Do you work at SUNY?
Get expert insights from financial advisors who specialize in helping SUNY faculty and staff make the most of their compensation package and benefits.
Looking for a financial advisor who specializes in working with SUNY faculty & staff? You’re in the right place. Below, you’ll find advisors who understand SUNY benefits and compensation — along with their answers to common financial questions from SUNY faculty and staff.
Whether you recently joined SUNY or you’ve advanced into a faculty leadership or senior administrative role over a multi-year career, making smart decisions about your income and benefits can have a lasting impact on your financial future. For example:
✅ Do you know the right moves to get the greatest value from the SUNY benefits available to you?
✅ If you’re thinking about leaving SUNY for another position or planning to retire in a few years, are you taking the right steps today to receive all the retirement and health benefits you’ve earned?
Key Takeaways
Choosing a SUNY ORP Provider Doesn’t Include Personal Financial Planning
Employees choose among TIAA, Fidelity, Voya, and Corebridge, but none provide the individualized planning many are looking for.
Relying Only on the ORP May Not Be Enough
Many SUNY employees don’t save enough for retirement. Adding a 403(b) or 457 plan increases savings and flexibility.
Protect the New York State Tax-Free Treatment of Your ORP
Understanding how to preserve the state tax benefit, and how to withdraw from each account to minimize taxes, is key in retirement.
Why SUNY Faculty & Staff Work with a Specialist Financial Advisor
Throughout the year, the State University of New York provides its faculty and staff with updates about their benefits, ranging from health insurance to retirement plans like the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) or a New York State pension, plus supplemental 403(b) and 457 plans — along with life insurance and retiree health insurance. While the university system offers many useful resources and access to knowledgeable staff who can assist with questions, you’ll also find financial professionals not affiliated with the State University of New York who specialize in helping SUNY faculty and staff make the most of their income and benefits.
The State University of New York is headquartered in Albany and includes 64 college and university campuses across the state. Whether you work on campus, at another location, or remotely from home, you may have questions about your compensation package and benefits better suited for a financial professional who can offer unbiased advice and guidance.
Sensitive topics — like the steps you should take before leaving your job at SUNY for another institution, weighing a buyout or early retirement offer, or deciding when you should plan to retire — are all conversations that may be more comfortable with a trusted financial advisor.
Should You Hire a SUNY Specialist or a Local Financial Advisor?
You’ll likely find dozens of nearby financial advisors well-suited to help you reach your money goals with a personalized plan. But it can be harder to find a financial advisor who specializes in serving SUNY faculty & staff. Fortunately, many financial advisors offer virtual services, so you can meet online no matter where you (or they) live — which means you can hire a specialist financial advisor who lives hundreds of miles away if their knowledge and experience working with SUNY faculty & staff is the better fit for your unique needs.
💡 In the Q&A below, you’ll gain insights from financial advisors who work with SUNY faculty & staff to help them make smart decisions, get the most value from their compensation and benefits, reduce their money stress, and prepare for a comfortable retirement.
🙋♀️ Have a question not yet answered? Use the form below to submit your question. You can also contact financial advisors directly to set up an introductory call or contact them with your questions.
Q&A: Financial Planning Tips for SUNY Faculty & Staff
In this section, you’ll learn how you can make the most of your SUNY benefits and gain valuable tips from financial advisors who specialize in working with SUNY faculty and staff.
Financial Advisor Q&A · SUNY Faculty & Staff
Steve Witter, CFP®, CSLP®
Bentham Wealth Advisors · Williamsville, NY · Serves clients nationwide
Fee-Only Financial Planning for those aged 50+ who are retired or close to it.Steve Witter is a financial advisor based in Williamsville, New York who specializes in offering financial planning services to SUNY faculty and staff. Steve helps his clients get the most value from their SUNY benefits and compensation package so they can enjoy life and feel confident about their financial future.
QAs a financial advisor with experience helping SUNY faculty and professional staff save for their retirement, how do you help them make the most of their benefits?
Currently they can choose from 4 options (TIAA, Fidelity, Voya and Corebridge), none of which offer the personal financial planning that many are looking for. Here is a list of the things we help with:
- Help choosing the best Optional Retirement Program (ORP) provider for your needs
- Investment management of your ORP and 403(b) plans
- Saving for college
- Retirement planning
- Tax planning to minimize the taxes paid now and in retirement
- Roth conversion guidance
- When to claim Social Security
- Cash flow, savings, and debt management
QWhen you first speak with a SUNY faculty or staff member, what questions do you like to ask to better understand their unique circumstances and determine how you can best help them achieve their goals?
How they are managing their retirement plans and what are their retirement goals? Who is managing their ORP and 403(b) plan?
QIs there a particular benefit available to SUNY faculty and staff you feel isn’t as well utilized or understood as it should be?
How the ORP plan works and the need for a 403(b) or 457 as well.
QBeyond SUNY benefits for retirement savings, are there other types of benefits offered by SUNY that you find valuable to discuss with your clients?
Life insurance benefit and health insurance in retirement.
QFor SUNY employees thinking about leaving to accept a job elsewhere, what actions do you recommend they take before resigning and shortly thereafter?
Review portability of the retirement plans (ORP, 403b, 457, etc.).
QFor SUNY faculty and staff approaching retirement age, how do you recommend they prepare to make the transition from living off their salary to relying upon other sources of income?
Review their retirement plans and have a plan for how they want to withdraw money from the various accounts to minimize taxes paid in retirement.
QFor SUNY faculty and staff who have managed their finances on their own to this point, what would you suggest they consider to help them decide if they should begin working with a financial advisor at this stage in their lives?
Accumulating assets in retirement plans is easier then deciding how to withdraw them in retirement and minimize the taxes owed. It is important to have an independent party review decisions so you are not taking too much from your accounts or taking too little and not enjoying your retirement that you worked so hard for.
QWhat are some of the unique financial planning challenges you commonly see among your clients who are SUNY faculty and staff members and how do you help them overcome these obstacles?
Not saving enough for retirement. Just relying on the ORP plan. We open 403b/457 plans to save for retirement. Not understanding how to maintain the NYS tax free nature of their ORP plan.
QWhat questions do you recommend SUNY faculty and staff ask financial advisors they’re considering hiring to help them decide if they’re a good fit?
Are you fee-only? Do you work with other SUNY employees? How do you get paid? What is your investment approach?
QIs there anything that comes up frequently in your initial meeting with SUNY faculty and staff members that surprises you?
They are used to being serviced by a 1-800 number or a representative assigned to the entire university, so there is no financial planning being offered to employees who are looking for it.
QIs there a particularly memorable experience or a moment you recall with a client who worked at SUNY when you realized they have unique opportunities and circumstances when it comes to their financial planning needs?
Not many financial advisors can work with SUNY employees while they are still working. Those that can tend to work for the high cost insurance options. We believe in using the low cost options (TIAA and Fidelity) and adding the personal financial planning.
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About the Author
Brian Thorp
Founder & CEO, Wealthtender · Editor-in-Chief
Brian Thorp is the founder and CEO of Wealthtender and serves as Editor-in-Chief. With over 25 years in the financial services industry — including nearly 22 years at Invesco, where he led strategic partnerships with wealth management firms representing more than $100 billion in assets — Brian founded Wealthtender to help people find financial advisors they can trust and make more informed money decisions.
A member of the National Society of Compliance Professionals and its SEC Marketing Rule Working Group, Brian was recognized by WealthManagement.com as one of its “Ten to Watch in 2024” for his work reshaping how financial advisors market their services. He holds a B.B.A. in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin.
Brian and his wife live in Austin, Texas.