Your Nonprofit's 403(b) Shouldn't Cost More and Do Less.
Many nonprofits are stuck on legacy 403(b) platforms with high costs, heavy administrative work, and a fiduciary burden that lands on the board. I help mission-driven organizations modernize the plan: lower the cost, offload the compliance, and give staff access to real advice.
By Jay Chang, VP, Wealth Advisor at Farther · Last reviewed July 2026
Most Nonprofit 403(b) Plans Are Running on Old Infrastructure.
A 403(b) set up ten or fifteen years ago is often still running on the platform it started with. That usually means higher fees than a plan this size should pay, a stack of annual administrative work your team absorbs, and investment menus built around insurance products instead of low-cost funds.
Your staff feels it too: limited options, little guidance, and no one to call with a real question. The plan can almost always be modernized. The question is whether anyone has looked at it recently.
A Pooled Structure That Takes Work Off Your Plate.
Since 2023, under SECURE 2.0, nonprofit 403(b) plans can join a pooled employer plan. Instead of running your plan alone, your organization joins a professionally managed plan alongside other employers. A pooled plan provider we partner with steps in as the named fiduciary and takes on the pieces that drain your team:
- A single annual Form 5500 filing, instead of your team managing it
- A §3(38) investment manager that selects and monitors the funds with discretion
- A §402(a) named fiduciary that carries plan-level liability
- Nondiscrimination and compliance testing
- Recordkeeping and participant administration
- Transparent, asset-based pricing with no revenue-sharing or brokerage conflicts
- Portability, so employees can keep the plan as they move across employers and states
Because the plan pools assets across many employers, it can reach institutional pricing a single small nonprofit usually cannot. Lower cost, less administrative load, and most of the fiduciary liability shifts off your board. Your team goes back to running the mission.
Whether a pooled plan is the right move depends on your current plan, your size, and your goals. That is the conversation I start with, not the conclusion I assume.
An Advisor for the Plan, and for the People In It.
Offloading administration does not mean losing a human. I stay involved at two levels.
For the organization
I sit alongside the plan as your advisor, help leadership evaluate whether the current setup still fits, benchmark the cost, and coordinate the move if a change makes sense.
For your staff
Your employees get access to an actual advisor, not a call center. Help with enrollment, contribution decisions, investment choices, and how the plan fits the rest of their financial life. Better guidance tends to show up as better participation and better outcomes.
A Path Toward Guaranteed Lifetime Income, Inside the Plan.
A modern pooled 403(b) can be designed so a participant's default investment moves over time from a target-date fund toward a managed account, and, depending on the person's situation, a portion can be directed to an in-plan annuity that provides income in retirement. The aim is pension-like security for a workforce that often has no pension.
These are options within the plan, not guarantees for every participant, and what fits depends on each person's age, savings, and goals. If you want to see how income options compare, employees can estimate the monthly income an annuity could provide with their own numbers.
Built for Mission-Driven Employers.
This fits 501(c)(3) nonprofits, foundations, charities, faith-based organizations, healthcare and social-service agencies, and schools that sponsor a 403(b) for their staff. If your plan has not been reviewed in years, or you are setting one up for the first time, that is where I can help.
This work is separate from, and complements, our OCIO and endowment services. One manages your staff's retirement plan; the other manages your organization's own reserves and endowment. Many nonprofits need both.
Plan services are subject to applicable ERISA and IRS regulations. Whether a pooled plan or any structure fits your organization depends on your specific facts. This is educational and not a recommendation of any specific plan or product.
Common Questions About Nonprofit 403(b) Plans
What is a pooled employer plan (PEP) for a 403(b)?
A pooled employer plan lets unrelated employers join one professionally run retirement plan instead of each sponsoring its own. Since 2023, under SECURE 2.0, nonprofit 403(b) plans can participate. A pooled plan provider serves as the named fiduciary and handles administration, compliance, and investment oversight, while each organization keeps flexibility over its own plan features like matching and eligibility.
How does a pooled 403(b) reduce our costs and fiduciary risk?
Pooling assets across many employers can give the plan access to institutional pricing that a single small nonprofit usually cannot reach on its own, which can lower fees. The pooled plan provider takes on the annual Form 5500 filing, the plan audit, compliance testing, and investment selection as a named fiduciary, so much of that workload and liability shifts off your board. Whether it fits depends on your current plan, your size, and your goals.
Will our employees still get personal help?
Yes. That is a core reason I stay involved. Beyond the administrative structure, your staff gets access to an advisor for enrollment, contribution, and investment decisions, and how the plan fits their broader finances. The plan runs more efficiently, and the people in it are not left on their own with a call center.
What are in-plan lifetime income options in a 403(b)?
Some modern 403(b) plans can be designed so a participant’s savings move over time toward income-oriented options, and a portion can be directed to an in-plan annuity that pays income in retirement. The aim is pension-like security inside the plan rather than a separate product a participant has to go find. These are options within the plan, not guarantees for every participant, and whether they fit depends on the plan design and each person’s situation.
We already have a 403(b). Is it worth reviewing?
Almost always, if it has been a few years. Costs, investment menus, and plan structures have changed a lot. A review benchmarks what you are paying, what your staff is getting, and whether a modernized or pooled structure would serve everyone better. There is no obligation to change anything.
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Let's Take a Fresh Look at Your Plan.
If your nonprofit's 403(b) has not been reviewed in years, a short conversation is the fastest way to see what is possible: what you are paying now, what your staff is getting, and whether a modernized structure would serve everyone better. No obligation to change anything.