plan is through a 403b setup. I was wondering if anyone out there can offer me any good suggestions, who has good knowledge of how 403b works, of what I should be putting my money into. It seems like there's a lot of choices but what I have going for me right now isn't really collecting a lot of money right now. I've been at the company for about 4 1/2 years now and earned around 7500.00 up to this point. My company contributes 3% each pay. Any suggestions or knowledge about 403b plans would be helpful - as the person who works through Valic (the company contracted to work with our company) doesn't seem to be helpful in filling in the blanks.
Thanks ahead of time,
me

gar1976 · 10-15-2004, 12:22 PM

A 403(b) is for an employee of tax-exempt religious, charitable or educational organizations. Works pretty much the same way as a 401(k), in that either you can defer cash or your employer can make contributions. You can borrow against the plan if permitted, and be careful on excess contributions, which might be taxed twice in some cases. For 2003, if you are under 50 you may contribute up to $12k into the plan. The amount you have in there can be rolled over to an IRA if desired.

As for your investments, you might want to sit down with an investment advisor. Most companies nowadays, for fear of lawsuits/litigation (think Enron, in which all the workers foolishly had all their retirement in Enron stock when the shit hit the fan) will allow you to sit with an investment advisor for recommendations on how to divide your investments.

10-14-2004, 07:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
mused76 Crazy Location: NE Ohio	403b Our company's retirement plan is through a 403b setup. I was wondering if anyone out there can offer me any good suggestions, who has good knowledge of how 403b works, of what I should be putting my money into. It seems like there's a lot of choices but what I have going for me right now isn't really collecting a lot of money right now. I've been at the company for about 4 1/2 years now and earned around 7500.00 up to this point. My company contributes 3% each pay. Any suggestions or knowledge about 403b plans would be helpful - as the person who works through Valic (the company contracted to work with our company) doesn't seem to be helpful in filling in the blanks. Thanks ahead of time, me

10-15-2004, 12:22 PM	#2 (permalink)
gar1976 Custom User Title Location: Lurking. Under the desk.	A 403(b) is for an employee of tax-exempt religious, charitable or educational organizations. Works pretty much the same way as a 401(k), in that either you can defer cash or your employer can make contributions. You can borrow against the plan if permitted, and be careful on excess contributions, which might be taxed twice in some cases. For 2003, if you are under 50 you may contribute up to $12k into the plan. The amount you have in there can be rolled over to an IRA if desired. As for your investments, you might want to sit down with an investment advisor. Most companies nowadays, for fear of lawsuits/litigation (think Enron, in which all the workers foolishly had all their retirement in Enron stock when the shit hit the fan) will allow you to sit with an investment advisor for recommendations on how to divide your investments. __________________ Blistex, in regards to crappy games - They made pong look like a story driven RPG with a dynamic campaign.