MoneyRx for CRNAs and NPs
Go behind the scenes with host Brett Fellows, CFP®, as he explores the unique financial opportunities and challenges facing Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists and Nurse Practitioners on the path to financial independence. Each episode delivers expert insights and actionable advice to help you lower taxes, invest smarter, and retire on your terms.
Brett's firm, Oak Capital Advisors, specializes in high-earning CRNAs and nurse practitioners and is currently accepting new clients. From retirement income strategy and tax planning to Social Security timing, Medicare, and estate planning, they offer comprehensive financial planning that goes far beyond investment management. If you're ready to work with someone who truly gets your world, the link to schedule a discovery meeting is in the show notes.
MoneyRx for CRNAs and NPs
3 Healthcare Decisions That Derail Early Retirement for Nurses
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A CRNA or nurse practitioner can save consistently, build a $1.5 to $2 million portfolio, and be just a few years from retirement and STILL lose tens of thousands of dollars a year without knowing why.
The answer? Because of these three specific decisions that got made quietly in the background right before retirement.
In this episode, Brett Fellows walks through the story of Sandra, a 58-year-old CRNA with $1.9 million saved. Two of those decisions had already been made wrong. The third she didn't know existed.
Brett covers:
- Why the account you pull from in early retirement can create a $12,900 per year difference in health insurance premiums for the exact same plan and coverage
- How the ACA subsidy cliff works and why crossing it by $1 can wipe out more than $10,000 in subsidies
- Why Medicare looks at income from two years ago and how high-earning nurses get hit with IRMAA surcharges they never planned for
- The overlap between Roth conversions, ACA premiums, and future Medicare costs that most advisors don't model together
- What tail coverage is, why most APRNs don't know it exists, and why the negotiation window closes the moment you give notice
- The Healthcare Retirement Clearance: three checkpoints that need to be addressed two and a half to five years before your target retirement date
If you are within five years of retirement, these decisions are already in motion whether you have planned for them or not.
Visit oakcapitaladvisor.com to schedule a call. We work specifically with CRNAs and NPs.
#CRNAs #NursePractitioners #RetirementPlanning #EarlyRetirement #HealthcareCosts
Key Timestamps:
(0:18) Intro
(1:25) Meet Sandra: CRNA, 58, $1.9M, two years from retirement
(2:05) Decision 1: Which accounts fund your life before Medicare?
(2:48) Two nurses, same plan, $12,000 difference in premiums
(3:46) The ACA subsidy cliff and how income triggers it
(5:18) Decision 2: The Medicare surcharge tied to income you no longer earn
(6:16) IRMAA explained, and the appeal most nurses never file
(6:55) The overlap: Roth conversions, ACA subsidies, and Medicare costs
(8:28) Decision 3: The charge hiding in your exit paperwork
(9:20) Tail coverage: what it costs and when you can negotiate it
(11:22) The Healthcare Retirement Clearance
(12:05) Sandra's corrected plan and outcomes
(13:35) These decisions are already in motion
For more information and resources related to this episode, please visit the show notes.