As a fiduciary financial advisor in Chattanooga, Holland Capital helps long-tenured TVA employees whose retirement benefits changed during their careers combine a TVARS pension with their 401(k) savings in one retirement plan. Chattanooga clients can meet us by appointment at the Regus office in the Tallan Financial Center downtown, and by phone or video in between.
A pension earned under one set of rules. A 401(k) built under another. One retirement to plan.
TVA employs about 3,500 people in the Chattanooga area. In Chattanooga, a little over one in five households has retirement income, and roughly three in ten collect Social Security. Among owner-occupied homes, about 41% carry no mortgage.
TVA closed the pension plan to employees first hired on or after July 1, 2014. It also shifted future benefit accruals for many longer-serving employees toward the 401(k), based on hire date, service and individual elections. If you have been at TVA for years, your retirement may include a pension benefit from the TVA Retirement System and a 401(k) that grew in importance over time. Before choosing how to take either one, confirm that your advisor must act in your best interest and ask how they earn money.
Know Which Benefit Structure You Have
TVARS has more than one benefit structure, and your benefit depends on when you were hired and the choices on your record. We start with your TVARS statements and your 401(k) records, not with assumptions about TVA employees in general.
Our guide to TVA retirement planning explains the system in more detail.
How the Pension Shapes the 401(k)
Your pension benefit can provide part of your retirement income. The 401(k) and other savings cover the rest. If the pension is smaller than you once expected, the 401(k) may need to do more work, and its investments and withdrawal rate should reflect that.
RETIREMENT ENGINEERING™
The Order Matters
Five retirement decisions and why timing matters.
Choosing How to Take Each Benefit
Your pension payment and survivor options depend on the TVARS benefit structure that applies to you. The 401(k) offers more flexibility, such as leaving it in the plan, rolling it to an IRA or drawing it down over time. We look at both together, including when Social Security should begin.
Investing for the Years Ahead
Our investment management invests your savings for the share of income they must provide, alongside the pension.
How We Work with Clients in Chattanooga
Holland Capital Management is an independent registered investment adviser and a fiduciary. M. Chad Holland, CFA, CFP® works directly with clients and is responsible for the planning and advice.
Bring recent statements from TVARS and the 401(k), a Social Security estimate and any benefit projections TVA has given you.
We give you a written plan that shows your income from each source, year by year, and the choices we recommend.
The first conversation is free. If there is work worth doing after that, we will define the scope and cost before you decide whether to move forward.
Our offices are in Charlotte, North Carolina and Winter Park, Florida. We work with clients in Chattanooga primarily by video or phone. When an in-person meeting makes sense, we meet by appointment at the Regus center in the Tallan Financial Center, 200 West Martin Luther King Boulevard, Suite 1000.
For clients whose investments we manage, accounts are held directly at Charles Schwab in the client’s own name. Holland Capital manages the investments but does not take custody of client assets. If a client ever needs in-person assistance from Schwab, the closest branch is in Chattanooga at 200 West MLK Boulevard.
We work with clients throughout Tennessee. You can see the other Tennessee communities we serve here.
Our what we do page explains how a planning engagement works.
RETIREMENT ENGINEERING™
The Order Matters
Five retirement decisions and why timing matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Is Holland Capital Paid?
We offer financial planning on a fixed-fee basis, subject to the scope of the engagement. Investment management is offered on a fee basis, generally calculated as a percentage of the assets we manage. When providing financial planning and investment advisory services, we act as a fiduciary. Holland Capital Management may also receive commissions when clients buy insurance through the firm. Those commissions create a conflict of interest, which we disclose in our Form ADV.
Why Does a Fiduciary Financial Advisor Matter for TVA Benefits?
Holland Capital acts as a fiduciary when providing financial planning and investment advice. For a TVA employee, that means the rollover question is answered on its merits, including when leaving the money in the 401(k) is the better choice.
A rollover into an account we manage raises our pay, and we disclose that before you decide.
Where Can Chattanooga Clients Meet with Us?
At the Regus center in the Tallan Financial Center, 200 West Martin Luther King Boulevard, by appointment.
Follow-up conversations work by phone or video.
Photo: Breethol / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
