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Am I Prescient, Lucky or Just an Observant Trend Reporter?

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP™

[Publisher-in-Chief]

A few years ago I was involved in a Physician’s Money Digest report that showed the average physician reader (ie, 47 years old and $184,000 in annual income) would need about $5.5 million to retire. This was in 2007-08, right before the infamous financial “meltdown”.

Lifestyle Preservation

Now, that’s if they planned to have the same lifestyle after retirement as in the years just prior to retirement. In other words, to live on 80% of pre-retirement income, my doctor colleagues would need about $4.4 million. Although that isn’t exactly loose change, the average PMD reader at the time, had a head start, with a net worth of $1.1 million. By maxing out on retirement plans, we reckoned the average reader could be in shouting distance of the goal by age 65.

Although the figures were daunting, they were a wakeup call to the fact these doctors, now age 52-53, still needed to save more aggressively to be able to finance the retirement they were working toward. But since then, their home worth and practice value, savings, investment and retirement accounts are probably down in 2012; as is their net worth. Down –  and I mean way down!

Link: http://www.physiciansmoneydigest.com/issues/2005/92/3951

Fast Forward to 2012

Today, some pundits posit that doctors in America are harboring an embarrassing secret: Many of them are going broke. This quiet trend and seeming reality, which is spreading nationwide, is claiming a wide range of casualties including family physicians, cardiologists and oncologists. Sadly, it is a trend that I have professionally observed and personally seen.

Link: http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/05/smallbusiness/doctors_broke/

Doctors list shrinking insurance reimbursements, changing regulations, rising business and drug costs among the factors preventing them from keeping their practices afloat. And, no doubt, these are all true reasons – in part. But, some experts counter that doctors’ lack of business acumen is also to blame.

So, that’s why we started our physician focused financial planning firm www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com  –  and – our online educational program for their managerial consultants and financial advisors www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com These firms were conceived and launched more than a decade ago; to much derision and haughtiness at the time. Not some much today, however! Why?

Assessment

A decade ago, Forbes magazine ran an article about doctors making six figure salaries and still wanting a medical union to bargain collectively.  This was a bit difficult for the average man or woman in the street to imagine about such learned professionals, formerly considered affluent and a cut above the rest. So, where is medical union clout today? Where is MD salary clout? And, where is physician net worth now – and in the future?  Doctor – what’s in your wallet?

Conclusion           

And so, your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Are doctors really going broke? Are they OWS…ers? Was I prescient, lucky or just an observant reporter of this trend, early on? Please review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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Filed under: Career Development, Financial Planning, Investing, Retirement and Benefits | Tagged: Are Doctors Really Going Broke?, doctor salary, Dr. David Edward Marcinko, physician income, physician net worth, physician's money digest | 8 Comments »