Retirement Accounts for PTs, OTs, and SLPs: Where to Put Your Money First
The account you choose changes how much of your money you keep sheltered from taxes. Here's the order to fund your accounts on a therapist salary.
A free financial resource for PTs, OTs, and SLPs
Math to practice on our own terms.
The math tools
See what you should earn
Compare your pay against federal data by state, setting, and experience. PT, OT, and SLP. No sign-up.
Compare your salary →Pay off your loans
Student loans, PSLF, and aggressive payoff, side by side.
Open the debt calculator →Invest and build
Compounding and long-term growth on a therapist salary.
Open the investment calculator →Find your autonomy number
See how close you already are to work optional.
Open the autonomy calculator →The road map
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Phase 1
Get to Zero
Clear your debt and set the foundation: emergency fund, insurance, employer match, then your student loans. Goal: a net worth of zero.
Explore → -
Phase 2
Build the Runway
Invest the gap between what you earn and spend, in the right accounts, so it compounds into options.
Explore → -
Phase 3
Buy Back Your Time
Turn that runway into choices: Coast FI, part-time, a sabbatical, or full independence. You decide how much you keep working.
Explore →
Latest from the project
Phase-2
How Should a Physical Therapist, OT, or SLP Invest?
A few low-cost index funds, the right accounts, and consistent contributions are the keys to building wealth. Here's the approach on a therapist salary.
foundational guides
Can a Physical Therapist, OT, or SLP Achieve FIRE?
Yes, and most of us don't need to. FIRE is the far end of a spectrum. The same math buys part-time, a sabbatical, or the freedom to say no, long before it buys never working again.
housing
Can a Physical Therapist, OT, or SLP Afford to Buy a House?
Qualifying for a mortgage is easy. But what options are you giving up, and does it delay your timeline to working less?
housing
Physician Mortgages for Physical Therapists, OTs, and SLPs: Who Qualifies
A comprehensive list of lenders that extend their doctor's loans to PTs, OTs, and SLPs. These loans allow for 0% down and no PMI. Independently researched from lender program pages.
Phase-1
Own-Occupation Disability Insurance for PTs, OTs, and SLPs: Carrier Reviews and Recommendations
The five major own-occupation disability insurance carriers, compared for physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists. Ranked on policy quality, occupation class, claims history, and price.