(05-18-2020 11:25 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(05-17-2020 12:40 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  These are big boy schools of course. Each is facing a deficit of more than $50 million next year.

And if you think suspending retirement contributions is a small thing, its huge. That money compunds so will never be made up for.

I personally would rather my school cut my direct pay rather than my retirement contribtution.

https://www.pionline.com/defined-contrib...tributions

Presumably this is a defined contribution 403(b)?

If it is a defined benefit, there is no difference over the long run. Just that the position of the plan isn't as good.

Yes, 403(b).

I'm feeling slightly lucky these days. I just hit 25 years at my school, and I remember when i was hired in 1995 I was 29 and had zero interest in retirement plans. I had a choice between a traditional pension plan or a 403(b) - type plan, and I chose "neither". But HR told me state law said I had to choose one and so resentfully and without much thinking about it I chose the traditional plan.

That's seemingly turned out to be a good choice. A colleague who was hired at the same time and has earned the same salaries took the 403(b) and we crunched the numbers and my monthly benefit right now would be significantly more than his. Oh well.