"joetaxpayer" <joetaxpayer[at]nospam.com> wrote in message
news6ydnTKcZ_LKo8fZRVn-og[at]comcast.com...
- quote -

That's a good catch. As Elizabeth Richardson pointed out in another thread,
you can withdraw money without penalty once you stop working for the state
(employer) in the 457 plan.
https://www.myfloridadeferredcomp.co...eb/Account.pdf

401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans are "defined contribution" plans - retirement
plans offered by employers. IRAs are individual plans that are not
sponsored by employers. Either way, "Roth" is an adjective - you can have a
Roth IRA or a Roth 401(k), meaning that it is funded with post-tax dollars,
and under the right conditions all earnings are tax-free.

Florida seems to do a pretty good job of selecting good, cheap funds.
Here's their memo on their selection criteria.
https://www.myfloridadeferredcomp.co..._InvPolicy.pdf
(Not bad guidelines to use for your personal fund selections, either.)

They enable you to get into some good funds that are closed, others that are
only open to institutions. For example, T. Rowe Price Small Cap Value
(closed), JPMorgan Mid Cap Value (institutional), Vanguard Total Stock
Market Index (institutional; virtually the cheapest index fund [at] 0.06%
expenses). I'd love to have access to some of the funds on this list.
https://www.myfloridadeferredcomp.co...nce_report.pdf

For a nominal fee, they also give you access to individual stocks, a GIC
(stable value - something you can't get outside of an employer-sponsored
plan), and access to a good portion of the mutual fund universe via
Sharebuilder (a low cost brokerage).

Hard to ask for more, better, or cheaper choices (some of the usual reasons
given for going with an IRA instead of an employer-sponsored plan).
--
Mark Freeland
nNeEwTs[at]sonic.net

atlantic965 wrote:

- quote -

It appears you have neither. The link says you have a 457 plan.
These are all retirement plans, but a 401k is different than a Roth, is
different than a 457. This isn't splitting hairs, each plan has its own
set of rules which may overlap, but certainly have differences. A coke
isn't a Pepsi, even though both will make you fat and rot your teeth.

JOE

On Thu, 4 May 2006 09:37:32 -0500, "atlantic965"
<atlantic965[at]yahoo.com> wrote:


- quote -

Since TRP is also a custodian choice for the Fla Deferred Comp plan,
the only material difference is the difference in tax treatment. And
since none of us know what the tax and retirement plan rules will be
tomorrow - much less when you retire - you can flip a coin. Assuming
the investments are the same, all the noise about Roth vs 401k is a
distraction - the key is to be saving.

As for your Roth, you are heavy in bonds. You may have noticed that
bonds don't do well when rates are rising. While nobody knows what
interest rates will do short- or long-term, standing in front of a
moving train is generally inadvisable.


-HW "Skip" Weldon
Columbia, SC

I recently started working for the State of Florida and this is their
401K

https://www.myfloridadeferredcomp.co...nfo.asp?Child=

My current 401K is a ROTH IRA with TROWE PRICE.

Balanced - Roth IRA
High Yield - Roth IRA



In the State plan it offers nothing in terms of matching contributions
and such so I see no reason to switch. Am I correct?.