UPDATE: Please see updated information about crazy-high fees down below.
For the longest time, my employer only offered a 403b, so I dutifully plowed money into it, all invested in USAA funds because that was the best option available. The USAA funds are pretty good, but their fees, while not terrible, are certainly higher than Vanguard. My portfolio average is around 0.65%. Current balances total up to about $250K, and we have 15 working years ahead of us.
Now, they've recently added a 457b administered by TIAA-CREF that offers Vanguard funds, and all of the funds' fees are 0.10% or lower.
Is there any mathematical advantage to sticking with the 403b? The money I have in the 403b would stay there, of course, because I don't think I can roll money over anyway if I haven't retired or terminated employment. It just feel weird to "start over" with a new account at zero, and -- bear with me because I'm not a mathematician -- it makes me wonder if there's a compound interest advantage to adding to an existing balance vs. starting fresh with new investments. I also wonder whether I'm unnecessarily complicating things by adding yet another account to my investment mix. As it is, husband and I each have 403b accounts and Roth IRAs. Is it worth it to add 457 accounts? I know the 457 has the advantage of allowing withdrawals before age 60, but neither of us will retire before age 55 anyway, and the 403b allows withdrawals at 55 if you've separated from service, so that's fine either way.
I tend to lean toward keeping things simple, but I don't want to be stupid about fees either.