403bwise Enlists Teacher Educators in Fight to Fix the K-12 403(b)
April 2, 2024
On Thursday, March 28th in Anaheim, California, 403bwise fulfilled a long-time goal. We spoke to teacher educators. But not just any group of teacher educators. We spoke at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators. Founded in 1920, the ATE “is the only national, individual membership organization devoted solely to the improvement of teacher education for both school and campus-based teacher educators.” It’s an impressive group.
New Teachers Particularly Vulnerable to 403(b) Sales Pitches
While all educators are targeted by 403(b) sales agents, it’s the new teacher who is most at risk. Unfortunately, too few school districts objectively educate employees about retirement options, and too many districts allow high-cost vendors to appear and present (!!) at new teacher orientation events.
Our Message
The 403(b) is a powerful wealth-building tool if used wisely. Unfortunately too many new teachers oblivious to the impact of fees and investing fall victim to the sales agent in the staff lounge and the email inbox. We detailed how choosing the wrong vendor can cost an educator hundreds of thousands of dollars over time. We walked attendees through our vendor rating and school district grading systems. We explained the myriad of ways teacher educators can help their soon-to-be graduates including enlisting 403bwise to do free one-hour Zoom sessions (we’ve already booked sessions). We were thrilled with the reaction to our message.
Thank you, ATE, for inviting us. And thank you for your interest in this important issue.
(30 minutes before)
(from left to right)
- Aiyana Henry, At-Large Representative, University of Oklahoma
- Scott Dauenhauer, 403bwise
- Dan Otter, 403bwise
- Cheryl Torrez, ATE First Vice President (incoming president), University of New Mexico
- Jon Yoshioka, ATE President (23-24), University of Hawaii
Stay wise and well (and educate teacher candidates).
