I'm a teacher with Chicago Public Schools and I am exploring options for additional retirement savings plans. I currently pay into the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund and have recently opened a Roth IRA account, which I plan to max out.
I was wondering if it would be a good idea to open another tax-advantaged retirement account.
I won't be eligible to get my full pension until I am 67 years old. I'm currently 34. I can't imagine doing another 32 years as a teacher. I love my job and all that, but it is exhausting and I think it might be slowly killing me.
My plan is to stay until I've reached 20 years of service (which is 15 years away), at which point I will leave teaching but will not start drawing my pension until I reach 67, so that I still get the full pension amount. I could technically leave at 10, but my average salary will be a lot higher if I wait until I hit the 20 year mark.
I plan to take part time work and partly live off savings until I am 67. I have been putting money in my Roth IRA, which I will be able to withdraw when I reach 59 1/2 years old.
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. So I tried finding information on the fees AIG is charging for CPS teachers (tbh it's a bit sus to me that it's not anywhere I can find on their website). From Googling, I found a pdf of their disclosures for some completely different employer (which I'm having a hard time understanding), and this post on a blog called 403bWise. I don't really know what to make of those numbers. I have no idea what a normal or "good" fee rate would be. The blog post gives it an "A" rating but I'm not sure if that makes it a good idea for me.
Is it worth having a second tax-advantaged account at all? Would I be better off just investing the money through a normal brokerage account and/or putting it into a high yield savings account?
I really appreciate any advice! Thanks!
Edit: Thank you all so much for your replies! I feel like I have a better understanding of how this all works now.
I was wondering if it would be a good idea to open another tax-advantaged retirement account.
I won't be eligible to get my full pension until I am 67 years old. I'm currently 34. I can't imagine doing another 32 years as a teacher. I love my job and all that, but it is exhausting and I think it might be slowly killing me.
My plan is to stay until I've reached 20 years of service (which is 15 years away), at which point I will leave teaching but will not start drawing my pension until I reach 67, so that I still get the full pension amount. I could technically leave at 10, but my average salary will be a lot higher if I wait until I hit the 20 year mark.
I plan to take part time work and partly live off savings until I am 67. I have been putting money in my Roth IRA, which I will be able to withdraw when I reach 59 1/2 years old.
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. So I tried finding information on the fees AIG is charging for CPS teachers (tbh it's a bit sus to me that it's not anywhere I can find on their website). From Googling, I found a pdf of their disclosures for some completely different employer (which I'm having a hard time understanding), and this post on a blog called 403bWise. I don't really know what to make of those numbers. I have no idea what a normal or "good" fee rate would be. The blog post gives it an "A" rating but I'm not sure if that makes it a good idea for me.
Is it worth having a second tax-advantaged account at all? Would I be better off just investing the money through a normal brokerage account and/or putting it into a high yield savings account?
I really appreciate any advice! Thanks!
Edit: Thank you all so much for your replies! I feel like I have a better understanding of how this all works now.