What to do if you don't like your retirement plan's options

— -- Money Watch, a personal finance column that runs every Saturday, features a financial planner from the National Association of Personal Financial Advisorsanswering reader questions about saving, protecting and growing your money. To submit a question, e-mail USA TODAY personal finance reporter Christine Dugas at: cdugas@usatoday.com.

Q: My wife, 59, has a 403(b) plan and we don't like the management company. I was told that we cannot transfer her funds to another company or roll it into her IRA, unless and until she retires. Is that true? She plans to retire at 62.

A: The answer that you have received is most likely correct. Most company-sponsored retirement plans do not allow withdrawals until "termination from service" occurs. This means that you are most likely limited to the investment options that your plan provider makes available to you.

That said, there may be two options to consider.

First, the plan trustees have a fiduciary obligation to all participants. That means that they have a legal requirement to act in your best interest with regards to the 403(b) plan in terms of how it is constructed and the investment options being used.

The trustees are generally senior members of the firm, such as the president or vice president. If the investment options are truly substandard, it may be worth exerting some pressure on them to justify why better options are not available.

Consider researching the quality of the underlying investment options through websites such as http://www.brightscope.com/ or www.morningstar.com. You want to look for whether the investment options are rated highly vs. their peer group and whether there is adequate diversification across different asset classes.

Clearly this could have some other ramifications that need to be weighed, as you would likely be raising these questions directly to higher-ups within the organization who may not recognize — or want to admit — that the plan could be inadequate.

Another option is to review the Summary Plan Description (SPD) to see if an in-service withdrawal is possible. This possibility is present in some plans and allows for a distribution prior to retirement, and it is generally tied to reaching an age such as 59½, 60, 62 or 65. While not prevalent, this is a provision that we do see from time to time.

Most important, make sure to educate yourself about both your actual 403(b) plan and 403(b) plans in general so you are confident in the questions that you are asking. Another great resource to check into is http://www.403bwise.com/.

Good luck!

John Ritter, NAPFA-Registered Financial Adviser

Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory, Cincinnati

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