YOU HAVE FOUND OUR OLD WEB SITE. BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR NEW AND IMPROVED SITE!     403(b) Stories In an effort to personalize the 403(b) plan so that participants can learn from one another, 403(b)wise will be profiling real people who contribute to the 403(b) retirement plan.     Kady, 31, University Library Technician, Las Vegas, NV What is your estimated current balance? Currently it's about $2,800.   What got you started investing in a 403(b)? A variety of factors. I had a Roth IRA and was maxing it out, but wanted to find a place to tuck aside more money for retirement. Also, the university where I work does a good job of outreach. Advisors from AIG-Valic, Fidelity, ING, and TIAA-CREF are on campus regularly and notices are posted in the campus newsletter as well as the campus info e-mail list.   Finally, the Human Resource specialist in my department (library) had our local PERS (Public Employee Retirement System) representative come and speak to us about retirement. After he explained that a 403(b) contribution would not have an adverse impact on what PERS considered "salary" when calcuating retirement pension, I felt much better about starting a 403(b) plan.   How long have you contributed to a 403(b)? Not very long. I started 18 months ago.   Who did you invest with and how much do you contribute monthly? I invest with AIG-Valic. Their main campus rep is very good. I met her because she helped my supervisor set up a 403(b) plan. She was very well prepared and had lots of handouts for me to read. She answered all my questions. When I first started I was contributing $200 a month. I have recently upped that to $500 a month. The university pays any account fees so long as I'm employed with them.   Do you contribute to a 457(b)? A 457(b) is currently not available.   What is your risk tolerance? Moderate. Having started saving for retirement in June of 2000 with a Roth IRA, I've seen how a bear market can decimate an account. I know I need to invest in growth, but it's kind of hard when all I've ever seen increase in value are "value" or bond based funds. The word "growth fund" is very scary to me.   What is your approach to asset allocation? I keep reminding myself that I'm young and need to take a bit more risk. Take risk until 45, and then invest to hang on to what you've got.   What is your feeling on using an advisor? An advisor should be retained only if they earn it. My account rep returns phone calls promptly and has shown she's willing to go the extra mile. (I met her because she was going above and beyond for a client — my supervisor.) But I also know that an advisor has an agenda. I listen to advice, weigh the pros and cons, sleep on it, and then I act.   What is your investment philosophy? Money is freedom — live free or die. A little scrimping now means not living in fear later.   What have you learned about investing? Think before you act. Just because your advisor says something doesn't mean you have to take their advice.   When would you like to retire? One grandma just turned 95. One grandpa is in his mid 80s and going strong. I'm not taking any chances on running out of money, so I'm looking at 60. Besides, at that time I will have maxed out my PERS benefits, so no point in staying on past that.   What is your advice for the beginning investor? Look at your "latte factor". Trimming money here won't hurt that much now and will have decades to grow. Invest in what you understand.   What is your advice for the late-start investor? This would be my husband, who didn't open his first IRA until he was 40. ;) Better late than never. Find a way to put at least 20% of your income away, and any future raises should be put straight into retirement. It will be hard at first, but not as hard as trying to live off of nothing more than a Social Security check.   What else would you like to share about your 403(b) experience? That I wish I started at 25 and not 29.5! I'm not a financial wizard and the thought of reading a prospectus or a SEC filing makes me groan, but oddly enough, looking at my budget to find ways to pack more cash into retirement has become fun and it's made me a better consumer. Finally, learning more about a 403(b) plan and researching my investing choices there, plus talking with my advisor has also led me to make different (and better) choices for my Roth IRA.   Would you like to share your 403(b) story? If so we want to hear from you! We are especially interested in participants who use an agent or advisor, and participants who have a 457(b). If you are interested email us at: contactus@403bwise.com and type "403(b) stories" in the subject line.   Home | Disclaimer | © 2004 bWise Guys, LLC. All rights reserved.				Back to the most recent 403(b) story