Bonus: Is Your School's 403(b) On The Naughty List? Here's What To Do About It | Dan Otter | 227

What if the smartest way to fix teacher retirement is not patching the broken 403(b) machine, but quietly building an exit ramp to something better? In this bonus conversation, Bill, Jackie, and Dan Otter keep pulling the thread on the teacher-retirement mess and land on a surprisingly practical answer: the 457(b) may be the cleaner, simpler, more flexible plan that schools should be leaning into. Dan also highlights the new audio series Learned by Being Burned, Carl Fisch's 50-state teacher-retirement books, and several states that are getting it right. They end with a reminder that fixing a broken system starts with people who care enough to push back.

This episode covers:

Why auto-enrollment and employer matches are still rare in most teacher 403(b) plans

How multi-vendor 403(b)s make even simple plan improvements harder than they should be

The difference between individual and group 403(b) contracts, and why that matters

How state-run 457 plans can simplify choices and lower costs for educators

The role of unions, districts, and state policy in either helping or hurting teachers

Real examples of school districts and states that are getting retirement plans right

How teachers can organize coworkers, use advocacy tools, and pressure districts or states to improve plans

.

=== SUPPORT  THE  SHOW ===

📩 Sign up for our newsletter