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From the Teacher's Advocate: The Annuity Chart They Don't Want You To See

"This [article provides] a document from The Annuity Source, Inc. [which] lists all the latest annuities they are selling and the commission rates.... [It's] available on the open net...so, here it is (18 pages of annuity products and their commission schedules)."

Texas Teachers Are Not Criminals; Understanding the Now-Closed Social Security 'Loophole'

Excerpt: The teachers [described in an article in The American Spectator] are made out to be criminals .... They went through a perfectly legal process to gain these benefits and they shouldn't be punished or have these benefits taken away ... My only concern is that its a bit unfair that those 20,000 teachers got to do it, and the hundreds of thousands of others didn't.

A 'Miner' Change to the Government 457(b) May Make a Major Difference to Teachers

"Included in the [SECURE Act] is a provision that allows in-service 457(b) withdrawals at age 59-1/2 leveling the playing field with the 403(b) on access.... Currently, the favored defined contribution plan for teachers is the 403(b). But because the K-12 403(b) is not subject to ERISA fiduciary oversight, most plans feature high-cost products sold by high-commission sales agents.... By design, the 457(b) requires more fiduciary oversight which has generally led to better, lower cost investment options. It now might make more sense for teachers to contribute to the 457(b) before contributing to a 403(b)."

Teachers Now in Insurance Agents' Crosshairs After DOL Rule

"Imagine you are an agent who likes to sell Equity Indexed Annuities (EIAs) ... Today you are likely shell-shocked by the new DOL rule which just made it much more difficult to sell EIAs in [IRAs]. Incredible vacations and large commission checks are a thing of the past ... or are they? What if there was one last bastion of the retirement market where you could continue to hunt for juicy prey to sell your toxic products? This market exists, it's called the non-ERISA 403(b) market."

The Price of Enrollment

"It's not a profitable economic opportunity to sign up new participants in multi-vendor K-12 public school 403(b) plans, as currently structured. Enrollments are subsidized by predatory ancillary sales and mostly unneeded exchanges.... Let's talk about the economics of signing up new employees."

Conflicts in Fixed Annuities: Incentives Part 2 -- The Trips! The Amazing Trips!

"Fully paid for vacations to exotic locales could certainly persuade an agent to sell one annuity product or another or to sell an annuity when another financial product would be more appropriate. Educators should be aware of the incentives behind products sold to them. In a perfect world there would be no incentives, only the best interest of the client and a fully disclosed compensation scheme separate from the recommendation."

The Equitable Bermuda Triangle: The Gaslighting of Public School Employees

"If the multi-vendor environment is so good for the employee, why aren't companies like Apple Corporation rushing to ditch their single vendor plans (Apple uses Fidelity Investments)? If having multiple vendors is so beneficial, why is there so much opposition to adding at least one low-cost, high-quality vendor?"

NTSA and the Swimming Pool Dilemma

"Recently, the National Tax-Deferred Savings Association [NTSA] released a report titled Improving Retirement Savings for America's Public Educators in which it aims to provide evidence that increasing or maintaining (many) choices for public educators increases participation.... The main conclusion was that 'The data shows a decrease in the participation rates for 403(b) plans when the number of choices are reduced.' If true, this report would be evidence that Nobel winning research on behavioral finance is wrong. However, it's not true. The data doesn't confirm the claims[.]"

403(b)izarre: Make It Automatic -- What About Personal Responsibility? (Part 3 of 4)

"American's have proven they won't save on their own, they need a nudge. I challenge anyone to find a retiring teacher upset with their decision to contribute to a defined contribution plan early in their career."

Blacklisted: How the NTSA Stifles Dissent

"The real issue here is that the NTSA doesn't want my voice heard.... An organization that is under the American Retirement Association should encourage outside thinkers, not stifle their voice.... Keeping me out of the conference leads me to believe there are things that might be said out loud that they'd rather the public not hear. This should disturb every member of the American Retirement Association."