Help understanding 403(b) and 457(b) plans

[patchrex]

@tch127 Oh thank you, I didn't realize that was the difference!

Your husband's pension sounds a bit like mine. The city did a bad job managing the pension fund and kept borrowing from it, and now that means everyone who started after 2011 gets a shittier deal. Also they neglected to include some federally required COLA adjustments in the plan so I expect it will run into some problems when people inevitably start suing.

 

[into_the_wilderness]

@patchrex

Chicago Public Schools also offers 403(b) and 457(b) plans (they have Roth and pre-tax versions). However, I have read some very bad things about 403(b) plans.

Good news - CPS' 403(b) and 457(b) plans are both excellent.

and this post on a blog called 403bWise.

403bwise are the experts on this topic. If they say it's a good plan, it's a good plan.

If you want a deeper dive, they did a podcast episode on the CPS plan:

https://teachandretirerich.libsyn.com/chicago-public-schools-goes-single-vendor-193

Is it worth having a second tax-advantaged account at all?

Yes, of course.

Would I be better off just investing the money through a normal brokerage account and/or putting it into a high yield savings account?

No.

Follow the steps of the Prime Directive: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics

 

[patchrex]

@into_the_wilderness Thank you!