Investment Choices
You have the flexibility to select from investment options that range from more conservative to more aggressive, making it easy for you to develop a well-diversified investment portfolio.
Build your own portfolio
If you wish to create your own portfolio, you can choose a combination of investments from the Plan’s investment options in Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 listed below. Before you make any investment elections, you should become familiar with all the investment options offered by the 457(b) Savings Plan.
TIER 1: TARGET DATE FUNDS
Investing Style: Diversified portfolio within a single fund that shifts its emphasis to more conservative investments as the year of retirement nears.
Target-date funds are designed for participants who prefer a single-fund solution that includes a mix of stocks, bonds, and short-term assets. Each of the funds creates a diversified portfolio within one fund, based on your expected retirement year (the “target date” of the fund), or year in which you turn age 65. These funds automatically rebalance between stocks and bonds to become more conservative as you approach retirement, and are also the plan’s Designated Default Investment.
| If You Were Born… | Your Estimated Retirement Date (Assuming You Retire at Age 65)… | Your Target-Date Fund Is… |
| Before 1952 | Before 2007 | Vanguard Target Retirement Income Fund |
| 1/1/1953–12/31/1957 | 2018–2022 | Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 Fund |
| 1/1/1958–12/31/1962 | 2023–2027 | Vanguard Target Retirement 2025 Fund |
| 1/1/1963–12/31/1967 | 2028–2032 | Vanguard Target Retirement 2030 Fund |
| 1/1/1968–12/31/1972 | 2033–2037 | Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund |
| 1/1/1973–12/31/1977 | 2038–2042 | Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 Fund |
| 1/1/1978–12/31/1982 | 2043–2047 | Vanguard Target Retirement 2045 Fund |
| 1/1/1983–12/31/1987 | 2048–2052 | Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 Fund |
| 1/1/1988–12/31/1992 | 2053–2057 | Vanguard Target Retirement 2055 Fund |
| 1/1/1993–12/31/1997 | 2058–2062 | Vanguard Target Retirement 2060 Fund |
| 1/1/1998 – 12/31/2022 | 2063 -2067 | Vanguard Target Retirement 2065 Fund |
| 2003 and later | 2068 or later | Vanguard Target Retirement 2070 |
TIER 2: PASSIVELY MANAGED EQUITIES
Investing Style: A broad selection of equity index funds designed to mirror a market index or benchmark.
Passively managed funds—commonly known as “index funds”—seek to approximate their benchmark’s performance, rather than beat their benchmarks. A benchmark is what the investment’s returns are compared to in order to measure performance. Because the objective is to simply mirror the holdings and return of an index, less research is needed, transactions occur less frequently, and expenses tend to be lower than those of actively managed funds.
Ultimately, index funds are designed to provide exposure to a broad selection of securities at a relatively low cost. While these funds typically perform very similarly to the index they track, you should be aware that index funds cannot be expected to meet or beat the index’s performance.
| Fund Name | Ticker Symbol |
| Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund- Admiral Shares | VTSAX |
| Vanguard FTSE Social Index Fund- Institutional | VFTNX |
| Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund – Institutional | VTSNX |
TIER 3: CAPITAL PRESERVATION AND INCOME
Investing Style: A broad selection of funds that seek to preserve savings and generate income or produce returns that exceed the inflation rate.
Tier three funds include the New York Life Guaranteed Fixed Interest Account, which is a guaranteed fixed-return annuity is designed to provide you with a high level of principal stability. In addition, it lets you convert your balance to a guaranteed stream of income when you retire (Any guarantees are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuer).
The remaining funds in Tier 3 focus on income generation and inflation protection for investors who want to produce a growing income distribution while leaving the principal alone or returns that exceed the inflation rate so investors can build future purchasing power and wealth.
You may change your investment mix for your 457(b) Savings Plan at any time.