LCHM Summer 2017 - 26

PRACTICE
MANAGEMENT

PREPARING

for retirement
BY JOHN J. IANNANTUONO, CFP®, CHFC, MSFS, AIF®

ongratulations! Whether you are
a private or hospital based physician, contemplating retirement
is both exciting and complex.
We are finding more physicians, regardless
of employment structure, are actually
"winding down" towards retirement. This
usually occurs between ages 65 and 70,
although working past 70 years of age is
not uncommon. Bottom line: physicians
are not retiring cold turkey.
This wind-down process is valuable for
many reasons. First, it allows one to keep
contributing to his/her profession and
patient care. Many decades of hard-earned
wisdom and experience do not merely
vanish all at once. Besides, colleagues and
patients appreciate a gradual transition
from career to retirement. Second, an
evolution helps accommodate adjustments
to scheduling activities other than clinical
or administrative duties. In other words, a
transition permits one to, shall we say, "test
the waters." Lastly, everyone will experience
the practical limitations based on their own
career demands, yet there are numerous
personal, mental, emotional and financial
benefits to the wind-down process. It is not
easy going from a high intensity career to
one of reduced activity.
Our office has had over forty years
of experience assisting physicians from
residency through full retirement status.
Putting the mental, intellectual and

26 Lehigh County Health & Medicine | SUMMER 2017

emotional aspects aside allows us to take
stock in the financial component.
BUDGET - SAY IT TEN TIMES.
THEN DO IT!!!
Everybody talks about it, yet few take a determined analysis of essential and non-essential
items we spend our own resources on each month.
You will do yourself a great service when you
put your pencil to paper. If you have a spouse
or partner, you can do this together. However,
if you are the "household" financial person,
complete your examination and share your
findings with your significant other. There are
often numerous attempts prior to a significant
reduction in your "work" hours resulting in a
decline of earned income. Also note that there
will be several more budget adjustments to fine
tune your finances during the first few years
of the wind-down process and then most
certainly when earned income ceases during
full retirement.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of LCHM Summer 2017