For UMass Memorial Health & UMass Chan Employees
Two employers, two very different retirement systems. Whether you are weighing a pension election at UMass Memorial or navigating MSERS, the SMART Plan and Social Security at UMass Chan, we help you make the once-in-a-career decisions clearly.
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Not affiliated with UMass. ClearPath Financial Partners is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to UMass Memorial Health, UMass Chan Medical School or the University of Massachusetts. This page is general education based on our experience working with UMass employees and retirees, not a description of your specific benefits. Plan provisions change. Always confirm details with your benefits office and plan documents.
Careers at UMass built much of the retirement wealth in Central Massachusetts. Physicians, nurses, researchers and administrators who spent decades in Worcester medicine typically arrive at retirement with substantial savings, and with benefit decisions that are made once and cannot be undone.
The first thing to know is which UMass you work for. UMass Memorial Health, the hospital system, is a private nonprofit employer with its own pension and 401(k). UMass Chan Medical School is part of the University of Massachusetts, which makes most employees participants in a state retirement system, with different rules for pensions, savings plans and Social Security. Couples often have one of each. We work with families on both sides of the lake regularly, and we build the plan around the system you actually have.
Know Your System
Longer-tenured employees may hold a pension with a key choice at retirement: monthly income for life, with or without survivor protection, or a lump sum. The pension was partially frozen in 2024, so whether you have one, and how much it will grow, depends on your history and past elections. Most employees also have a 401(k), and some a 403(b). The pension election and the 401(k) decision belong in one analysis.
Most employees participate in the Massachusetts State Employees’ Retirement System, known as MSERS. Eligible faculty and staff may instead join the Optional Retirement Program, known as the ORP. Many also save in the University 403(b) and the SMART 457(b) Plan offered by the state. UMass Chan’s mandatory plan contributions are made in lieu of Social Security, which shapes the rest of the retirement income picture.
UMass Memorial Health
For UMass Memorial families with a pension, the election at retirement is the decision they most often bring us in the final year. Neither choice is a trick. Both are legitimate paths that suit different families, which is exactly why the default option, or the one your colleague chose, is not analysis.
A monthly pension is a paycheck that never stops. It removes the risk of outliving the income it covers, lets your spouse keep receiving income if you choose a survivor option, and gives many retirees the confidence to actually spend. Every dollar of guaranteed income is also a dollar your portfolio does not have to produce. The reduction you accept for a survivor option is effectively the price of lifetime insurance for your spouse, and it should be evaluated like insurance.
Rolling a lump sum together with your 401(k) into an IRA trades the guarantee for control. Your income arrives on your schedule, and you decide each year how much taxable income to create, which can open room for Roth conversions before required minimum distributions and help manage Medicare premiums and the Massachusetts surtax. A single-life pension ends at death, while an IRA balance that is not spent can pass to your children. UMass Memorial’s pension generally does not include a cost-of-living adjustment, so the same check buys less at 85 than it did at 65. Invested assets are not guaranteed to keep pace with inflation, but they can, and a fixed pension payment cannot.
The analysis is arithmetic plus judgment. We compare the lifetime value of the monthly payment, given your age, health and survivor option, with what the lump sum would need to earn to match it, then weigh your other guaranteed income, family longevity, your spouse’s full picture, your legacy goals and your Massachusetts estate tax exposure. Sometimes the answer is a blend in effect. We model the paths side by side in your actual tax projection before you elect, because after you sign, there is no revisiting it.
Whichever way the pension election goes, the 401(k) is often the larger balance, especially for employees who chose an enhanced 401(k) match in place of continued pension accruals. At retirement, consolidating into an IRA may make sense for flexibility and planning, with a few checks first: whether retiring in or after the year you turn 55 makes keeping the 401(k) accessible worthwhile for a few years, and how any 403(b) or 457(b) balances from earlier roles should be handled. Non-governmental 457(b) accounts have their own distribution rules and generally cannot be rolled to an IRA, so they need their own timing plan.
UMass Chan Medical School
UMass Chan employees face a different set of decisions, shaped by the Commonwealth’s retirement rules. Here is where we usually focus.
If you participate in the State Employees’ Retirement System, you will choose how your lifetime allowance is paid: a full allowance that ends at your death, a slightly reduced option that refunds any remaining contributions to your beneficiary, or a further reduced joint-and-survivor option that continues income to your spouse. Like the UMass Memorial election, this choice is generally irrevocable, and it should be modeled against your spouse’s income, health and the rest of your plan.
Some faculty and professional staff participate in the Optional Retirement Program instead of MSERS. The ORP works more like an account than a pension, so your retirement income depends on how the balance is invested and withdrawn. Planning looks less like an election and more like building your own paycheck.
Voluntary savings in the SMART 457(b) Plan and the University 403(b) are often a meaningful part of a UMass Chan retirement. Governmental 457(b) plans have distinct withdrawal rules that can make them especially useful for bridging income between retirement and Social Security or other benefits, so the order you draw from these accounts matters.
Because UMass Chan’s retirement contributions are made in lieu of Social Security, your Social Security picture may depend on earnings from other jobs or on a spouse’s record. The Social Security Fairness Act repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, which previously could reduce benefits for people with non-covered public pensions. If your plan was built on old estimates, it is worth getting updated numbers and rerunning the projection.
The Massachusetts Picture
A UMass career plus a Central Massachusetts home routinely produces an estate above the state’s $2 million estate tax threshold, and physician households can cross into the 4% Massachusetts surtax in the year of a practice transition, a property sale or an aggressively sized Roth conversion.
Two-career couples, one spouse at UMass Memorial and the other at UMass Chan or in other state service, may have benefits under entirely different rules. Those two systems need to be coordinated as one household plan.
This is the work we do every day: pension elections, account consolidation, Roth conversion roadmaps, income design and estate review, built as one plan by a team that includes a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional who is also an IRS Enrolled Agent.
Getting Started
A focused first meeting, by video or at our Northborough office, designed to show you where you stand before you sign anything.
01
Your pension election package or MSERS estimate, your 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) statements, and your most recent tax return. If you are part of a two-career household, bring both.
02
We compare monthly and lump sum paths, or MSERS options, with survivor choices priced out, inside your actual tax projection.
03
You leave with the two or three decisions that matter most, the tradeoffs laid out plainly, and a clear answer about whether ClearPath is the right fit.
Keep Exploring
A UMass retirement touches every part of the plan: income, taxes, investments and estate. Explore how we approach each piece.
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Common Questions
Should I take my UMass Memorial pension as a lump sum or monthly income?
There is no universal answer. Monthly income provides a paycheck for life and, with a survivor option, protection for your spouse. A lump sum rolled to an IRA provides flexibility, more control over taxes, and assets that can pass to heirs. The right choice depends on your health, your spouse’s situation, your other guaranteed income, your tax picture and your legacy goals. Because the election is generally irreversible, we model both paths before you sign.
What survivor options should I consider?
Survivor options reduce your monthly payment in exchange for continuing some or all of the income to your spouse after your death. The reduction is effectively the cost of insurance for your spouse, so it should be weighed against your spouse’s age, health and what other resources they would have. For many married couples some survivor protection makes sense. The right level is where the analysis matters.
Should I roll my 401(k) into an IRA when I retire?
Often, but not automatically. Consolidating can simplify your accounts and give you more control over withdrawals and taxes. Before moving anything, check whether retiring in or after the year you turn 55 makes it worth keeping the 401(k) accessible for a few years, and how any 403(b) or 457(b) balances from earlier roles should be handled.
Do UMass Chan employees pay into Social Security?
UMass Chan states that contributions to its mandatory retirement plans, MSERS or the ORP, are made in lieu of Social Security. Your Social Security benefit, if any, may come from other covered employment or from a spouse’s record, so it is worth reviewing your Social Security statement as part of your plan.
How does the Social Security Fairness Act affect UMass Chan retirees?
The Act repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, which previously could reduce Social Security benefits for people who also receive a pension from non-covered public employment. For some UMass Chan employees and their spouses, that means higher expected benefits than older estimates showed. We recommend confirming updated figures with Social Security and updating your retirement income and survivor projections.
What is the difference between MSERS and the ORP?
MSERS is a defined benefit pension that pays a lifetime allowance based on your age, years of service and salary history, with option choices at retirement. The Optional Retirement Program is a defined contribution plan, more like a retirement account, where your income depends on how the balance is invested and withdrawn. Eligibility and rules are set by the University and the Commonwealth, so confirm your specifics with UMass Chan HR.
Are you affiliated with UMass?
No. ClearPath Financial Partners is an independent firm and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to UMass Memorial Health, UMass Chan Medical School or the University of Massachusetts.
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Bring your pension election package, your savings plan statements and your most recent tax return. We will model your options side by side, with survivor choices priced out, before you sign anything.
ClearPath Financial Partners is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to UMass Memorial Health, UMass Chan Medical School or the University of Massachusetts. Benefit descriptions on this page are general and may not reflect your specific plan provisions; confirm details with your benefits office and plan documents.
The opinions voiced on this page are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which strategies or investments may be suitable for you, consult the appropriate qualified professional prior to making a decision. Individual tax matters should be discussed with your tax professional.
Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through Private Advisor Group, a registered investment advisor. Private Advisor Group and ClearPath Financial Partners are separate entities from LPL Financial.