How to Be a Great School District
August 20, 2026
Dear School Districts,
We know you have a difficult job. You have a lot on your plate: education, transportation, food service, special services, building construction, building maintenance, hiring, firing, state and federal requirements, School Boards, etc. etc. etc.
We know you want to be "great" and "distinguished". But to truly stand out you need to do right by your most important asset: the people who carry out all of those responsibilities. Pay is just one part of it. And yes, many employees have a pension. But you know better than anyone that pensions are getting worse. Newer hires have to work longer and will receive less in retirement. That's where the 403(b) and the 457(b) come into play.
Your 403(b) Plans Stink
While nearly every school district offers a 403(b) and or a 457(b) plan, the overwhelming number of them are atrocious. How bad? We rate school districts on an A to F scale and the numbers are frankly embarassing. To date we have graded 5,262 of the approximately 13,500 public school districts in the country. These 5,262 school districts employ more than 2 million teachers. Here's just how bad most plans are...
- A-rated plans: 170
- B-rated plans: 22
- C-rated plans: 3,340
- D-rated plans: 933
- F-rated plans: 797
Easy Fix
To earn a C, a district simply has to offer one quality financial company (which we call a green vendor). This would ensure that every employee would have access to one low-cost choice. The only problem with this is that unless a district provides unbiased education, the sales agents slinging products in the lounge are going to ensnare educators in their high-cost products.
The Recipe for Greatness
- Offer AT LEAST one low-cost 403(b) vendor (see our list in the green boxes)
- Offer ONLY ONE low-cost 457(b). For numerous reasons that you can learn about here the 457(b) is superior to the 403(b). It's better for educators and school districts. Ideally you offer the state-based 457(b). Unfortunately not all states let educators contribute to the state-based plan. Check eligibility and quality of each state-based 457(b) plan here. If your state prohibits educators from participating in the state plan choose a low-cost Aspire or Fidelity Investments plan. Los Angeles Unified School district created an award winning plan from scratch.
- De-emphasize the 403(b). Ban sales agents from campus. Focus on 457(b) awareness.
- Provide unbiased education. Our non-profit does free one-hour Zoom sessions for school districts (learn more here).
How to Be Truly Great
It can be a chore to move to a single vendor 403(b) plan. The industry and it's lobbying arm will fight it. But it can be done. Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland has what may be the best 403(b) and 457(b) plan in the country. It's single vendor 403(b) and single vendor 457(b) (Fidelity Investments). If you aren't up for the single 403(b) vendor fight follow The Recipe. It's that simple.
Stay wise and be great.
