If you work for Novant Health, retirement planning starts before you pick funds. It coordinates your 403(b), any 457(b) deferred comp, and outside savings. The order you tap them matters. For physicians and high earners, withdrawal timing can affect lifetime taxes as much as the investments do.
For clinicians and senior staff, Novant Health retirement planning is less about chasing the best fund and more about coordination. You may hold a 403(b), an employer match, a 457(b) deferred comp account, a health savings account, and taxable savings on the side. Each one carries its own rules for contributions, distributions, and taxes. Left on autopilot, they rarely work together, and that gap can quietly cost you income later.
The good news is that the pieces are fixable once you see them as one plan. This guide walks through how your Novant Health benefits connect, why the order you draw from them matters, and which tax traps tend to surprise higher earners. None of it requires perfect timing. It does reward starting early and reviewing the plan as your pay and goals change.
How Your Novant Health Benefits Fit Together
Start with the accounts you already fund. Your 403(b) is the workplace retirement plan, and contributions usually reduce your taxable income today while growing tax deferred. If Novant Health offers a match, capturing it in full is typically the first priority, because that is compensation you have already earned.
Higher earners often have a second layer: a 457(b) deferred compensation plan. A governmental 457(b) lets you set aside additional pre-tax dollars, and it can follow different distribution timing than a 403(b). That difference is useful, because it gives you another lever to pull when you decide how and when income arrives in retirement. Outside the workplace, a taxable brokerage account and any Roth dollars round out the picture and add flexibility on taxes.
The Withdrawal Order That Protects Your Income
Once you stop working, the question shifts from saving to spending. Which account do you tap first, and how much? The answer affects your tax bill every year, and small differences can add up over a long retirement. A thoughtful retirement withdrawal strategy looks at all of your accounts at once rather than draining them one by one.
A common starting point is to consider taxable accounts early, let tax-deferred dollars keep compounding, and use Roth dollars with care. That sequence is a guideline, not a rule. Your own answer depends on your bracket, your 457(b) timing, future required distributions, and whether a lower-income year opens room for a Roth conversion. Drawing in the wrong order can push you into a higher bracket sooner than needed, while a coordinated plan tends to spread the tax more evenly. The goal is steadier after-tax income, not a single perfect move.
RETIREMENT ENGINEERING™
The Order Matters
Five retirement decisions and why timing matters.
Tax Traps That Tend to Surprise High Earners
Physicians and senior clinicians often retire with healthy account balances, which is exactly why a few tax rules deserve attention. Large pre-tax withdrawals can raise your Medicare premiums through IRMAA, and investment income can trigger the NIIT surtax. Neither is a reason to panic, but both can be managed when you plan distributions ahead of time rather than reacting in December.
Timing also interacts with markets. Drawing heavily from investments after a downturn can lock in losses, a risk worth understanding before you retire. You can read more about that in our guide to sequence of returns risk. The broader point holds across all of these traps: spreading income across account types, and across years, gives you more control than any single account can.
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When to Start, and What Good Planning Looks Like
Good Novant Health retirement planning starts years before your last shift, not weeks. Early on, the work is mostly about contributions: funding the 403(b) to the match, deciding how aggressively to use the 457(b), and building taxable savings for flexibility. As retirement nears, the focus turns to sequencing, Roth conversions, and Social Security timing. You can see how income sources fit together in our overview of building reliable retirement income, and the wider context in our retirement planning resources.
An independent, fiduciary approach helps here because the accounts span employer plans and personal savings that no single statement shows together. The aim of Novant Health retirement planning is steady, tax-aware income you can rely on, which reflects how we think about every plan: Preserve. Strengthen. Grow.™ Start with what you control, review it as your pay and goals change, and let the order of your withdrawals work for you rather than against you.
The guide to employer and government retirement planning explains how a pension, a workplace plan and Social Security fit together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Novant Health Offer a 403(b) and an Employer Match?
Novant Health offers a workplace retirement plan, commonly a 403(b), and many health systems include an employer match or contribution. Plan terms vary and can change, so confirm your current match formula, vesting schedule, and contribution limits in your benefits portal or with human resources before you set your savings rate.
What Is a 457(b) Deferred Comp Plan, and Who Should Use It?
A 457(b) is a deferred compensation plan that lets eligible employees set aside additional pre-tax dollars beyond the 403(b). It can suit higher earners who have already captured the match and want more tax-deferred saving. Distribution timing differs from a 403(b), which is part of why it adds planning flexibility.
In What Order Should I Withdraw from My Novant Health Accounts?
There is no single right order for everyone. Many plans consider taxable accounts earlier, let tax-deferred dollars compound, and use Roth funds selectively. Your bracket, 457(b) timing, and future required distributions all factor in, so the sequence is best set as part of a full plan rather than account by account.
How Do IRMAA and the NIIT Affect Higher Earners?
Large pre-tax withdrawals can raise your income enough to increase Medicare premiums under IRMAA, and investment income can trigger the NIIT surtax. Both tend to surprise people who plan only one year at a time. Spreading income across account types and across years can help you manage exposure to each.
Can I Do a Roth Conversion as a Novant Health Employee?
Roth conversions are generally available regardless of employer, and a lower-income year, such as early retirement, can create room to convert at a favorable rate. Conversions raise taxable income in the year you make them, so they work best when timed against your bracket and other distributions rather than done all at once.
When Should I Start Planning for Retirement from Novant Health?
Earlier tends to help, because contribution decisions made years out have time to compound, and later choices about sequencing and Social Security build on them. A useful first step is reviewing how your benefits coordinate. Our guide to Social Security timing pairs well with that review.
Do I Need an Advisor, or Can I Coordinate This Myself?
Many people manage the basics on their own, especially funding the 403(b) to the match. Coordination across employer plans, deferred comp, taxes, and Social Security is where an independent, fiduciary perspective often adds the most value, since it looks at every account together rather than in isolation.
Holland Capital Management is an independent advisory firm. We are not affiliated with Novant Health and do not administer its pension or retirement plans. If you are looking for information about your benefit, please contact Novant Health benefits directly.
