
Think your retirement plan is bad? Talk to a teacher - whack
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/23/your-money/403-b-retirement-plans-fees-teachers.html
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whack
I've never had a high opinion of teacher's unions, but the following makes my
blood boil.

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 _" Had she been able to choose a simpler, less expensive plan instead of the
broker’s costly offering, Ms. Jusinski would have approximately 20 percent
more in savings, according to an analysis performed for The New York Times.
One colleague would have a balance 50 percent fatter. The list goes on.

the people who do the most good in the world, spending their careers helping
others in exchange for modest paychecks, often get the worst retirement plans.
In fact, millions of people who save in 403(b) plans may be losing nearly $10
billion each year in excessive investment fees, according to a recent analysis
by Aon, a retirement consultant.

“It’s a wealth transfer from those who don’t know any better — Main Street —
to those who do: Wall Street,”

...

The N.E.A.’s Member Benefits group, a subsidiary, exclusively endorses a set
of products from Security Benefit, a financial services company with nearly
$32 billion in total assets that creates fixed and variable annuities and
offers mutual funds. (The union’s program for teachers receives at least $2.7
million from Security Benefit each year, according to regulatory filings,
which it said it paid to operate the program.)

The products include an array of mutual funds, various annuities — and one
lower-cost option in which investors can choose inexpensive index funds
without a broker’s assistance. But most new money from school employees is
invested in the mutual funds sold by brokers, according to Gary Phoebus, chief
executive of N.E.A. Member Benefits.

Fees in that program range from 0.35 to 1.25 percent. But that doesn’t include
another layer of expenses for the underlying investments, which run from 0.59
to 2.11 percent, according to Security Benefit, and in some cases additional
sales or surrender charges

For comparison, total costs at a typical large 401(k) generally fall under 0.5
percent.

Mr. Phoebus defended the program, saying it offered a wide variety of options
“to meet the diverse needs and comfort levels of members.” The goal, he
explained, was to balance fees while providing access to advice."_

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They've sold out their own union members, in return for a paycheck from the
company that's fleecing their fellow teachers. And when confronted about the
damage they are doing to their own community, they double down with
meaningless weasel words and excuses. This is absolutely shameful.

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shaftway
My wife was a teacher. Their union was one of the most dishonest thing I've
ever seen, with the school running a close second.

When we were having our first kid, my wife made the mistake of telling the
school she was pregnant. Over the summer the school laid off every employee
that wasn't tenured due to budget cuts. Then due to contractual obligations,
they hired all of them back. Well, all except the three that were pregnant.
The union did two things to help: diddly, and squat. A month into the process
they indicated that they could get this resolved, then suddenly started
straight up refusing to talk to us until we coughed up the next quarter's dues
($400 IIRC). As soon as we paid they told us there was nothing we could do.
And since the wife wasn't qualified to work for the quarter, those dues were
unnecessary.

The school was the really shady character though. If we had kept silent about
the pregnancy, she would have been hired back, then fall under their
disability leave. We fought the whole thing, and of the DoL said the way they
managed the layoff was above board, and while the whole thing stunk, it wasn't
technically illegal.

I understand the need for unions in the early 20th century, but I have yet to
see a single example of a modern union helping any employee.

