Fees, operating rules, and investment objectives can vary greatly among vendors and across investments. Therefore, it is important to understand all of these before you begin contributing to any investment. Additionally, some investments impose surrender charges or restrictions on withdrawals. Find out if there are surrender charges or restrictions on withdrawals before investing and how long the charges/restrictions are in effect.

All mutual funds and variable annuities are required to produce a document called a prospectus, which details specific information about investment cost, objective, risk, performance, and operating rules. Ask to see the prospectus before contributing to a variable annuity or a mutual fund. Fixed-annuity products do not have a prospectus. Instead, they have a contract that details operation of the annuity. Ask to see the contract before investing in a fixed annuity.

For more information on general investing principles and terms see Investment FAQs. For more information on impact of investment fees on return, estimation of future savings growth, impact on paycheck of a 403(b) and/or 457(b) contribution, and exploration of various distribution scenarios see the Calculators section.