I just got a check from UC Berkeley HR which seems to be residuals from my 403(b). Now, I’m not quite sure what this is for — I did have a 403(b) when I was an employee in the computer labs, and it says I put in X dollars and had Y gains. Then the check has Federal and State Taxes withheld, so I’m assuming the money is mine now, and I’m not obligated to roll it into something else.
So yay, free money? And by “free” I mean, 33% of it is free and 67% of it is my money that used to be mine and is mine again. Of course, the fact that it appears I got taxed on the entire check, not just the interest, lowers the amount of money that I actually gained to some pitiful year over year percentage. Overall, it seems I probably shouldn’t have bothered, but I can’t remember if there was matching or something when I was paying into this. I’m sure it would have worked out better had I stayed a government employee.