Faculty and Staff with TIAA-CREF and Fidelity 403b

As you may know, there are very few independent investment advisory firms in the Ann Arbor area that are knowledgeable about TIAA-CREF, Fidelity and all of the complexities of the University of Michigan benefits. There are few that (1) get involved with managing retirement assets remaining with TIAA-CREF, Fidelity, and coordinating these investments with stocks and mutual funds that you have elsewhere, and (2) get involved with retirement planning, retirement decision making and other aspects of personal financial planning. The RIS team helps TIAA-CREF/Fidelity 403b participants who hold more than $350 million in assets. We have been working with some of these clients for more than 20 years and have helped them progress from pre-retirement planning through retirement years.

We pride ourselves on being responsive to your needs. Unlike some offices, we try to return phone calls the same or next day, and if you would like to come in to meet directly with us, it can normally be scheduled within the next week to ten days.

We have highlighted below numerous issues or challenges that you might be or should be concerned about:

First, the RIS team proactively manages client assets. TIAA-CREF and Fidelity employees can only give you their standardized advice when you are speaking to them. Many university employees had felt comfortable over the years with calling their investment company once a year for review. The recent financial turmoil has demonstrated that much can happen in 364 days. At RIS, our clients hire us and give us discretion to act on their behalf, generally within a set range of stock market exposure like a minimum of 30% stocks and a maximum of 60%, for example. Then we proactively manage the mix of TIAA-CREF and/or Fidelity investments within that range, according to our best judgment. We can share with you our investment actions that have benefitted our clients over the years.

Second, many of our University clients have investment accounts outside the University retirement accounts. Click on Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds and Variable Annuity Portfolio Management to read how we can help you manage any other accounts you may have. Click on Coordinate with Other Family Accounts to see how we can help you pull together these accounts, including your spouse's, and have a coordinated investment approach.

Third, some clients are not sure that they can afford to retire now or when they would like to retire. The retirement illustrations provided by TIAA-CREF are fairly conservative. They assume that stocks will earn 6% between now and your retirement date and 4% thereafter. These conservative assumptions may lead some to believe that they cannot afford to retire while less conservative ones may lead to the opposite conclusion. We provide projections using what we consider less conservative, and perhaps more realistic, return assumptions. Moreover, we show the impact of various stock return assumptions. Click on Planning for Retirement to read how we can prepare a retirement plan specifically for you.

Fourth, there are a wide variety of questions that you must consider as you contemplate retirement, and we can help you analyze, make and implement those decisions. The following is a list of the types of issues that you should consider:

There are 8 critical issues to consider before and after retiring. Selecting the right or wrong answer may significantly help or hurt you. Don't get it right or wrong by accident.
There are reasons that you may not want to annuitize all of your TIAA and CREF assets. Don't annuitize all your assets without discussing your situation with us first.
There are various income options that you can select, or you may simply distribute the amount you need to withdraw each year. We can explain those options and make recommendations to you.
TIAA-CREF offers various income options: one life or two life, graded or standard and various guarantee periods. We have strong recommendations here.
There are some reasons why you probably don't want to transfer a bulk of your TIAA-CREF and Fidelity 403b accounts to an IRA rollover account. But, there are some reasons that you might want to transfer some of those assets to an IRA. Before you act on someone's recommendation to roll over all these assets to an IRA, you should talk to us first.
When you first retire, should you withdraw your initial income need from TIAA-CREF/Fidelity, from your other retirement accounts or your taxable accounts first? Our recommendation might surprise you.
Should you start Social Security at age 62 or age 65/66?
When the stock market is volatile, what is the best way to withdraw funds for income?
If you think that you will not need all your investments for your retirement needs, which assets should you leave for your heirs? While it may not impact you and your spouse, it can have significant impact on your heirs. We recommend that you try to benefit your heirs and not ignore this important issue.
With the estate tax reductions being planned, do you need to have a trust? We can help you prepare an estate plan, determine if you need a trust and recommend an estate planning attorney to finalize the plan and prepare the documents.
Does it make sense to convert some, all or none of your CREF, Fidelity or other retirement assets to a Roth IRA? We can explain the pros and cons. If it makes sense, we can recommend steps to take that might help make you eligible for a conversion.

Fifth, the issues discussed above can be confusing or mind boggling to some. We try to make these issues simple to understand and try to recommend answers to each one that is consistent with your overall retirement objectives. We are independent of the University, TIAA-CREF and Fidelity and have only your best interests in mind. We can be much more responsive than the University Benefits Office, TIAA-CREF and Fidelity. You can contact us directly by phone or in person in Ann Arbor. Generally, you can talk to the same person each time, and that person will be familiar with your specific situation today and years into the future. We will make recommendations on answers to questions rather than simply provide information and "force" you to decide by yourself. In general, we offer a much broader array of services.

Sixth, if you pass away tomorrow, who is going to help your spouse or children with their investments, insurance, estate matters and all the other family financial issues? Click on Quarterbacking Family Affairs to read more about these services provided by us.

You may choose to evaluate and decide the issues discussed above by yourself or you can obtain help. If you have gathered all the relevant information and have thought about and can decide the issues discussed above, then you may not need our advice. However, some people are concerned about receiving advice through an 800-number telephone tree system, or receiving one answer from one person and another answer from another person. And you don't know whether you are receiving advice from a person that been on the job one day or ten years. Like it or not, there is a big difference in the quality of the advice. We have been providing investment advice for decades and have the experience to lend our knowledge and perspective to your situation.

These are serious issues, and they may have a significant positive or negative consequence. For a little time and energy, you can make sure you are taking advantage of your various options. Some of the decisions are irreversible, and mistakes can be costly to you and to your family. You have worked hard to create your retirement assets. If you want one-on-one, consistent advice with someone you can call or come visit at any time, call us for an initial, free no-obligation interview to see if we can help you meet your needs.

If you find the right financial advisor, the value of the advisor can be a multiple of the cost that the advisor charges. In our case, we have our own access portal into TIAA-CREF and Fidelity to help us actively manage the TIAA-CREF and Fidelity investments and to debit our fees directly from the accounts. This ability allows our clients to pay us with pre-tax dollars. We try to make these complicated issues easy for you to understand and act upon. You have worked long and hard for the benefits you can enjoy in retirement. It is important for you to make sure you get all the benefits that you deserve and avoid costly mistakes in implementing your retirement decisions. After the initial meeting, we are happy to give references of University people who already use our services.

There are other issues that apply to all TIAA-CREF, 403b and 401k participants and retirees that you can read about in Our Services and RIS 10 Steps to Wealth.

Other topics:

Retirement Income Solutions, Inc. is an independent Registered Investment Advisor.