K-12 School System & State Employees
As a K-12 employee, your employer (school, city, parish or county) sends money to the state on your behalf. The state repays this money to the employee upon qualified retirement or severance of employment. The funds are repaid to you; the employee, in the form of a pension, a lump sum or a partial lump-sum depending on your states defined benefits plan.
Lump-sum retirement benefits can be expected from forfeiting the state’s pension offer, extending employment past retirement eligibility, and or unused sick leave. The amount paid to each individual is dependent upon your years of service/ length of employment. After a 30 plus year career you can expect roughly 45 to 55% of your average final compensation, depending on your particular state’s defined plan.
403(b) Plan
The 403(b) plan is an employer-sponsored supplemental retirement savings plan that, similar to a 401k plan, allows employees to contribute on a pre-tax or (if permitted by the 403(b) plan) Roth after-tax basis. A 403(b) plan can only be sponsored by a public school or a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
If your employer sponsors a 403b plan, you’ll get valuable benefits for retirement savings.
- Tax-deferred Investment earnings.
- Ability to reduce your taxable income.
- Catch-up contributions.
- Investment options you can control.
- Employee access to their accounts when they have a distributable event on the plan.
- Portability.
- Eligible for withdrawals at age 55.
- In-service loan and hardship access
457(b) Plan
A 457(b) plan is a supplemental retirement plan for employees whose employer offers this option. It is very similar to the 403(b) plan with one major exception; Employees who utilize the 457 tax code are eligible for penalty-free distribution only once severed from employment, regardless of the policy holder’s age.
- Ability to reduce your taxable income.
- Your investment earnings grow tax-deferred.
- Choose from a menu of investment funds.
- Portability.
- Eligible for withdrawals at any age once severed from employment.
“My Retirement Representative thoroughly explained everything to me, making sure I understood all aspects of my retirement plan. He helped me find an investment strategy suitable to my needs, and he made me feel confident along the way with my decision. Also, Everyone I have referred to DFS has come back to thank me. Now instead of being nervous, I’m Looking forward to my retirement”
Holly Heuerman, Retired Public School System
Asset Accumulation
Fixed, Market Investments, and The Equity Index Strategy
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Whole Life, Universal, Term, Indexed Universal and Variable Universal
Mortgage
First time homebuyer, Refinance