Hi all--I've been lurking all year and absorbing whatever I can like crazy, but this is my first post! I need some help on pre-tax retirement options at work. Thanks to this community, I've realized how lucky I am to have access to a 403b and a 457b, each with separate 19.5k employee contribution limits.
403b. I already max out my 403b, which as far as I understand is basically the same as a 401k. I don't plan to stay with my company until retirement, and so plan to roll this over into a personal tIRA when I leave. The account is administered by TIAA, but they allow me to invest in VFIAX, which appears to be the lowest-fee, most Mustachian fund. As far as I know, I'm happy with this account.
457b. Since I live in a HCOL with reasonably high income, I'm considering opening one of these for more tax-advantaged growth. This effort would be redirecting my current taxable cash savings each month and lowering my AGI in the 24% bracket closer to the 22% bracket. For the 457b, I seem to be limited to TIAA investment options. If I ignore real estate, fixed income, money market, I'm left with equity options that include: CREF Equity Index Account R2 (.29% fee), CREF Global Equities Account R2 (.36% fee), CREF Growth Account R2 (.32% fees), and CREF Stock Account R2 (.39% fee).
I don't trust my corporate TIAA rep, because he has been demonstrably wrong a few times and continues to try to push annuities and high-cost TIAA products despite my non-interest. I've also been unable to acquire any paperwork that can definitely tell me rules about my specific accounts.
Part of my concern stems from my third, entirely employer-funded retirement account at this same company. It is a 401a that has (changing) ratio rules about what percentage can be rolled over upon separation and what percentage must remain with TIAA as an annuity. Based on that, I'm afraid of dumping a lot of money into the 457b and learning that I have limited flexibility to roll it over upon separation and it's stuck in relatively high-fee investments. It's been remarkably difficult to get transparent answers so I don't trust TIAA or their stated fees.
Any advice on whether to open the 457b and which investment to choose? Do my options feel incorrect based on anyone else's experience (i.e., is my TIAA rep not presenting all investment options?) Does anyone know how 457s well, and whether some rules are universal vs. company-specific?
Thank you all in advance!