Nearly half of dentists (49.3%) now believe they will have to postpone retirement, according to the Dental Economics / Levin Group 2014 Annual Research Report.
In addition, 76% believe they will be 61 or older before they can retire. This is up sharply from 59% in the previous year’s report.
This data should be a warning sign, especially for younger dentists who often believe retirement is something they don’t have to think about yet. Ask dentists in their 50s about how quickly the time has passed since they first entered practice. I’m sure most of them will tell you it seems like yesterday and that they wish they had done more to save for retirement when they were younger.
One critical component for reaching financial independence as early as possible is maximizing the production opportunities within your practice. This means implementing high-performance management and marketing systems that yield superior results in terms of increased production and income, while creating a low-stress environment for the doctor and the team. Realize that these systems have a shelf life. They will have to be replaced every 3–5 years due to changes involving personnel, new services, patient demographics, and competition.
Obviously, reaching your retirement goals requires a number of other actions, such as working with a financial planner and saving a sufficient amount, but these are dependent on owning a financially successful practice. Make that happen year after year, and you will put yourself in the best position to retire at the time of your choosing.
One-Minute Training: Give your team the practice management training they need. Sign up for Levin Group’s free Practice Production Tip of the Day by clicking here.
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Additional Data Bites
38% of dentists 'highly or extremely stressed'—analysis and solution from Levin
Why are only 27% of practices asking for referrals?
Practice collections climb to 94.3% in 2014
Look for new Data Bites in future editions of the Apex360 newsletter.
