New Jersey School District Employees

Section 403-B of the Internal Revenue Code became law in the late 1960's, enabling employees of school districts and several other defined employer groups to plan for their retirement by payroll-deducting a portion of their salary on a pre-tax basis and depositing those funds into a selected investment.

And in 1968 Siracusa Benefits Programs, a division of Frank J. Siracusa & Son (one of New Jersey's largest commercial insurance agencies) began responding to the needs of these public sector employees by offering a broad array of Tax Sheltered Annuities underwritten by some of our country's largest and most financially stable insurance companies who had developed products designed especially for the 403-B market.

At the onset it became advantageous to obtain the approval or endorsement of each school district employer, to assume a prompt and efficient plan of payroll deduction for employees who desired to take advantage of the new law by deducting and investing a portion of his/her salary.

It was important to both the employer and the employee that the payroll deduction process conform in every manner to the law, adhering to maximum allowances and incorporating such guarantees, and the like. Siracusa Benefits responded, setting up a payroll deduction arrangement with over 250 school districts throughout New Jersey, plus several in Eastern Pennsylvania. And the special feature of this deduction program quickly became the accepted "norm" for the industry.

During the intervening three decades the range of new 403-B products available for Tax Sheltered Investment has expanded dramatically. The comparatively recent popularity of the stock market has generated a great deal of interest among employees who began considering Mutual Funds for a portion of their investment strategy. Siracusa Benefits Program again responded, and today many of its field reps are licensed to sell not only the "Fixed Annuities" of those rock-solid insurance companies that have led the way for so many years, but also the broad spectrum of Mutual Funds that are offered in today's market place. Our professional field staff offers both, and our firm encourages diversification by suggesting that the typical investor consider a combination of investments with the emphasis at the investors discretion, depending on his/her conservative nature.