Wife works as a teacher for a school district. They offer a 403b, but it is very hands off, and we can't find anyone who can really answer any questions, other than just sending us to the district website that has some basic info on the plan.

They don't match anything.

There is no 'administrator' (or host or whatever it's called...like a fidelity or vanguard).

There are some approved vendors, and best we can tell, they are only approved because they are set up to do paycheck deductions. They are all local independent shops. I called one today, a guy at Ameriprise, I honestly think I knew more about it than he did.

My questions:

Can we set one up through Vanguard or Fidelity?

If so, can she contribute outside of a payroll deduction?

Are contributions made outside of a payroll deduction still tax advantaged?

Wife here is a teacher too. Years ago we tried to set up our 403b with our regular advisor but was told not an option. We just went with one of their guys and still have done well over the years. You can always contribute post tax on your own through something like a Roth IRA.

My wife works for a school district and we do a 403B. Is your wife in Texas or elsewhere? If in Texas all districts are different, but I think they all have their info hosted on RAMS Region 10. In Katy ISD we have an extensive list of approved vendors. As I recall there was no support getting it set-up but it wasn't complicated.

https://www.region10rams.org/documents/#/search-forms

Most districts will have certain vendors be allowed to come in and set up an appointment with her.

I had one set up with AXA my first year teaching and am so glad I did now 13 years later. Return wise, it has tracked with the market really well with an aggressive portfolio.

I tell all new teachers to get one set up the beginning of their first year so they are used to the size of their paycheck with that money coming out. Then I advise them to take any raises they get and use them to up their contributions and keep their paychecks the same.

Teachers can have a real nice nest egg after a while with this process to supplement their retirement.

Who is the third party administrator? I just retired as a principal in Clear Creek ISD. It was all set up by a third party admin called TCG. Just went through their website and invested in Vanguard funds.

My wife is setup directly with Vanguard 403b (she did it online or a rep could have helped) and has access to all their investment options. She had to submit form like direct deposit.

This is vs restricted like through a districts portfolio like AXA (to digress - pulling $ outta them to another company is a major PITA, significant and 'misrouted' paperwork, not seen anything like it and admittedly didn't follow as close as should have, had to start over once).