Advocate Aurora Health 401(k): 9 Important Questions and Answers About What we Feel is One of the Best Physician 401(k)s for a Large Group Provider

1. What Is the Advocate Aurora Health 401(k) Match and How Does It Work?

To our knowledge, Advocate Aurora Health offers a 100% match on your contributions, up to 3% of your earnings. That means if you contribute 3% of your salary, they’ll contribute an equal amount every pay period.

Because matching happens each payroll period, you’ll want to spread your contributions evenly across the year. If you front-load and max out early, you could miss out on matching dollars later in the year.

In addition to the match, you may be eligible for an extra 3% employer contribution once you:

• Complete one year of service,

• Are employed on December 31st, and

• Have worked 1,000 hours during the year (roughly 20 hours per week, excluding vacation).

Note: This information is based on the best of our current knowledge of the Advocate Aurora Health 401(k). While this is a starting guide - before making any financial decisions, we encourage you to consult your plan document and/or benefits people to confirm any terms of vesting or matching which can change anytime.

2. How Long Until I’m Vested?

You’re always 100% vested in your own contributions and the earnings they generate.

For employer contributions, vesting follows a three-year schedule.

Typically at Advocate Aurora Health, you’re 0% vested until you reach 3 years (36 months) of service, at which point you become fully vested in your employer match and additional contributions.

We believe this information is accurate based on the information available to us at the time of this writing, but before making any financial decisions, always confirm details in your plan document, as policies can vary slightly.

3. Is This a Good Match and Vesting Schedule?

Yes — it’s outstanding for a large group, in our opinion.

Advocate Aurora Health’s 401(k) offers one of the strongest matches and vesting schedules we’ve seen among major U.S. healthcare systems. Many hospital employers offer either a smaller match or a longer vesting period. Advocate Aurora stands out for rewarding both short-term and long-term employees.

4. Advocate Aurora Isn’t Known for Big Raises — Will That Hurt My Retirement?

This is a fair question.

Advocate Aurora Health’s philosophy emphasizes generous benefits over frequent raises.

For many physicians, this actually works out better in the long run. Your benefits and retirement contributions compound over time, while modest annual raises often have a smaller overall impact on wealth building because it is hard to totally shield raises from a high tax burden.

Advocate Aurora’s benefits-first strategy makes sense for those who plan to stay with a large group and value stability and predictable long-term growth.

5. How Do I Track What’s Happening in My 401(k)?

Advocate Aurora’s 401(k) is administered by Empower Retirement. Empower provides:

• Quarterly statements showing your balance and performance

• Annual participant fee disclosures, outlining what fees you’re paying and how your investments are performing

  
  

While onboarding support can feel light, your online Empower dashboard offers robust tools to track your progress, rebalance your portfolio, and monitor fees.

6. Will Mergers or Management Changes Affect My 401(k)?

Change is constant in healthcare — and Advocate Aurora Health is no exception.

However, from a financial perspective, employees have fared well through recent mergers and organizational shifts. While the plan terms can change annually, the current 401(k) design remains highly favorable compared to similar groups. Having worked with Advocate Aurora physicians for many years, we can say confidently -- this is a strong plan.

7. Is the Advocate Aurora Health 401(k) Competitive?

Absolutely. In fact, we consider it one of the best hospital 401(k) plans in the United States. Here’s why:

• Pre-tax and after-tax (Roth) contributions available

• Excellent fund options from Vanguard, Dodge & Cox, and other low-fee, historically strong providers

• A Self-Directed Brokerage Account (SDBA) through Charles Schwab, giving physicians and highly savvy investors more flexibility

  
  

In short, this plan offers both simplicity and low fees for hands-off investors and open architecture for those who want greater control.

8. Does this plan have any weaknesses or major areas for potential improvement.

In our view, the use of the Vanguard Savings Trust II (as of 9/30/25) instead of the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund is a major weakness.

As of the time of this writing, 11/11/25 - the Vanguard Retirement Savings Trust II has provided a 2.73% 1 year return as of 10/31/25. See Vanguard's Product Summary: https://institutional.vanguard.com/investments/product-details/fund/0338

Vanguard's standard money market product which is available in many 401(k)s, the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund (VMFXX) has returned 4.35% as of 1031/25. See Vanguard's product summary: https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/mutual-funds/profile/vmfxx#performance-fees

Insurance companies, like Empower, typically use a Stable Value Fund, but not all of them do, even in their 403(b)s. One of Empower's main competitors, TIAA-CREF, uses the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund in many of their 403(b)s.

There is no requirement that an employer uses an insurance company for a 401(k), in contrast to a 403(b), where only an insurance company can provide the retirement plan.

Overall, Advocate Aurora Health has an outstanding retirement plan, and for investors who utilize the Self-Directed Brokerage Account (SDBA), they can bypass the money market account issue. However, for those who do not use the SDBA at Schwab, the use of the Vanguard Retirement Savings Trust II — when the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund yields more — means that physicians at Advocate Aurora Health using the standard fund options are not getting the best deal available today on the money market fund, in our view.

In fairness to the financial vendor, stable value funds used to yield slightly more than money market funds, especially during the zero-interest-rate period of the 2010s. However, since the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in 2021, money market funds have consistently yielded more than stable value funds, and they still do today.

Generally speaking when the yield curve is inverted or US Treasuries that mature in 2-4 years pay less interest than US Treasuries that mature in 1-3 months - there is a very high likelihood that a stable value fund will yield less than a standard money market account and you can see the current Treasury yield curve on this website: https://www.ustreasuryyieldcurve.com

The Advocate Aurora Health 401(k) is a large plan, with around $487 million in the Vanguard Retirement Savings Trust II as of the end of 2022. With a 1.62% one-year return difference between the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund and the Vanguard Retirement Trust II over the same period, that interest or yield difference is worth about $487,000,000 x 0.0162 = $7,889,400 per year in lost interest to the Advocate Aurora Health physicians and other participants in the Advocate Aurora 401(k) according to our preliminary calculations.

As an expert on physician 401(k) plans throughout the United States, it's fair to note that the difference in yield between money market accounts is something we see frequently. However, it’s also an easy fix.

If you are a physician at Advocate Aurora Health and you'd like your employer to fix the problem - simply reach out to Katie McCann at Advocate Health and alert her to this issue and ask if they have ever considered using the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund to get more yield on the cash. You can find Katie McCann's Linked here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-mccann-60297430

Generally speaking we regard the Advocate Aurora Health 401(k) to be outstanding and extremely physician friendly, in our view. This stable value fund selection and oversight is almost certainly not ill intended by Advocate Aurora Health and if rapidly fixed it shows good faith and strong fiduciary duty towards the physicians and other employees at Advocate Aurora Health.

As part of our national practice of advocating for and serving physicians throughout the United States, we've seen many physician 401(k)s throughout the United States from terrible 401(k)s to outstanding 401(k)s and for a big group, Advocate Aurora's 401(k) is definitely one of the best in our view.

9. How Should I Invest My Advocate Aurora Health 401(k)?

In our view, investments are a lot like medicine or clinical interventions - they work best if you customize them to the individual, what their goals are, and in investments, what their personality is.

While all 401(k) plans have target date funds that are sort of like population medicine, and they are solid low cost options for those who don't want to customize their approach to their goals and needs, as you save more you benefit from customization in our view.

Especially with a self directed brokerage account, you can optimize for investment productivity, income stability or generation in retirement, attempt to reduce or mitigate losses, values-based-investing and a whole lot of different approaches that can be tailored to your needs.

Most people start out as do-it-yourself investors, but over time research indicates that investors tend to work more with advisors. This is most common as you get into your pre-retirement years (the 5-10 years right before to right after your retirement date from full time medicine). The reason why people do this is because they can often feel a little anxious about making a big mistake in their trajectory at a critical point where it really matters how you nail the transition from full time work to partially or fully living off your investments.

For many physicians and employees, working with a fiduciary financial advisor who understands the unique financial needs of Advocate Aurora physicians can be a benefit. Many advisors can work directly within your Advocate Aurora 401(k) plan. If you’re an Advocate Aurora physician, consider partnering with an advisor who specializes in healthcare professionals — someone who understands your compensation structure, benefits, and long-term goals.

Conclusion

Advocate Aurora Health offers a 401(k) that's outstanding in our view.

If you are a physician at Advocate Aurora Health within 5-10 years pre or post retirement from Advocate Aurora Health and you'd like to talk with a D.R. Harris & Co. financial advisor - fill out the following form to request a 10 minute introductory call.

During the introductory call we'll discuss your goals, what you are looking for and whether we might be a good fit to talk further and potentially work together.

Between the generous match, rapid vesting, flexible investment options, and open-architecture design, this plan provides a powerful foundation for long-term financial security.

If you’re looking to make the most of it, make sure you’re:

• Contributing regularly throughout the year

• Staying on track for vesting milestones

• Investing wisely for your personal goals

  
  

D.R. Harris & Co. works with physicians and healthcare professionals nationwide, and we have experience with Advocate Aurora physicians and with the Advocate Aurora Health retirement plans.

At D.R. Harris & Co., we focus on clients who are within 5-10 years before or after their retirement date at Advocate Aurora Health, although we also work with some younger clients in their first few years of becoming an attending or joining Advocate Aurora Health.

If you are a physician at Advocate Aurora Health within 5-10 years pre or post-retirement from Advocate Aurora Health and you'd like to talk with a D.R. Harris & Co. financial advisor, fill out the following form to request a 10-minute introductory call.

During the introductory call, we'll discuss your goals, what you are looking for, and whether we might be a good fit to talk further and potentially work together.

Disclosure: This article is written for educational purposes. While we believe the information in the article is correct, we cannot be certain, and you should solely rely on your plan document and information from your employer before you make any financial decisions. Neither Daniel Harris nor D.R. Harris & Co. is your financial advisor. The only way in which we can become your financial advisor is if you have a signed written advisory contract with us. Before making any financial decisions, we recommend that you do all of your own independent research and talk to your own professional advisors before acting on any information you read about in this article.