Michigan 403(b) Plan Goes From F to C
October 17, 2023
Our latest district 403(b) plan grades are grim. Close to 40 percent of the 4,586 school districts we have graded earn a D or F. Yikes.
Current Grades
- 144 A (3.1%)
- 19 B (<0.5%)
- 2,868 C (62.5%)
- 883 D (22.9%)
- 655 F (16.4%)
- 17 N (0.4%) (N = Need more information)
Total: 4,586
Advocacy Works
The good news is that educators are using our grades to successfully advocate for plan improvement. Until recently Wyandotte Public Schools in Michigan had a straight up F rated plan (zero quality choices). But a teacher was able to successfullly add a low-cost vendor. Which one you ask? See for yourself.
Work to Do
Issues remain in Wyandotte Public Schools: The plan is still multi-vendor; the district continues to make available products from a financial firm — Equitable Financial (AXA) — that was fined $50 million by the SEC for hiding certain 403(b) fees; and most participants will fall victim to marketing by the high-cost companies.
C to A
We encourage all districts to go single, low-cost vendor like Anchorage in Alaska, Chicago in Illinois and Montgomery County in Maryland. I look forward to writing future blog posts called: C to A.
Stay wise and well (and at a minimum have one low-cost vendor available).
