Episode 84: Saving for Retirement as a Private Practice Owner (with Gulielma Fager)

Have you ever wondered what your retirement options are as a practice owner? Well, your questions are about to be answered! Today, Julie is sitting down with Gulielma Fager of the Toler Financial Group to talk about all things retirement.

Before Gulielma because a licensed financial advisor, she spent 20 years in the reproductive health and sex education field, helping individuals, couples, and families answer embarrassing questions and solve deeply private problems. The interpersonal and communication skills she gained have proven to be incredibly useful in talking with people about money. For the last 5 years, she has owned a public health consulting practice, working with a variety of organizational clients to improve health equity and outcomes. Additionally, she managed her husband's private therapy practice, growing the business, instituting payroll and retirement plans, and ensuring compliance with Maryland state regulations. She, her husband, and their two dogs live in the historic mill village of Hampden/Woodberry in Baltimore (Go O's!), where she trains for and competes in triathlons. She also loves to travel, especially by Amtrak sleeper car.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• What mistakes do therapists usually make when saving for retirement?
  • Keeping their salary really low to reduce their social security liability
  • Only having one way to save for retirement instead of expanding their portfolio
• When saving for retirement, we always say "something is better than nothing" - what are some options practice owners have for retirement accounts and when does it make sense to look into additional options?
  • Typically, practice owners will have a Roth IRA and a 401K
  • When practice owners have free cash flow available, it's important to explore additional retirement accounts such as SEP IRAs
• What do you recommend practice owners do with an old retirement plan from a previous job/company?
  • Depending on your employer's contribution, you can definitely maintain the old account and open a new account through the same company
  • Rolling over your benefit over into a new account is also a great option to keep you account consolidated

LINKS & RESOURCES
GreenOak Accounting - www.GreenOakAccounting.com
Therapy For Your Money Podcast - www.TherapyForYourMoney.com
Profit First for Therapists - www.ProfitFirstForTherapists.com
Toler Financial Group - www.TolerFinancialGroup.com
Deduct It!: Lower Your Small Business Taxes by Stephen Fishman J.D.