Three plans. Two providers. Nobody looking at all of it.

Because your TIAA representative can often times only advise you on TIAA accounts, and your Fidelity representative often times only on Fidelity accounts. Neither can typically look at the 403(b) still sitting at your previous institution, your taxable brokerage account, your spouse’s plan, or a rental property. Each may be doing an excellent job inside their own slice. We find that the problems often times appear in the space between the slices.

No. Faculty wealth is often invisible from the outside because it accumulates quietly inside plans over decades rather than showing up as income. If you have been contributing for fifteen years, we find there is usually more there than you would guess. Tell us what you are working through and we will say honestly whether it is worth engaging anyone.

Sometimes yes and sometimes clearly not. It depends on the fund menu and fees in the old plan, whether it holds an annuity contract with its own transfer rules, creditor protection, and whether consolidating helps or hurts a future backdoor Roth. We find the common failure is not choosing wrong, rather, it is never choosing, and leaving an account nobody watches.

We suggest the 403(b) account up to the full 5%, for essentially everyone, because we don’t believe anything else returns two-for-one without direct market exposure. After that it depends on when you need the money. Distributions from the 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan are not subject to the 10% federal early-withdrawal penalty once you separate from U-M, which matters if you might step back before 59½. If you expect to work to 65 or beyond, the answer often flips to the 403(b) Supplemental account.

We typically find it is earlier than most faculty expect. If you hold TIAA Traditional in an older contract, transfers can take up to nine years, which makes it a decision for your late fifties rather than the year you retire. Roth conversions are typically most valuable between your last paycheck and required minimum distributions. Both are typically easier to shape at 58 than at 66.

We are a fee-based registered investment adviser and a fiduciary. We do not earn commissions on transactions and we do not sell insurance or investment products, so nothing about how we are compensated changes based on which account you fund, whether you consolidate an old plan, or what you decide to do with a TIAA balance. Fee arrangements are discussed openly before any engagement begins, and our full fee schedule is in our Form ADV, which is public.

It comes to our team, not a general queue. We reach out to understand what you are working through, then introduce you to the Ann Arbor advisor who fits. If it turns out you do not need us, we will say so.