I have a 403(b) and was wondering how to put it to best use at the time of retirement. Should I transfer it into a Roth IRA? A lifetime annuity would work. And how would such a change impact my FICO score, if at all? 
They say it's human to err. They didn't add though that you are more human the more you err. So when Dave Ramsey advocates his low-balance in contrast to high-interest in paying off credit card debt, one has to wonder if his approach assumes more erring than what's good for you, which may be a hint of the person's view being basically flawed.
Liz Weston on the other hand doesn't strike me as someone who has found the one truth. She puts the options on the table in a way that while there are recommendations, the outlook has no single dependency such as the fountain of youth. No size fits all, and it's really to you foremost to decide what's best for you.
When Suze Orman wants you to only pay the minimum due on your credit card balance and instead make it your top priority to build as much of an emergency cash fund as you can, the advice doesn't give me the feeling of having any say in my own matters. To me, the whole I-want-you-to approach doesn't inspire trust.
When Elisabeth Leamy being excited about saving big urges you to pay off your mortgage as soon as possible, it may be along the lines of most quickly reducing the number of debt-burdened credit cards. The number of them, not primarily the debt that they carry. But what if she's a little too gung-ho about it?
This is where my 403(b) comes in. I have looked at its history, and it's performing well, including in recent year's recession. Without knowing anything about stocks and bonds, it's clear that the bigger picture of this 403(b) reflects something both stable and lucrative.
I noticed two things this morning. One that 15-year fixed mortgage rates are up 2/8% from yesterday, on a site that I check regularly and which, as far as I have noticed, for months hasn't displayed any day-to day fluctuation of more than 1/8%. The other is that stocks soared yesterday, on the first day of December.
So while I have come up with a plan to pay off our recently refinanced mortgage loan in a speedy fashion over the next some years, I'm now even more enticed about the earning of the 403(b) account as well as the concept of being in a lower tax bracket at the time I start withdrawing from that account.
Pouring the extra money earlier anticipated for mortgage prepayments into the 403(b) instead makes for a most interesting comparison. I'll be taxed less than before until retirement, providing nice relief for actually being able to keep putting those extra monthly contributions aside.
Sticking with the bare monthly mortgage payments, I'll have some remainder of the mortgage when entering retirement living off my pension. No hangups about that, considering the sizeable deductions between now and then. The mortgage will continue providing some deduction, although minimal because the interest part of the monthly payments will be small.
So a few years later, that's when the mortgage will be paid off, at a time when we still have income from DW's work. Once she retires, she has her pension, and my social security should be ripe for a comfortable monthly income, with modest sprinkles from my 403(b), when necessary. A few years later, her social security will be comfortably ripe too, and we're set, still with the cushion of the mostly untouched high-earning 403(b).
That's just one, light-hearted and perhaps error-prone, dream scenario. I'm open to other options. 
