The Complete Guide to Retirement Planning for Dentists and Practice Owners

According to the American Dental Association, dentists have recently started retiring much later in life. In 2001, the average retirement age for dentists was 65. Today, the average dentist doesn’t retire until 69.

Whether you plan to retire on the earlier side or want to work for as long as you can, retirement planning for dentists is important. Failing to put together a retirement plan soon enough may prevent you from reaching your personal financial goals and force you to keep working beyond retirement age.

If you’re a dentist or a dental practice owner, ensure you’re setting aside enough retirement savings and communicating closely with a financial advisor. Check out our complete guide to retirement planning for dentists and practice owners below.

The Importance of Early Retirement Planning for Dentists

When dentists wait until they own dental practices to start retirement planning, they struggle to find time. Dentists with practices spend almost 1,800 hours working each year, and many spend even more time than that.

By planning for retirement early, you can give yourself more than enough time to come up with the perfect retirement plan. You can stop a demanding work schedule from getting in the way of considering your retirement options.

Here are several other advantages of early retirement planning for dentists:

• Enables you to maximize compound interest
• Allows you to access tax benefits
• Lets you plan for unexpected expenses

Creating a retirement plan at an early age will also put you in a better position to balance your personal savings with reinvestments that you make in your practice.

Retirement Plan Options for Dentists

Back in 2000, about 60% of dental practice owners didn’t have retirement plans. Thankfully, more dentists and practice owners have started setting up plans — but they all take different approaches.

Not sure which retirement plan you should choose for retirement savings? See the best retirement options below.

Traditional 401(k) and Roth 401(k) Plans

A 401(k) plan is one of the most popular retirement plans for dentists and practice owners. It’s a profit-sharing plan that allows a dentist or dental practice owner to devote a portion of each paycheck to an individual retirement account.

However, not all 401(k) plans are created equal. You can pick a traditional 401(k) plan or a Roth 401(k) plan based on whichever provides a better long-term financial prognosis.

These are the biggest differences between these 401(k) plans:

• Employee contributions to a traditional 401(k) plan are made using pre-tax dollars
• Employees contributions to a Roth 401(k) plan are made using after-tax dollars

Therefore, traditional 401(k) plan withdrawals are subject to income tax, while Roth 401(k) plan withdrawals are not.

Both traditional 401(k) and Roth 401(k) plans allow employers to make a matching contribution when employees set up retirement plans. Employer contributions will vary from one employer to the next.

Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA

Traditional 401(k) and Roth 401(k) plans aren’t always ideal for dentists doing retirement planning. They may want to consider a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA instead.

A simple IRA will allow you to contribute to traditional IRAs set up for your dental practice’s employees. It will enable you to do this while making fully tax-deductible employer contributions.

Creating a flexible SEP IRA is extremely easy for both the employer and employees.

Profit-Sharing Plans

Do you want to motivate your dental team to be more productive? Think about using a profit-sharing plan available to dentists.

A PSP will allow you to share a portion of your practice’s profits with its employees. Your employer contributions will be tax-deductible up to 25% of your practice’s yearly profits.

You can take control of allocating the funds placed into a profit-sharing plan. You can also create a vesting schedule that requires each eligible employee to stay with your small business for a certain time before becoming eligible for contributions.

Defined Benefit Plans

Do you want to know exactly how much money to expect each month from a retirement plan? A defined benefit plan might be your best option.

A defined benefit plan is more difficult to set up than other retirement plans. It’s also one of the most expensive choices for those doing retirement planning for dentists and practice owners.

However, this retirement savings plan will guarantee a specific payout in retirement for dentists.

Building a Dental Practice Retirement Plan

Dentists and practice owners should think hard about which retirement plans they choose. Selecting the wrong retirement plan could set you back financially in a big way.

But why stop there? Outside of choosing the best retirement plan, you should make other retirement-related arrangements. Your retirement plans must include a dental practice exit strategy.

Planning for the Sale of Your Practice

After you spend decades building a practice, it may be worth a pretty penny when it’s time to sell it. It isn’t unusual for practices to sell for hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.

Still, you must take the right steps to sell your practice:

1. Determine the valuation of your practice
2. Consider the tax implications of selling it
3. Look for the right buyer
4. Negotiate a fair sale price
5. Close the sale
6. Train the buyer to run your practice

Properly preparing for the sale of a practice can significantly increase a dentist’s retirement fund.

Associate Buy-Ins and Succession Planning

Would you like to welcome a younger dentist into your practice and make them an associate before eventually turning over the reins? This might be the easiest way to part ways with a practice.

You can negotiate a buy-in arrangement with this associate dentist and gradually step away from your practice. By taking this approach, you can continue to collect a consistent income stream as you near retirement.

Real Estate and Facility Considerations

Do you own the building you use to run your dental practice? In this case, you can choose to either sell the building or rent it out.

Selling the building will provide an instant cash infusion and minimize your retirement responsibilities. However, it could also result in you leaving cash on the table, as renting it out could be more profitable over time.

Renting the building will keep income coming in every month long after you retire. But it will also force you to maintain this building and make repairs.

Managing Personal Finances Alongside Practice Responsibilities

As a busy dentist, you might struggle to manage your personal finances while taking care of your dental practice responsibilities. Check out what you can do to balance both sides of your life.

Diversifying Investments Beyond Your Practice

As long as your practice is semi-successful, you might be tempted to rely on it to provide well into retirement. But you’ll make a huge mistake if you ignore other investment options and focus solely on using your small business as a retirement tool.

Diversify your investment options. Here are other investments you should make:

• Stocks
• Bonds
• Mutual funds
• Real estate

The more retirement assets you accumulate, the greater your chances of striking it rich by the time you hit your desired retirement age.

Debt Management and Retirement Savings

The American Student Dental Association reports the average dentist has almost $300,000 in student loan debt after graduating from dental school. This is just one of the many types of debt a dentist might take on.

As a dentist, you might also have:

• Personal loans
• Dental equipment loans
• Small Business Administration (SBA) loans

Pay down debt as quickly as you can after becoming a dentist. As part of your financial planning strategy, come up with effective ways to eliminate debt, especially high-interest debt, that can complicate matters as you do retirement planning.

Tax Planning Strategies

Just like those who work in other professions, you’ll need to pay taxes as a dentist. You can, however, utilize tax planning strategies to minimize your tax obligations.

Here are the top ways to reduce your tax burden:

• Make the highest annual contributions allowed to one or more tax-advantaged accounts
• Use your practice’s expenses to create tax deductions and slash your tax bills
• Hire trusted family members to work for your practice

Speak with a financial planner or tax advisor about other ways to cut your taxes by earning every tax credit possible and enjoy more retirement benefits.

Navigating Retirement Transitions: From Active Practice to Financial Independence

Going from working as a dentist every day to not playing any part in the dental industry can be a real shock to your system. You might face psychological and logistical challenges that make it hard to enjoy retirement. These tips should make the transition smoother overall.

Gradual Transition Strategies

Are you interested in making a more gradual transition into retirement? You can do this by scaling back and becoming a part-time dentist. You can also take on a consulting role in the industry.

Either way, these are excellent options for aging dental professionals who wish to maintain an income stream and a strong sense of professional identity.

Healthcare and Insurance Considerations

As a full-time dentist and practice owner, you probably haven’t had to worry about healthcare and health insurance in a long time. But you will in retirement.

Make sure you explore:

• Long-term care insurance
• Medicare options
• Supplemental insurance to cover gaps in coverage

If you have health issues after retiring, failing to investigate these options could put you in a tough financial spot.

Lifestyle Planning in Retirement

Saving up enough money for retirement is important, but that isn’t the only consideration dentists and practice owners should make before retiring. They should also plan out what kind of lifestyle they would like to lead.

Answer the following questions while planning for retirement:

• What hobbies would you like to pursue as a retiree?
• Do you want to travel in retirement, and where do you plan to visit?
• Which personal goals do you plan to reach once you retire?

How Weave’s Tools Can Support Your Dental Practice Transition

Retiring from the dental industry soon? You might not think investing in Weave’s tools now would make much sense, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

These tools can make your dental practice transition so much smoother. Here is how they’ll help.

Improving Communication

Weave can help you simplify patient communication and your handoff to associates or buyers. You can ensure your practice continues to run smoothly during a transition with Weave’s groundbreaking dental office communication system.

Streamlining Billing and Payments

Weave’s automated billing and payment systems can streamline your practice’s operations, making it more appealing to potential buyers.

Taking Advantage of Online Scheduling and Reviews

Weave can ensure your practice remains profitable leading up to a sale or transition with its online scheduling and review management tools, including a convenient appointment booking system. They’ll keep your practice growing and maintain patient satisfaction.

All of Weave’s solutions support both ongoing practice management and the transition process, making planning for retirement easier and more efficient for dentists and practice owners.

Start the Process of Retirement Planning for Dentists and Practice Owners Today

Dentists and dental practice owners should start planning for retirement early to make the most of it. They should also choose the right retirement plans and prepare accordingly for the sale or transition of a practice.

Ready to streamline your operations and move confidently through retirement planning for dentists? Get a demo of Weave’s platform today to see how it can help!