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
E98: The 2026 Roth Catch-Up Rule Just Changed The Math For Every Nurse Over 50
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The IRS didn't reduce this tax break for high-earning nurses over 50. They took it away. Starting this year, catch-up contributions can no longer go in pre-tax if your wages cross $150,000, and most CRNAs and NPs haven't adjusted their plan for it.
In this episode of MoneyRx for CRNAs, Brett Fellows, CFP, walks through the new Mandatory Roth Catch-Up Rule, what it costs the people who ignore it, and three accounts most CRNAs and NPs are not using together that can more than offset the change. He walks through a hypothetical CRNA named Dana to show what structuring it properly can mean over time.
Brett Covers:
- Why catch-up contributions now have to go into Roth accounts for anyone whose wages cross $150,000
- What it actually costs this April if your plan defaults you into Roth and you don't adjust anything
- Why most CRNAs and NPs are only using one of the three tax-advantaged accounts available to them
- How the 457(b) special three-year catch-up and a solo 401(k) can offset the new Roth mandate
- What structuring all three accounts properly could mean over a hypothetical 14-year period
Key Timestamps:
(0:18) The retirement rule that quietly changed for nurses over 50
(3:16) How the Mandatory Roth Catch-Up Rule works under Secure 2.0
(5:55) What doing nothing costs you this April
(8:10) Why this is an awareness mistake, not a financial one
(8:40) The three accounts most CRNAs and NPs aren't using together
(13:50) Case study: Dana, a 51-year-old CRNA earning $230,000
(17:55) The dollar difference between reacting and structuring it right
(20:41) The exact questions to ask your plan administrator
(25:50) How to get help modeling your own numbers
For more information and resources related to this episode, please visit the show notes.