For university faculty & staff
A pension, a 403(b), a 457. How does it all add up?
If you work for the university, you may hold a WRS pension, a 403(b), a 457 and sick leave credits, plus an old account or two from a job before this one. Each arrives with its own statements and its own decisions.
None of them is hard to understand on its own. What's hard is seeing them as one picture, and knowing when you can actually stop working.
What we do about it
We put every account on one page, in plain words. Then we help you decide what to do with each one, and when.
What we'll work on together
When can I retire, and what will I live on?
We lay your pension, your savings plans and Social Security side by side, so the answer stops depending on which statement you opened last.
How should I take my pension?
You'll face real choices when you leave. We walk through each one and what it means for you and your spouse or partner.
Should more go into the 403(b) or the 457?
We look at what you're saving and where. Dana, our CPA, weighs the tax side of each choice in the same conversation.
What do I do with the account from my last university?
We bring old plans into the same picture, so nothing sits forgotten in a drawer.
How do we pay for the kids' college?
College savings, planned next to retirement instead of competing with it.
Are my beneficiaries right?
We check the beneficiaries on every plan and work with your attorney on your estate plan, so the forms and the will agree.
Why faculty and staff come to us
We already know your plans by name.
The WRS pension, the UW 403(b) Supplemental Retirement Program, the Wisconsin Deferred Compensation 457 and sick leave credit conversion. You won't spend the first hour teaching us what they are.
Our CPA is on staff.
The tax side of each decision gets answered by Dana Field, in our office, rather than in a separate appointment somewhere else.
One page, within a week.
After the first hour you get a one-page summary in plain words. Easy to read between classes. Easy to share with a partner.
Lakeway is a planning firm of its own. We're not part of the university, and we don't speak for its benefits office. We just know its plans well.
What to bring to the first hour
If they're handy: a recent statement from each plan, your WRS annual statement, and the questions you've been meaning to ask.
Don't sort anything first. Sorting is our job.
Start with one free hour.
One hour, free, at our office on the isthmus or by video. We listen, ask about your goals, and send you a one-page summary within a week.