Contrary to popular belief, school district-approved retirement planners are oftentimes not working on behalf of the best interests of educators. These “retirement planners” are typically not Certified Financial Planners, but rather insurance salespeople. They are working the booth at your district benefits meeting to sell you investments for their company, which typically include high hidden costs taken directly from employer contributions. Most educators fail to notice these hidden costs because there is no requirement on the part of the firm to inform customers.

However, educators have more retirement options available besides these high-cost funds. Your contributions can go further, and in some cases, we have seen people save thousands of dollars by shifting their investments inside their 403(b). Lower-cost investments translate to more funds in your retirement account without making any additional contributions from your paycheck.

Apart from deciding which investments are most beneficial for your retirement account, a financial advisor should take into consideration at minimum the following benefits when planning an educator ’ s future:

•         CalSTRS Pension
•         Social Security – Government Pension Offset
•         District Supplemented Healthcare Benefits
•         Group Life Insurance
•         Group Disability Insurance

Above are examples of some financial moving parts tied to your career. A proper retirement plan includes all the financial pieces of your life, not only your employer-sponsored benefits. All your financial moving parts should focus on accomplishing whatever it is you value most in life. Educators have one of the most important but unfortunately undervalued professions in the nation. At Twin Rivers, we want to help teachers create a financial plan that will allow them to treat themselves to the fantastic retirement they deserve.