A 457(b) is a deferred-compensation retirement plan offered by many universities and academic medical centers, available alongside your 403(b) or 401(k). Stacked on top of those plans, it can roughly double the income you shelter from taxes each year — a meaningful advantage many faculty don't realize they have. The catch is on the distribution side: you generally can't access the money until you separate from your employer, and the election you make at separation about how the funds come out is largely irreversible. Whether to use it depends on your savings capacity and tax bracket — and at private universities and academic medical centers, on whether you're comfortable that non-governmental 457(b) balances technically remain assets of the institution until paid out. For most faculty with the cash flow to fund both, it's one of the most underused tools in academic retirement planning.
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