Assante Wealth Management's Guide to a Financial Checklist for New Attendings

If your first paycheck is near, save the source papers

Omar should keep the offer letter, benefits portal confirmation, retirement plan notice, and loan-servicer letter together. He should write down the payroll cutoff, coverage election deadline, and loan certification due date on one page, then ask HR which election starts now and which waits for the next pay cycle.

The first decision rule is practical: do not submit a first-job election until you can name its deadline, the account or coverage it changes, and the person who can correct an error. Assante Wealth Management uses that test because a confirmation without an effective date is hard to reconcile later. A careful new attending can still miss a $2,000 paycheck deferral when a 403(b) election arrives after payroll closes. That $2,000 is paid out as taxable wages, and saving resumes only with the next cycle. Keep the confirmation, even when the portal says the task is complete.

• Offer letter
• Benefits portal confirmation
• Retirement plan notice
• Loan-servicer letter

Before day 1, check protection

Before Omar raises retirement deferrals, he should review health coverage, disability terms, and malpractice coverage. Ask whether each benefit is automatic, requires evidence of insurability, or ends with employment. A low premium does little if the disability definition excludes the condition that would stop his clinical income.

This is one place where a cheap option can carry the larger downside. Coverage terms deserve attention before an investment choice because changing a fund is usually reversible; losing an insurance opportunity or discovering an exclusion may not be. Assante Wealth Management can help organize the questions, but the insurer and employer control the policy terms.

• Health coverage terms
• Disability definition
• Malpractice coverage
• Evidence requirements

By the first payroll cutoff, set deferrals

Ask whether the 403(b) and 457(b) are governmental or non-governmental, and request the governing plan documents. The distinction can affect access, creditor treatment, and what happens when employment ends. Don't rely on a benefits portal label alone.

For 2026, Omar's employee deferral limit for a 403(b) is $24,500. He is age 36, so he isn't eligible for the $8,000 age-50 catch-up. The IRS limit for 2026 applies to the employee deferral, while the plan administrator confirms how payroll applies it and how a separate 457(b) election is treated.

Hypothetical: Omar, age 36, is a single hospitalist at a nonprofit hospital. He has $310,000 in federal student loans, $90,000 saved, a $280,000 salary, and new 403(b) and non-governmental 457(b) offers. He elects a 10 percent 403(b) deferral. Annual deferral: $280,000 x 0.10 = $28,000. Excess over the 2026 employee limit: $28,000 - $24,500 = $3,500. If payroll repeats that election each month, he needs a correction before year-end. Omar could lower the rate to about 8.75 percent because $24,500 / $280,000 = 0.0875. He still needs to verify plan payroll rounding and separate 457(b) treatment. Assante Wealth Management would write the 8.75 percent rate, the $24,500 limit, and the confirmation date on the same line of his one-page plan.

A missed cutoff is not always permanent, but it can cost a full pay cycle. Keep the election confirmation and compare the percentage, dollar amount, and effective date with the first pay stub. Ask payroll to correct an error promptly, while the pay record is still easy to trace.

• 403(b) status
• 457(b) status
• Plan documents
• First pay stub

What should I do with the loan letter?

A loan-servicer letter should be read for its requested action and due date: employment certification, income recertification, or a payment change. PSLF depends on qualifying employment, loan type, payment history, and certification, not merely nonprofit employment. Keep the submitted form and servicer receipt with the letter.

Refinancing may reduce a payment, but it gives up federal protections. Treat the application as a one-way door, especially with $310,000 in federal loans and a new job whose future income and practice plans are still uncertain. Student loan planning for physicians can examine that trade-off, while the servicer confirms the account's administrative requirements.

The checklist cannot determine loan forgiveness, insurance eligibility, tax liability, or the legal meaning of a specific plan document. Those decisions belong with the servicer, insurer, CPA, or plan administrator that controls the rule.

• Certification due date
• Loan type
• Payment history
• Employment record

By day 30, reconcile the first statement

By day 30, Omar should compare the first pay stub with the benefits portal and retirement confirmation. Check the deferral, insurance premium, and tax withholding. If payroll missed an election, ask for a correction promptly and keep the ticket number.

Omar has only a few accounts, so this is the right time to record each one's owner, beneficiary, and source before any transfer. A list that says only “retirement” is not enough. His 403(b) and non-governmental 457(b) follow different rules when he leaves the hospital, and an old residency account may still name an outdated beneficiary. Assante Wealth Management puts the account name and owner on the page before any consolidation is discussed.

• Deferral amount
• Insurance premium
• Tax withholding
• Correction ticket

By day 60, discuss the cash floor

Omar should set a maximum deferral that still covers loan payments and a bad month. The person who notices the first paycheck often raises the subject, but the decision belongs in the household budget. Ask a CPA which election changes taxable income, and ask the plan administrator what can still be changed.

Before raising the percentage, Omar can hold back enough for one payroll error, one surprise bill, and the next loan payment. Saving more may make sense later. A new attending whose deductions are still uncertain shouldn't have to sell investments to cover a shortfall. Market investments can fall, and he could get back less than he put in, so money needed within months belongs in cash.

• Loan payment
• Essential expenses
• Bad-month reserve
• Changeable elections

By day 90, reduce the list to one page

By day 90, Assante Wealth Management can help gather the deadlines and account choices onto a single page that Omar could walk a family member through in a few minutes. The servicer, plan administrator, insurer, and CPA still confirm their own rules. The checklist stays an organizing tool and does not decide loan forgiveness, insurance eligibility, tax liability, or what a plan document means.

The finished page should show the election deadline, account owner, beneficiary, cash floor, and unresolved question. Keep it short enough to use before the next open-enrollment window. A related physician financial planning review may later connect the job benefits with practice decisions, tax planning for high earners, investment management for doctors, or a cash balance plan, but the first 90 days should stay focused on preventing avoidable errors.

Assante Wealth Management meets with clients remotely over video calls and phone, serving households across the country. The office is at 317 South Juniper Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, United States; the request form is the way to make contact.

• Deadline list
• Account owner
• Cash floor
• Open questions