[17035]
February 2, 2004
TO: PENSION MEMBERS No. 4-04
PENSION OPERATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE No. 6-04
RE: CALIFORNIA 403(b) INFORMATION DATABASE LETTER TO VENDORS
As we previously advised, California enacted legislation in 2002 requiring all vendors
that provide 403(b) products to employees of local school districts, community college districts,
and county offices of education to register with a centralized information database in order to
enter into new contracts with participants after July 1, 2004.1 The legislation requires that the
database be established and maintained by the California State Teachers’ Retirement System
(CalSTRS).
Attached is a copy of a recent letter from CalSTRS to 403(b) vendors, which explains the
procedure and timetable under which vendors can register their products. The letter includes
as an attachment a non-binding Letter of Intent, through which vendors can indicate their intent
to register. Vendors that return the Letter of Intent will receive a vendor account number and
detailed instructions for completing the registration process on-line. The actual registration
process will begin on May 1, 2004, and will be available through June 25, 2004. A vendor that
does not register during this window will have to wait until the next open enrollment period,
which will begin May 1, 2005.
As indicated in the letter, the California legislation requires that vendors bear the cost of
establishing, maintaining and administering the database, which will be available on-line at
403bCompare.com. The registration packet will include a cost estimate, which generally will
depend upon the total cost and the number of registered vendors.
Kathy D. Ireland
Senior Associate Counsel
Attachment (in .pdf format)
Note: Not all recipients receive the attachment. To obtain a copy of the attachment, please visit our members website
(http://members.ici.org) and search for memo 17035, or call the ICI Library at (202) 326-8304 and request the
attachment for memo 17035.
1 See Institute Memorandum to Pension Members No. 45-02 and Pension Operations Advisory Committee No. 65-02,
dated October 1, 2002.