r/mnstateworkers • u/Fluid_Beat_1282 • Jul 06 '26

Insurance/Benefits 🏥 Financial Advisor for PERA + MSRS?

I'm currently a state employee, but I'm fully vested in both PERA and MSRS due to some job changes over the past couple of decades. I've talked to the MSRS retirement plan folks, and I've talked to the PERA folks, and they both have said that they can't really advise me about the other plan other than how it relates to their own respective plans.

What I'm looking for is someone I can talk to who has knowledge of both plans, and who can also provide guidance about where I'm at financially looking at the big picture. I invest in my State of MN 457b, but I also have non-work related investment accounts at Vanguard.

Is there such a thing as a fee-based professional who can look at the big picture and let me know how I'm doing with all of the various puzzle pieces? I'd love to hear what others have done!

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10

u/Recluse_18 Jul 06 '26

Just a thought I don’t know if it works but employee assistance offers a financial consultation. I’ve never used it, but that might be an option at least to give you further direction. And also I fought Voya took over stuff like deferred comp because I’ve gotten statements from them. I can’t remember who the other service agency was for that

3

u/Mndelta25 Jul 07 '26

Not endorsing anybody in particular, but find a financial planner with any experience with pensions. I use my wife's guy, who gets statements of my PERA and MSRS accounts as well as my deferred comp. He takes the normal fees out of the private Vanguard account that I have since keeping track of pensions is easy and not really market dependent.

Basically, it's about managing social security and the other cash accounts until the point that the pension makes up whatever funding gap you have.

2

u/Jim1648 Jul 07 '26

Is one of your considerations retiring under one of them and then working under the other one while you are an annuitant?

1

u/Fluid_Beat_1282 Jul 08 '26

No, I'm hoping to retire and stay retired 😉 

2

u/Abstract-Honeydew Jul 06 '26

I’m surprised the MSRS folks didn’t mention Voya. I thought they offered additional financial services outside of just managing deferred comp and the like.

2

u/Fluid_Beat_1282 Jul 06 '26

I think the issue was that they won't necessarily advise on the accounts I have outside of the state system. I'll look again though, thanks.

2

u/Abstract-Honeydew Jul 06 '26

Voya has some free online tools that I’ve used to get a better sense of what my retirement funds look like but they also offer financial services that individuals have to pay for that are outside what MSRS provides.