Frequently Asked Questions
Questions we get a lot.
If your question isn't answered here, the easiest way to get a clear answer is a short conversation.
Working With Us
Yes. Many faculty clients work with us while keeping their assets exactly where they are. We offer financial planning on an hourly or flat-fee basis where we help you make better decisions about your TIAA accounts, pension, and Social Security without requiring you to transfer anything. If ongoing wealth management makes sense later, we can discuss that separately.
Our practice is deliberately focused on academics and physicians. Dan has spent over 25 years advising faculty at institutions including Yale, Brown, UConn, and Wesleyan. That focus is not incidental — it shapes everything from how we think about TIAA to how we approach the retirement transition. We are not a general advisory firm that happens to have some faculty clients.
We offer three ways to engage: hourly planning for specific questions, a flat-fee comprehensive financial plan, and ongoing wealth management based on assets under management. We are happy to walk through which option fits your situation in an initial conversation. There is no cost or obligation for that first call.
Yes. We work virtually with clients across the country. Most of what we do works well over video or phone, and we are set up to serve faculty regardless of where their institution is located.
It does not have to be. We handle the paperwork and coordination involved in transitions and are happy to walk you through what that process looks like for your specific accounts. Many clients also start with a one-time planning engagement before deciding whether to transition fully.
We are a fee-only firm. We do not earn commissions or receive compensation from financial products. We are paid directly by clients — either hourly, through a flat project fee, or as a percentage of assets we manage. This structure keeps our interests aligned with yours.
Retirement Accounts
Yes. Fidelity is a major retirement plan provider in higher education and medicine — Brown, Wesleyan, MIT, the University of New Haven, and parts of the UMass system all use it. We advise on Fidelity-held assets the same way we do on TIAA, with attention to the specific funds, plan rules, and distribution options that apply to your institution.
Yes. Empower is the retirement plan provider for the State of Connecticut, covering faculty and staff across the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system. We work directly with Empower-held assets in our planning.
Yes, this is common. We routinely incorporate outside accounts at Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, and other custodians into a client's overall plan. Depending on your situation, we'll either coordinate with them where they are or help you consolidate — with full visibility into the trade-offs either way.
It depends on the account type and your institution's plan rules. TIAA Traditional in particular has specific restrictions on how and when funds can be moved — this is one of the most important things to understand before you retire. CREF and mutual fund accounts are generally more flexible. We help clients understand exactly what their plan allows before making any decisions.
Your Normal Retirement Date, or NRD, is the date specified in your TIAA contract when you reach standard retirement age — typically 65, though it varies by institution and contract. It matters because certain TIAA account elections and payout options are tied to it. Understanding your NRD well before you retire gives you more flexibility and time to plan.
This is one of the most consequential decisions faculty make, and the answer depends on your full financial picture — your pension, Social Security, other assets, spending needs, and personal circumstances. There is no universal right answer. This is exactly the kind of decision we help clients work through.
A 457(b) is a deferred-compensation retirement plan offered by many universities and academic medical centers, available alongside your 403(b) or 401(k). Stacked on top of those plans, it can roughly double the income you shelter from taxes each year — a meaningful advantage many faculty don't realize they have. The catch is on the distribution side: you generally can't access the money until you separate from your employer, and the election you make at separation about how the funds come out is largely irreversible. Whether to use it depends on your savings capacity and tax bracket — and at private universities and academic medical centers, on whether you're comfortable that non-governmental 457(b) balances technically remain assets of the institution until paid out. For most faculty with the cash flow to fund both, it's one of the most underused tools in academic retirement planning.
Often yes, but it requires understanding the rules for each account type before consolidating anything. Some TIAA accounts can be transferred; others have restrictions. We help clients map out what they have, what the rules are, and what simplification is actually possible — without making moves that cost them options later.
We plan at the household level. We look at your combined income sources, accounts, pension benefits, and Social Security to build a picture of what retirement actually looks like for both of you together. Coordinating two different benefit structures is a routine part of what we do.
About the Firm
Radiant Wealth Management operates under NewEdge Advisors, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. NewEdge provides compliance, custodial access, investment management infrastructure, and back-office support to a network of independent advisory firms. As an RIA, NewEdge has a fiduciary duty to clients — meaning advisors in the network are obligated to act in your best interest.
We use Charles Schwab as our primary custodian. Schwab holds client assets independently from our firm — your money is never held by Radiant directly. Schwab is one of the most established custodians in the industry with strong investor protections in place.
AIF stands for Accredited Investment Fiduciary. It is a professional designation that signifies training and expertise in fiduciary standards — the obligation to put client interests first. Dan holds the AIF designation along with the MSPFP (Master of Science in Personal Financial Planning) and MPAS (Master Planner Advanced Studies).
Schedule a conversation through our online calendar. The first call is a straightforward get-to-know-you discussion. Please do not feel the need to be overly prepared. We will ask a few questions about where you are and what you are trying to figure out, and take it from there.
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Listing of these institutions does not constitute an endorsement of Radiant Wealth Management by them.
Let's talk about what's next.
Schedule a conversation to see how Radiant can bring clarity to your financial life — with the rigor you'd expect.
- Planning built around academic and medical careers
- Tax, estate, and investment strategies working together
- A dedicated advisor who understands your world
- Transparent fees with no product commissions
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