How much of my annual income should I invest in a tda?

Question

My teaching job offers a qpp- i have 7 years left before i'm vested. I'm 30 years old and am trying to get the best return in the long run, but also pay off some cc debt i have (9k...ouch). I'm not sure how much i should be investing in a tda as i've heard the penalties are discouraging and a roth ira might be a better overall investment. Just need some advice...THANKS!

Answer 1

I think you are going to have to expand on your question.  For instance what is a qpp, or a tda??  What are these penalty's you are talking about??  

I've had many retirement plans, and rarely (if ever) have I ran into penaltys.

Well, I guess you are going to have to decide how much your QPP is likely to pay you once you get to retirement.  Are you going to stick with this job, and/or will your QPP transfer to another teaching job.  

Once you figure out how much your pension plan will pay, then you can decide how much further you need to put into the TDA.  If you have good funds within your TDA, good performance & low fees, I would use it.  Use Morningstar for an unbiased opinion on your funds.  Generally you want expenses of 1% or less & no loads.

If your TDA is not good, then I would open an IRA with Vanguard, Fidelity or TRowe Price.  I would try to put 4k a year in it.  As to your TDA (if you decide to use it), put 5 - 10% of your salary in it.

If you have the fund names & ticker symbols on the funds within your TDA, I will give you my (brilliant) opinion on them.