403b & 457 Plans

A 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity is a qualified retirement plan available to employees of most public and private schools, colleges and universities, nonprofit hospitals and other tax-exempt 501(c) (3) organizations, such as charitable institutions, foundations, and religious organizations. This retirement program allowed by the Internal Revenue Code enables these employees to contribute pre-tax dollars for their retirement. With the number of employees eligible to participate in a 403(b) program increasing, the potential target market for this type of retirement program is significant.

The 403(b) plan regulations clarify that a 403(b) plan is an employer sponsored defined contribution plan and that 403(b) plans will be subject to many of the same compliance requirements and rules of other employer sponsored retirement deferral plans (such as 401(k) and 457(b) plans). Briefly, this means that the employer plan sponsor is required to have a written plan document that describes all the material terms and conditions of the 403(b) plan (such as eligibility, benefits, contribution limits, available distributions, and products available under the plan) and the employer must follow the terms of the plan as it is written. An important change is that the written plan must include a list of all authorized product providers (such as insurers who provide annuity products). If a provider is not listed with the plan documents, that provider's product is not an eligible product under the 403(b) plan.

The 457 plan is a type of non-qualified tax advantaged deferred-compensation retirement plan that is available for governmental and certain non-governmental employers in the United States. The employer provides the plan and the employee defers compensation into it on a pre-tax basis. For the most part the plan operates similarly to a 401(k) or 403(b) plan most people are familiar with in the US. The key difference is that unlike with a 401(k) plan, there is no 10% penalty for withdrawal before the age of 59½ (although the withdrawal is subject to ordinary income taxation). 457 plans (both governmental and non-governmental) can also allow independent contractors to participate in the plan where 401(k) and 403(b) plans cannot.^[1]

1. "IRS Publication 4406". Internal Revenue Service. October 2004. Archived from the original on 11 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-28.