a physician in her late 30’s focused on savings and planning for retirement
Sarah is a doctor who works for a healthcare provider associated with a large university. She is single and in her late 30’s, and although her income has increased substantially since she completed medical school, her spending hasn’t followed suit. Thus, she is in the fortunate position of having substantial disposable income and the matching contributions from her employer to her retirement plans is generous.
She would like to retire in her mid-50’s, although she could put retirement off for a bit if necessary. In addition to contributing the maximum allowable amount to her retirement plans, she is also spending $15,000 each on paying down medical school debt and establishing an emergency fund. Sarah is seeking advice on whether or not her retirement goal is realistic, how best to achieve it and how she should invest.
Financial Plan Outcome
Sarah is close to being on track, but she is more likely to be able to fully fund her retirement if she pushes it back to her late 50’s. Furthermore, her investments are a bit too conservative given her overall risk tolerance and return needs, so we recommend increasing her equity exposure. Lastly, she may want to consider additional disability insurance if it is available so that she can continue to meet her savings goals even in the event of long-term incapacity.
Plan Cost
Sarah’s plan cost is $1,935. This cost included all work necessary to complete the plan, plus 2 client meetings to review the initial draft plan as well as the final plan, and subsequent support to answer any questions Sarah had as she worked to implement the plan.
