Non-Profit Universites Sued Over 403(b) Programs

Image: Ray Bartkus

I was a bit surprised to see this lawsuit as I'd pretty much kill to have the providers listed in the programs being sued (Fidelity and TIAA - who are not defendants).

I'm not getting a warm and fuzzy with this lawsuit, though it may prompt system wide change, I fear that the schools will pay out a lot of money for operating programs that were, relatively speaking, pretty good.

If you think these programs are bad, you ain't seen nothing until you've dug into the world of public K-12 403(b) programs. As I dig into the lawsuits, I'll have more commentary.

Here is a short excerpt and link to the New York Times article by Tara Siegel Bernard:

TIAA-CREF Becomes TIAA, But Not "tee-ah"

TIAA-CREF, a company that everyone I know refer to as TIAA (or tee-ah) has now become TIAA.

But don't call them TIAA (tee-ah), no, that is a bridge to far, they are T.I.A.A. (tee-eye-ay-ay).

Note: "ay" is simply a long "a".

While there are no periods between the letters, you are not supposed to pronounce TIAA as a word, instead you are still supposed to say each letter, so much for simplification.

The CEO, Roger Ferguson says they are "shortening the name, modernizing it and making it more contemporary," but are they? Yesterday it was "tee-eye-ay-ay CREF" and today it's "tee-eye-ay-ay" with the CREF dropped. I have no idea why you have to say each letter, T...I...A....A, but then you can get away with saying CREF (pronounced...cref) without having to say those letters. Well at least you won't have to say "CREF" anymore (though CREF is not disappearing).

Yes, "tee-eye-ay-ay" is shorter than "tee-eye-ay-ay-CREF", but why not just TIAA (tee-ah), wouldn't that in reality be "shortening, modernizing...and..more contemporary"?