403 B questions

[redfox]

Hi,
Tomorrow, I start a new job at a non-profit that has a 403 B plan; unmatched, sadly. However, since I had to cash out my TIAA-CREF account to pay for the high deductible insurance plan I have, for cancer treatment this year, I now have a big ol' fat 0 in retirement. Of course, I also don't have cancer any more either... soooo... what do you know about a 403 B? I can still deposit funds at TIAA-CREF, so I'll use them for this, and I am researching on the interwebs... It's just nice to rely on friends for tips, ya know?
Thanks in advance for any tidbits!

[fidgiegirl]

So they'll let you use TIAA-CREF for the 403(b)? I'm confused on that point . . .

[lhamo]

Congratulations on your new job! Hope it is a good fit for you.

I've only ever had 403(b)s -- never worked for a for-profit. They basically function the same as a 401(k) in terms of maximum contributions, etc. My current one is with Fidelity, and they recently switched from more expensive Fidelity funds to Vanguard funds -- yay! I was very happy about that because the fees are quite a bit lower (.7% for Fidelity Target Retirement Funds versus .16%ish for Vanguard Retirement Funds). I like using target retirement funds not only because of the reasonable fees but also because it is easy to take a "set it and forget it" approach -- you dollar cost average into a single fund, and then it does all the rebalancing for you. If you go that route, you might want to select a target fund with a very distant retirement date -- that will generally mean a more aggressive approach in the first few years.

Good luck figuring it out and post more detailed questions as you work through the options. TIAA-CREF is pretty solid, so you should find decent options.