Tax Sheltered Annuity

When I search on "Tax Sheltered Annuity" (within IRS site) I'm led to believe this is what a 403(b) is usually invested in, the site treats them as synonymous.

implies a beneficiary can roll to an inherited IRA. Disclaimer - I have no experience with 403(b) or TSAs

Thanks. I didn't think of looking at the statute for some reason. It actually does seem to allow rolling some or all over into an IRA, among other things.

I'm doing some estate planning with someone, and trying to advise on the best way to deal with what is apparently a 403(b) annuity.

___ Stu

If a spouse inherits, the spouse can roll it over to any plan listed on this pdf file.

If a non-spouse inherits, it can be rolled over to an Inherited IRA.

Once upon a time, 403(b) plans were almost exclusively (if not exclusively) invested in tax-deferred annuities usually with TIAA/CREF for school teachers and college professors. Indeed, most of these people asked "Do you have TIAA/CREF?" instead of "Do you have a 403(b) plan?" Thus, it is not surprising that in some cases, the language of IRS publications still seems to imply that 403(b) plans and tax-deferred annuities are one and the same. But, many more investment possibilities became available about 35 years ago with mutual fund companies etc offering their own plans to employers, and even TIAA/CREF set up its own mutual funds for teachers and professors to invest in instead of the traditional TIAA/CREF tax-deferred annuity.

Dilip Sarwate

Thanks, Alan!

___ Stu

Is it correct to say that all TSAs are 403(b)s? And your post clarifies that 403(b)s now offer more than just TSAs? Do I understand that correctly? (and thanks for the lesson, good to know this history)

Thanks, Alan!

___ Stu