After working with teachers for almost two decades and finding very few competent, fiduciary-based advisors working in the space I decided to write a book to help the industry better learn how to work with this great niche.
I titled the book Wild West due to the conditions that most teacher retirement plans operate under. The products sold and the statements made to teachers and their colleagues would be criminal if done in an ERISA plan, yet teachers are not protected by ERISA and are taken advantage of every day.
The goal of this book is to create a much broader community of fiduciary advisors serving this market. I'm not asking you to (fiduciary advisors) to work exclusively with public school employees, simply to expand your knowledge base and be part of the solution they need.
The book is less than 150 pages and only 20 short chapters. It mixes the technical with the personal and issues a strong call to action that I hope many of you will follow. Many non-advisors have asked if they should read this book (teachers, administrators, etc.) and my answer is that they should consider Teach and Retire Rich by Dan Otter first, then perhaps my book.
The Table of Contents follows:
Chapter 1 Mini-Memoir
Chapter 2 The Fiduciary Opportunity
Chapter 3 The State of the School Employees Marketplace
Chapter 4 Business Models
Chapter 5 The 403(b) Retirement Plan
Chapter 6 403(b) Products
Chapter 7 Stable Value
Chapter 8 The 457(b) Retirement Plan
Chapter 9 Other School Employee Plans
Chapter 10 Compliance Third Party Administrators
Chapter 11 Enrolling into a 403(b) or 457(b)
Chapter 12 Defined Benefit Plans
Chapter 13 Social Security & School Employees
Chapter 14 California-Specific Laws
Chapter 15 Odds & Ends
Chapter 16 Pension Maximization
Chapter 17 Professional Organizations
Chapter 18 Unions: Good, Bad and the Ugly
Chapter 19 Dan Otter
Chapter 20 A Call To Action
Buy at Google (coming soon)
The book is $14.99 but all the proceeds goto charity and I will make the book available to colleges and universities at no cost.
I've created a website for the book at www.wildwest403b.com and a LinkedIn group here.
Thank you to all who have helped me over the years get this book out, you know who you are.
Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MPAS, AIF
