Do you work at the UNC System?
Get expert insights from financial advisors who specialize in helping UNC System faculty and staff make the most of their compensation package and benefits.
Looking for a financial advisor who specializes in working with UNC System faculty & staff? You’re in the right place. Below, you’ll find advisors who understand UNC System benefits and compensation — along with their answers to common financial questions from UNC System faculty and staff.
Whether you recently joined the UNC System 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 UNC System benefits available to you?
✅ If you’re thinking about leaving the UNC System 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
An Annual Benefits Review Can Uncover Coverage Gaps for UNC Employees
Health insurance, disability, life insurance, retirement plans, and flexible spending accounts all deserve review, and UNC physicians have supplemental options that are easy to miss.
Check PSLF Eligibility Before Refinancing Student Loans
Refinancing with a private lender ends eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Some UNC physicians qualify for six figures of tax-free forgiveness.
Ask Prospective Advisors About Credentials, Process, and Compensation
Whether an advisor is a CFP professional, who they work with, their planning process and investment philosophy, and how they’re paid all help determine fit.
Why UNC System Faculty & Staff Work with a Specialist Financial Advisor
Throughout the year, the University of North Carolina System provides its faculty and staff with updates about their benefits, ranging from health insurance to retirement plans like state and optional retirement plans with supplemental savings options — along with disability and life insurance, flexible spending accounts, and supplemental benefits for UNC physicians. 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 University of North Carolina System who specialize in helping UNC System faculty and staff make the most of their income and benefits.
The University of North Carolina System is headquartered in Chapel Hill and includes 17 institutions across the state, including UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State, East Carolina, UNC Wilmington, and Appalachian 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 the UNC System 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 UNC System 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 UNC System 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 UNC System 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 UNC System 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 UNC System Faculty & Staff
In this section, you’ll learn how you can make the most of your UNC System benefits and gain valuable tips from financial advisors who specialize in working with UNC System faculty and staff.
Financial Advisor Q&A · UNC System Faculty & Staff
Brett Tushingham, CFP®
Farther · Wilmington, NC · Serves clients nationwide
Tax-smart retirement planningBrett Tushingham is a financial advisor based in Wilmington, North Carolina, who specializes in offering financial planning services to UNC System, faculty, staff, and physicians. Brett helps his clients get the most value from their UNC System benefits and compensation package so they can enjoy life and feel confident about their financial future.
QAs a financial advisor with experience helping University of North Carolina faculty, staff, and physicians save for their retirement, how do you help them make the most of their employee benefits?
Benefits are an integral part of a financial plan and should not be overlooked. Utilizing the UNC retirement accounts and saving for retirement is important, but it’s the other benefits that protect your assets and income and serve as the foundation for your financial success.
Every family’s needs are unique, and if both spouses have benefits, it can get even more confusing. This is why we have an annual benefits enrollment review with UNC clients to ensure that they are optimizing all that is offered.
There are five key areas we focus on:
- Health insurance
- Disability
- Life Insurance
- Retirement plans
- Flexible Spending Accounts
UNC Physicians also have access to supplemental benefits, which provide additional disability, life insurance, long-term care, and retirement plan options. The benefits packages can be confusing, and we often find coverage gaps. We recently helped one client save over $11,000 in taxes by informing them of their additional retirement plan options.
QWhat are some of the unique financial planning challenges you commonly see among your clients who are UNC System employees and how do you help them overcome these obstacles?
Our UNC clients, mostly physicians, work long hours and have stressful jobs. They don’t have the time or interest to proactively manage their finances and prefer to hire us as their “Personal CFO” to take care of it. A common concern they share is what to do about their student loans.
Most physicians and executives have borrowed money to pay for their education. They want advice on how to smartly pay off the balance. We start with educating them on their student loan planning options so they can make more informed decisions. The government programs can be confusing, and some decisions are irrevocable, so you need to tread carefully.
One prospect wanted to refinance their loans before we advised them of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. You lose the ability to use this program if you refinance your loans with a private lender. After reviewing the program requirements, we determined that the physician qualified. They now stand to have over $100,000 of student loan debt forgiven, tax-free.
QWhat questions do you recommend University of North Carolina faculty, staff, and physicians ask financial advisors they’re considering hiring to help them decide if they’re a good fit?
There are many types of financial advisors, but the below questions should help you find the one right for you.
Are you a CFP® and for how long?
A Certified Financial Planner is required to meet certain educational, training, and ethical standards. They are legally required to act in your best interests (aka fiduciary), and only 29% of financial advisors hold the designation. Make sure your advisor has the designation and ask how long they have been practicing.
Who do you work with?
Does the advisor understand the unique challenges you face, and can they provide the solutions you need? We work with clients approaching or in retirement who want to delegate the proactive management of their financial affairs. Our services meet their needs as we can advise them on when to take Social Security, how to secure a lifetime income stream, and how to minimize taxes.
What is your planning process?
The advisor should be able to walk you through their financial planning process, the areas of expertise they can provide, and how they can add value. This should go well beyond just managing your money.
Their process should start with asking questions about your values and what you hope to accomplish with the money you save. After they provide you with an initial financial plan, how will they help you navigate the inevitable changes that occur to ensure that you stay on track?
What is your investment philosophy?
Some advisors’ value proposition is that their investment strategies can “beat the market”. From our experience, few can follow through on this promise. We believe in a more passive approach, keeping expenses to a minimum and investing in different asset classes to minimize the ups and downs along the way.
How are you compensated?
It should be 100% clear how the financial advisor will be compensated and what you can expect to receive in return.
Considering a financial advisor who specializes in working with UNC System Faculty & Staff?
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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.