My son is in his 2nd year of HS coaching/teaching and has his TRS of course and is contributing to a 403. He now tells me he wants to open a Roth and wants to know which one is a good one for a rookie. I have no experience with Roth at all (only 401k and 403b). I told him Fidelity might be a decent one.

What do you all suggest?

I am a fan of Vanguard, but any of the big/reputable outfits would be good. I'd focus more on the investment choices vs. which firm you use.

Also, I'd recommend he backs off on the 403b contributions, work to max out the Roth IRA, and then return to the 403b once that is done.

Tell him to keep it up, he is killing it!

Fidelity has a bunch of investment options for a self-directed Roth. The website also has a nice search feature where you can sort options by performance (both short and long term), risk, and expenses. That's how I chose mine.

Open Roth IRA with Fidelity, select a Target Date Retirement fund, or a Total market fund like FSKAX, and thats it!

Of greater importance than the Roth vs 403b conversation is "are you going to work in a TRS covered job 20+ years?".

If the answer is no, I'd rather spend the mental energy figuring out what the next job/career is. Nothing worse than earning half a TRS pension and half a Social Security benefit but not really getting either.

If the answer is yes, then proceed with saving way more than the rules of thumb say to make up for the fact TRS doesn't typically get inflation adjustments and that a stay at home spouse won't get 1/2 of the benefit. Pick your custodian, pick a fund, and revisit when there's enough money in it to matter.

Thanks all!

OldArmyCT said:

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Open a Vanguard Roth and buy VTI.
That's all you need to know.

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Agreed