By Steve Schullo, Ph.D., 403(b) Advocate and Retired Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Teacher
The Heart of the Matter
In the financial world, nothing is more important than objective information.
When someone shows up in your classroom, staff lounge, parking lot or union hall offering “retirement help,” they are not giving you objective information. In LAUSD, the salespeople are EVERYWHERE!
If you hear “guaranteed” or see “free refreshments,” that’s your first red flag. Those events are not about education—they’re about selling products.
It’s a conflict of interest, and in the 403(b) world, I unfortunately must repeat, everywhere on school campuses—and perfectly legal. For decades in the K12 403(b) world, the sales force wants to sell you an expensive product that benefits the agent and the insurance company, not you.
“Guaranteed” and “free lunch” are marketing words, not educational tools.
Please be aware of these sales tactics. Encourage colleagues avoid high-cost insurance products and instead explore the District 457(b) plan, which offers transparent, low-cost investment options.
The Illusion of “Guaranteed” Returns
“Guaranteed” sounds comforting, but it’s often a trap.
Salespeople use the fear of market fluctuations to push expensive insurance products that don’t serve teachers’ long-term interests.
Ask yourself: If insurance products are so great, why doesn’t CalSTRS use them?
Because they don’t deliver the strong, reliable returns that make CalSTRS pensions so effective. CalSTRS doesn’t buy annuities—the numbers simply don’t add up.
Insurance-based 403(b) products usually include:
- Hidden fees buried in complex contracts
- Commissions that go to the salesperson—not your retirement
- “Guaranteed” returns that barely beat inflation
And the fine print? The insurance company can adjust those rates annually.
The only guarantee is that the salesperson gets paid first.
My Costly Lesson
I’ve been there.
Early in my career, I bought two fixed annuities because they sounded “safe.” My returns started at 12%, then quietly dropped to 3%.
When I tried to leave, I discovered $6,000 in surrender fees—just to access my own money.
Yes, I got burned. But I learned. I paid the penalty, moved my money into low-cost mutual funds, and never looked back.
When I retired, CalSTRS replaced about 49% of my salary.
The rest came from my 403(b) and after-tax savings. I retired comfortably because I finally took control.
Where to Find Real, Objective 403(b) Information
Here’s the good news: California teachers have a unique, unbiased resource that most educators across the nation don’t.
Created by CalSTRS, this site lists every approved 403(b) vendor in your district and shows:
- Actual fees and expenses
- Investment options
- Surrender charges (if any)
- Whether the vendor pays commissions
When you do the research yourself—rather than listening to a sales pitch—you become proactive, not reactive.
Real education starts when you seek information, not promises.
For Los Angeles Unified Employees
If you work for LAUSD, you can find your district’s approved vendors through CalSTRS:
🔗 LAUSD 403(b) Vendor List on 403bCompare
For all other California educators:
🔗 Find Your District’s 403(b) Options
Call to Action
Objective information is about education, not persuasion.
It doesn’t promise miracles or “safe” shortcuts—it empowers you with facts.
Before signing anything, check 403bCompare, talk with knowledgeable colleagues, and learn about your District 457(b) plan.
Your future deserves more than a sales pitch—
It deserves the truth.
Steve’s Bio
Stephen A. Schullo, Ph.D. didn’t set out to become a retirement-plan advocate. He was just trying to be a good teacher.
Steve taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 24 years and, like so many educators, he trusted that the retirement plans offered at work were designed to help him retire with dignity. Instead, he discovered something very different: layers of high fees, sales commissions, confusing products, and a system that seemed to benefit everyone except the teachers it was supposed to serve.
That discovery changed the direction of his professional life.
Working in the classroom by day, Steve began learning everything he could about investing at night, eventually earning a Ph.D. from UCLA in 1996. He started writing retirement articles for the United Teacher newspaper, helping colleagues untangle the maze of Tax-Sheltered Annuities and 403(b) vendors. Over 13 years, his writing reached tens of thousands of educators across the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Along the way, he co-founded 403bAware, a teacher self-help group where colleagues met after school, asked questions, compared statements, and learned how to recognize high-cost products. He became part of an online community of thoughtful investors, contributing more than 7,500 posts since 1997. His advocacy has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, and he has testified at California legislative hearings. His union honored him with its “Unsung Hero” award for retirement-plan advocacy.
Steve’s personal financial journey is also a love story. Together with his late spouse, Dan Robertson, they wrote the book Late Bloomer Millionaires, a candid account of how two ordinary public educators, after years of being sold high-cost annuities, finally discovered low-cost index investing and built financial independence later in life. The book is part memoir, part roadmap, and fully a testament to partnership, perseverance, learning, and grace. Dan’s optimism, wit, and steady presence remain at the heart of Steve’s work today.
For 19 years, Steve has served as a volunteer “Member-at-Large” (and former co-chair) on LAUSD’s Investment Advisory Committee, which oversees the district’s 403(b) and 457(b) plans for more than 55,000 current and former employees. Today, those plans hold over $3.8 billion in assets, and the committee continues to push for transparency, responsible stewardship, and low-cost investment access for all employees.
Steve launched this blog in 2012 to share what he learned the hard way:
• Teachers are not “bad with money.”
• The system was built to confuse us.
• When educators help educators, we change the outcome.
He is part of a small but spirited national network of teacher advocates who gather at 403bwise.org, where we support one another, share resources, and work toward reform.
Because every educator deserves a retirement plan that honors the work of a lifetime.