CASE STUDIES

Retirement Planning for Physicians

The Challenge: Michelle, an oncologist, is married with three children.  She graduated from medical school with over $300,000 in student loans.  She wants to become a partner in her practice but is concerned about her current debt and ensuring that she is managing her financial affairs wisely.  Her job requires her to be on call regularly, so she is looking to partner with someone who can proactively manage her finances, simplify her life, and free up time to spend with her family.

The Strategy: A colleague refers to Michelle Tushingham Wealth Strategies. She is interested in their “Personal CFO” platform for physicians to help oversee her finances. After an initial meeting, she realizes that the service goes well beyond just managing investments and encompasses areas such as student loan planning, retirement and tax planning, advice on buying into a practice, and developing college planning strategies for her children. They agree to work together and get started on an initial plan.

• Michelle learns that refinancing her student loans makes more financial sense than just consolidating them. Through guidance from Tushingham Wealth Strategies, she finds a company to help refinance her six different loans into one loan. The process saves her thousands of dollars in interest and provides peace of mind knowing that her rate and payment will never increase.
• The practice Michelle works for has offered her an opportunity to become a partner. Tushingham Wealth Strategies walks Michelle through the entire process by providing guidance on financing options, her employment contract, and succession planning. All of Michelle’s legal documents are scanned to her personal online Wealth Portal for easy access.
• Michelle realizes that putting three children through private college can cost a small fortune. Tushingham Wealth Strategies helps her not only save for college but also determine which colleges are most likely to offer her children the most merit aid. This strategy helps reduce the overall cost of education and minimize student loans for his children.
• Michelle is concerned about her retirement. She is wondering how to best allocate her savings and reduce her taxes. As part of the “Personal CFO” planning process, her financial independence plan is put into action. The plan includes the timely liquidation of appreciated assets, paying down high-interest debt, optimizing retirement plans, and coordinating all plan actions with a team of attorneys and CPAs.

The Results: Whether it’s navigating her employee benefits or trying to make sense of the recent tax code changes, Michelle knows her Personal CFO is anticipating her needs and one call away, any day of the week. Having a point person proactively planning and coordinating her financial life has freed up an immense amount of time for Michelle to focus on building her business and spending time with his family.