jondoejag2

Not knowing anything about investing, when they came around 23 years ago and pitched the ICMA-RC tax exempt self funded NON-ERISA 457plan, we were led to believe the plans were managed and if we followed their investment plans and increased our donations, by the time we retired, we would have sizeable nest eggs. It seemed like a no brainer. After 23 years and investing over $96,000 of my own money, the plan is now worth $150,000, or if I was able to take it all out pay taxes on it, I would have just a little more than I put into the plan. It turned out that we were paying 59 basis points, or management fees that ICMA-RC is calling maintenance fees, along with exceptionally high fund fees (an example is the ICMA-RC 2040 fund with index fees of .141% vs Amerifunds 2040 fund with index fees of .038% all of the index fees for the funds available to us through ICMA-RC are charging that kind of excessive fee). I noticed about 3 years ago the plans weren't doing what we were told they would. When I questioned the ICMA-RC plan maintenance advisor, who we all thought was the ICMA-RC plan manager, he told me that he didn't understand what I was upset about since I had more in the plan than I had put into it. I told him that I wouldn't when I pulled it out and paid the taxes on it, not to mention the "rule of 72 " (investments should double every 72 months) where the plan has only made half of what I put into it over 23 years. I talked to our city's administration and was told it was all a crap shoot and that I had mismanaged the plan. The city failed to properly explain the plan to us, they failed to make sure we were not being overcharged on fees, they failed to make sure underperforming funds were removed from the funds available to us for investing, and they failed to have an investment line up for those of us who were investing in the plan but knew nothing of how to actually invest ourselves. One year the national rate of return was 14%. My account made -3% that year. I went to an advisor from an investment company and had him check my account. He then talked to the city on my behalf and explained their fiduciary liability. They knew nothing about what their duties were and immediately switched to a new plan with a different company. They are currently in the process of making that switch happen but they do not plan on doing anything to make up the losses to the rest of us that followed the investment plan and did not reap any of the rewards. For a lot of people, $96,000 over that period is not a lot of money. When you make what I make, it sure is. I, however, still can't find an attorney who will handle this case even though most of the attorneys say there is a case but that they won't be able to handle it. If there is not a case here, then everyone might as well quit talking about fiduciary responsibility, because it doesn't exist, and they can lie to you at will and lose all of your money with no repercussions..

Does anyone on here have any clue where I can find an attorney who can practice in Tennessee who specializes in Fiduciary Responsibility breaches in Non- ERISA 457 Deferred Compensation Plans? I have seen people and attorneys all over the internet on many websites giving advice about this and how certain things are able to be fought in court. HOWEVER, I have been contacting attorney after attorney for the last 2-3 years (at least 50), even the one's giving that advice, and either can't get them to talk to me, they won't return my calls, or they take all of my case information and then I never hear back from them. I have been charged by the state bar association for lawyer referrals only to have those referrals tell me they don't handle those types of cases and don't know why I was referred to them. How can violations of fiduciary responsibility be illegal if no attorney will even take a case involving them? I have talked to attorneys who have referred me to their friends and their friends respond that they don't handle those types of cases. I have been referred to securities attorneys, employment attorneys, retirement plan attorneys, ERISA attorneys- and NONE of them will contact me back. If anyone has any idea of an actual attorney who handles these types of cases, I would really appreciate the contact information. I am tired of talking to attorneys and telling them my story, only to be ignored. Thank you in advance for any assistance.

Here is what I have found for non-ERISA plans after talking to about 40-50 attorneys all across the US. Some of those attorneys are the ones that give out all of the answers on question and answer boards. Non-ERISA plans do not allow attorneys to do class action lawsuits. All of those attorneys I spoke to reviewed all of my information and said the situation was illegal and they could not do that, However, each of those attorneys also said they would not be able to take my case for one reason or another and then left me hanging for weeks and weeks or even months, then sent me to other attorneys who did the same thing. I have come to the conclusion that if you cannot find an attorney to take your case, then the action is not illegal. That means that anyone investing your money can do whatever they want to with it and there is nothing you can do about it other than to quit giving them money. Attorneys can give you every reason in the world why certain actions are illegal, but as far as retirement attorneys go, at least the 40-50 investment specialist attorneys I talked to are full of BS!

Thank you. I will add some of the funds and costs soon. If $43,000 in gains, before taxes, over 22 years is not so bad, then what is the point in investing if you're going to wind up with less than you put in? I could have just done a savings account on my own with no fees and no hassles, which is basically what my 22 years of investing in a 457 plan has wound up being. If that's all a 457 plan is, then there is no point in having them because mine absolutely SUCKS. At least if it were buried in my yard, I could have taken some out whenever I wanted to. Put $90,000 in, earn $43,000 while the money is tied up over 22 years, and when I draw it out, I will have $87,000 after taxes. That's not much of an investment!

I really know very little about investing and that is why I went with the 457 plan. When we were all told about this plan, it was explained to us that if we followed their investment strategies with ICMA and kept increasing our money going into the account, we would have a very sizable nest egg at this point in time. I did follow their plan, even when it seemed to be losing money. People kept telling me to leave it alone and keep with it because it would rebound. It didn't. I only found out last year, when I kept contacting them about the lack of money in the account, that they do not actually manage the account and that account management was up to us. They only align the account how we want them to as far as high risk, moderate risk, or low risk. It turned out that our city also entered into an agreement with ICMA that made it so we couldn't transfer any of out funds into another company, such as Vanguard. I went to Edward Jones investment company and asked them to look at my account and they were the one's who showed me the extravagant "maintenance fee's" ICMA had been charging, which was several times the national average on fees charged for those same funds. They think the city had a fiduciary responsibility to look after our accounts and make sure we weren't being overcharged on fees by ICMA. I brought this up to the city 2 years ago. Nothing has changed. The money in my account is still basically the same as it was 2 years ago. I looked at the "rule of 72" and believe I should have much more in my account. There were several years I was earning -9% for the year with ICMA. Edwards Jones representative and Vanguards representative said those same years should have been earning13%. Right now, when I pull the money out and pay taxes on it, I will have less than I put into the account to show for over 22 years of investing.

If this is not allowed, feel free to remove it. I have had a 457 plan with ICMA for the last 22 years through the city I work at. I have contributed $90,000 into that plan over the last 22 years. I currently have $133,000 in it. ICMA is a non profit but is charging 3-15 times the national average in maintenance fees. We were told if we followed their plan, we would have hundreds of thousands of dollars in our plans by this point in time. Do I have any options?