As much as you love the nursing profession you probably don’t want to do it forever. You’d like to retire at some point, right? And to do that, you need to have your retirement plan in place.
If you work as a nurse in a traditional permanent role, your facility provides you the financial support you need to retire through the company’s retirement plan. But what if you work as a travel nurse? After all, you can’t expect all of these facilities to contribute to your retirement plan at the end of your 13-week travel assignment. So where does the support come from?
Look no further than your staffing agency.
Your staffing agency should do more than simply find you travel nursing assignments. They should also offer you several other benefits, including retirement support. When comparing multiple staffing agencies, here are two things you should consider as they pertain to funding your retirement.
* What’s the defined contribution? The defined contribution represents the amount the staffing agency will contribute toward your retirement plan in support of the funds you are already placing there. You may also hear this referred to as a match. The higher the contribution, the more the staffing agency will give to your retirement fund just for working with them.
* What are the vesting requirements? Vesting represents the amount of time you must work with a given staffing agency in order to keep their defined contribution. This is important because if a staffing agency has an amazing contribution rate but a vesting requirement of two years, for example, you won’t see any of the money they have dedicated to your plan unless you keep the relationship for at least that long. Vesting requirements shouldn’t decide which agency you choose on their own, but remember if you leave before the vesting point is reached, you’re essentially throwing money away.
There are a million other things to consider when formulating your retirement strategy, but most of them can be discussed with a certified financial professional. For now, it's best to take a moment and make sure you're partnering with a staffing agency that can support you now and into the future.
To learn more about how OneStaff Medical supports your retirement goals, hit us up.