WCI #455: Student Loan Forgiveness, Taxes, and Retirement Accounts

8 snips

Jan 22, 2026

Explore the intricacies of student loan forgiveness and smart repayment strategies. Discover tips on navigating taxes and maximizing your retirement accounts after hitting contribution limits. Learn about the advantages of the Mega Backdoor Roth and solo 401(k). Get insights into managing cash balance plans effectively. Real-life success stories highlight the potential for significant financial relief. Valuable advice awaits those balancing residency life and financial goals!

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ADVICE

Lock ACATS Transfers And Your Phone

Ask Vanguard to place an ACATS lock or internal freeze on your brokerage account to prevent unauthorized transfers.
Also lock your phone number/eSIM with your carrier to block SIM-swapping attacks used by scammers.

ANECDOTE

Borrower Defense Won After Refinancing

Reagan Hanson received $80,000 in borrower defense relief after refinancing and paying down federal loans to $80,000.
She continued fighting and ultimately got a check that paid off her private-refinanced balance.

ADVICE

Stop Relying On SAVE For PSLF

Exit the SAVE plan if you want payments to count toward PSLF and switch to an income-driven plan that qualifies.
Use studentloanadvice.com or a specialist to run numbers and pick the right IDR plan for PSLF.

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In today's episode, we're answering your questions about student loans, taxes, and what to do next once you're already doing a lot of things right. We talk about Borrower's Defense cases and when the government might actually forgive your loans, then dig into smart loan repayment strategies. We also cover investing after you've maxed out your 403(b), what to know after doing your first Mega Backdoor Roth and solo 401(k), and a few tax form gotchas. We wrap up with how to think about cash balance plans when you still have a long runway to invest.

Today's episode is brought to us by SoFi, the folks who help you get your money right. Paying off student debt quickly and getting your finances back on track isn't easy, but that's where SoFi can help — they have exclusive, low rates designed to help medical residents refinance student loans—and that could end up saving you thousands of dollars, helping you get out of student debt sooner. SoFi also offers the ability to lower your payments to just $100 a month* while you're still in residency. And if you're already out of residency, SoFi's got you covered there too.

For more information, go to https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/Sofi SoFi Student Loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. Additional terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891.

The White Coat Investor Podcast launched in January 2017, and since then, millions have downloaded it. Join your fellow physicians and other high income professionals and subscribe today! Host, Dr. Jim Dahle, is a practicing emergency physician and founder of The White Coat Investor blog. Like the blog, The White Coat Investor Podcast is dedicated to educating medical students, residents, physicians, dentists, and similar high-income professionals about personal finance and building wealth, so they can ultimately be their own financial advisor-or at least know enough to not get ripped off by a financial advisor. We tackle the hard topics like the best ways to pay off student loans, how to create your own personal financial plan, retirement planning, how to save money, investing in real estate, side hustles, and how everyone can be a millionaire by living WCI principles.

Website: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com YouTube: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/youtube Student Loan Advice: https://studentloanadvice.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewhitecoatinvestor Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhitecoatinvestor Twitter: https://twitter.com/WCInvestor Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhitecoatinvestor Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/whitecoatinvestor Online Courses: https://whitecoatinvestor.teachable.com Newsletter: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/free-monthly-newsletter

00:00 WCI Podcast #455 03:08 ACATS Fraud Update 07:54 Borrower Defense Loan Forgiveness 11:26 Student Loan Repayment Strategies 20:01 Am I Missing a Retirement Account? 27:15 Taxes & MEGA Backdoor Roth 31:45 Cash Balance Plans