Home / For Educators / Your District's 403(b) Vendor List, Explained
403(b)
If you want to contribute to a 403(b) as a California public school employee, you can't simply pick any company. Your district maintains a list of approved vendors, and your payroll contributions can only go to a company on that list.
This has no real equivalent in the private sector, which is why almost nobody explains it. A worker with a 401(k) gets whatever menu their employer's plan provides, and that's the end of it. In a California district, the structure sits one level up: the district decides which companies may receive contributions at all, and each of those companies then offers its own products.
The practical result is that two teachers in neighboring districts, contributing identical amounts over identical careers, can be choosing from completely different sets of options.
A 403(b) isn't a single employer-run plan the way a 401(k) usually is. It's closer to a framework: the district facilitates payroll deductions, and multiple providers can participate.
Districts need some way to manage that. They have to handle payroll routing, meet federal compliance requirements, and keep the administrative side workable. Approving a defined set of vendors is how they do it.
Most districts also work with a third-party administrator, a company that handles compliance and paperwork across all the vendors on the list. That's usually who processes your salary reduction agreement and approves transfers between vendors. If you've ever been told a form needs to go somewhere other than your district office, that's typically why.
Because each district builds its own. There's no statewide list, and no requirement that neighboring districts approve the same companies.
Lists get built over time through district decisions, collective bargaining history, and administrative practice. Some are long, some are short. Some include companies that have served educators for decades, some don't.
Nothing about this is unusual or improper. It just means the question "what should I do with my 403(b)" genuinely has a different answer depending on where you teach, and advice from a colleague in another district may not apply to you at all.
California maintains a public lookup at 403bcompare.com, run by CalSTRS. You can search your district and see which vendors it has approved, along with information about the products each one offers.
Your district's benefits or payroll office can confirm the current list too, and it's worth checking both, since the site reflects what vendors have registered and your district holds the operative version.
Once you have the list, the useful questions are about cost, structure, and fit.
What does it cost to hold? Every product carries costs, and they vary. Understanding what you're paying, and what you're paying for, is the foundation of every other decision.
What kind of product is it? Vendors on a district list may offer different types of accounts with genuinely different characteristics: how the money grows, what happens in a down market, whether there are surrender periods, how and when you can access it.
What happens if you leave the district? Your account doesn't disappear when you change employers, but your ability to keep contributing through payroll does. Worth knowing the terms before you start rather than after.
Does the vendor actually serve educators? Some companies have long histories with California districts and understand the paperwork, the salary reduction process, and how a 403(b) coordinates with CalSTRS. Some don't.
We don't recommend vendors, and you should be cautious of anyone who steers you toward one without first understanding your situation.
Once you've chosen a vendor from the list, two things have to happen:
You open an account with the vendor. That's between you and that company.
You file a salary reduction agreement. This is the document that tells your district's payroll how much to withhold from each paycheck and which approved vendor to send it to. Usually it routes through the third-party administrator rather than the district directly.
Contributions don't begin until that agreement is processed, which is why the timing rarely matches the day you open the account. If you're trying to hit a particular contribution total for the year, build in the lag.
Common, and worth doing something about.
Contributions can run for years through a vendor someone selected at a workshop a decade ago, with nobody reviewing what the account holds or what it costs since. The account is still yours, and depending on your district's rules and the vendor's terms, you may have more options than you assume, including moving between approved vendors.
What is a district-approved vendor?
A company your district has authorized to receive 403(b) contributions from payroll. If a company isn't on your district's list, contributions can't be routed to it, regardless of what it offers.
Can I use a vendor that isn't on my district's list?
Not for payroll contributions. The list governs where your district can send deductions.
Why does my friend in another district have different options?
Because each district approves its own vendors. There's no statewide list, so options vary from district to district.
Can I switch vendors?
Often, subject to your district's rules, your current contract's terms, and your third-party administrator's process. Both the paperwork and any terms on the existing account matter, so check both before starting.
What happens to my 403(b) if I change districts?
The account stays yours. Whether you can keep contributing through your new district's payroll depends on whether that vendor is on the new district's approved list.
Where can I look up my district's list?
403bcompare.com, run by CalSTRS. Your district's benefits office can confirm the current version.
If you're looking at your district's list and can't tell what the differences actually mean, or you have an existing 403(b) you've never really examined, that's a straightforward conversation.
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Sources: 403bcompare.com, the California district 403(b) vendor lookup operated by CalSTRS. Internal Revenue Service, 403(b) plan guidance (irs.gov).
Reviewed August 2026.
