Midflorida Credit Union's investment management glossary explains common account, pension, tax, and retirement terms for hospital nurses and allied health workers. Each definition is written for the person trying to make sense of a 403(b), pension benefit, or several old accounts between shifts.
Use these terms to follow the paperwork and ask more useful questions during a review. A definition can explain a word, but your own account rules, tax return, and beneficiary choices still matter.
4
- 403(b) plan
- A 403(b) plan is a workplace retirement account commonly offered by hospitals, schools, and nonprofit employers. In 2026, an employee may defer up to $24,500, with extra catch-up amounts available at certain ages; check what your hospital plan offers.
- 403(b) rollover
- A 403(b) rollover moves money from a former employer’s 403(b) into another eligible retirement account, often an IRA or a new workplace plan. A direct rollover sends the money between custodians, which generally avoids having the payment come to you first.
- 457(b) payout choices
- 457(b) payout choices are the distribution options available when you leave an employer with a governmental or non-governmental 457(b) account. The timing and form of payment can affect your retirement paycheck and tax bill, so read the plan’s election paperwork before choosing.
A
- Account consolidation
- Account consolidation means bringing several investment accounts under fewer accounts or providers when that makes sense. It can reduce duplicate funds and missed statements, but a hospital 403(b) may have benefits or restrictions worth keeping.
- Annuity
- An annuity is a contract with an insurance company that may provide payments now or later. Some pension choices use an annuity payment, while an annuity inside a 403(b) may carry surrender rules or higher costs that deserve a close read.
- Asset allocation
- Asset allocation is the mix of stocks, bonds, and cash in an account. A nurse with a pension may need a different investment mix than someone whose retirement money must cover all household spending.
B
- Beneficiary
- A beneficiary is the person, trust, or organization named to receive an account or insurance benefit after the owner dies. Review these forms after a marriage, divorce, death, or birth, because an old form can override a will.
- Bond
- A bond is a loan to a government, company, or other borrower that usually pays interest and returns principal at maturity if the borrower can pay. Bond prices can still fall when interest rates change or when a borrower’s finances weaken.
C
- Cash reserve
- A cash reserve is money held in cash or cash-like investments for near-term spending and unexpected needs. Keeping part of a retirement paycheck reserve outside stock funds can reduce the need to sell investments after a market drop.
- Cost basis
- Cost basis is generally what you paid for an investment, adjusted for certain events such as reinvested distributions. It helps calculate gain or loss when shares are sold in a taxable account, so missing basis records can create an unnecessarily high tax bill.
D
- Deferred compensation
- Deferred compensation is pay earned now but received later under an employer arrangement, often a 457(b) plan. Its rules can differ sharply from a 403(b), especially when you leave work, so do not assume both accounts pay out the same way.
- Diversification
- Diversification means spreading investments across many holdings and types of investments so one company or sector does not control the whole result. Owning several funds is not enough if each fund owns much of the same hospital or technology stock.
E
- Emergency fund
- An emergency fund is cash set aside for an unplanned expense or a gap in work income. For a clinician with changing shifts or a leave from work, this money can keep a car repair from becoming an early retirement-account distribution.
- Estate
- An estate is the property, debts, and legal rights a person leaves at death. Retirement accounts, a home, life insurance, and bank accounts can pass under different rules, which is why beneficiary forms belong in an estate review.
- Expense ratio
- An expense ratio is the annual operating cost a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund deducts from its assets. On a hypothetical $600K portfolio, a 0.45% higher expense ratio equals $2,700 annually before any investment growth or loss.
H
- Health savings account (HSA)
- A health savings account is a tax-advantaged account available to people covered by an eligible high-deductible health plan. In 2026, the contribution limit is $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage, subject to eligibility rules.
I
- Index fund
- An index fund is a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund that seeks to track a stated market index. It is not automatically low-cost or broadly diversified, so check the index it follows, its expense ratio, and what it actually owns.
- Individual retirement account (IRA)
- An individual retirement account is a personal retirement account that can hold investments outside an employer plan. For 2026, traditional and Roth IRA contributions combined are limited to $7,500, plus a $1,100 catch-up for people age 50 or older, subject to rules.
- Investment management is the ongoing work of selecting, holding, and adjusting investments for an account or household. Midflorida Credit Union starts by looking at the accounts you already have, then puts the key decisions into a short roadmap your family can follow.
L
- Long-term care insurance
- Long-term care insurance is coverage intended to help pay for care when illness, injury, or cognitive decline makes daily help necessary. Premiums, benefit triggers, inflation features, and the insurer’s rules can make two policies with similar names very different.
M
- Medicare IRMAA
- Medicare IRMAA is an income-related monthly adjustment added to Medicare Part B and Part D premiums for some people. For 2026, Part B begins at $202.90 monthly before any adjustment; a large Roth conversion can affect a later Medicare premium.
P
- Pension lump sum or annuity
- A pension lump sum or annuity is the choice between taking a present-value payment or receiving scheduled pension payments. The annuity may provide lifetime income, while a lump sum gives control and investment responsibility; survivor benefits can change the comparison.
- Power of attorney
- A power of attorney is a legal document that authorizes another person to act for you in specified financial or legal matters. Banks and custodians may require their own review of the document, so it is better to organize it before a health crisis.
R
- Rebalancing
- Rebalancing means bringing an investment mix back toward its intended stock, bond, and cash percentages after markets move. It is a disciplined adjustment, not a prediction about next month’s market, and it may create taxable gains in a brokerage account.
- Required minimum distribution (RMD)
- A required minimum distribution is the minimum amount certain retirement accounts must distribute each year after the applicable starting age. RMDs generally begin at age 73, or age 75 for people born in 1960 or later, and the payment is usually taxable.
- Retirement income planning
- Retirement income planning is the work of deciding how pensions, Social Security, cash, and investment accounts will support spending after work ends. Midflorida Credit Union lays out the expected sources and timing on a 1-page roadmap before suggesting fund changes.
- Risk tolerance
- Risk tolerance is your ability and willingness to live with investment losses without abandoning your approach at the wrong time. Someone who loses sleep over a 15% account decline may need a different mix than a colleague who can wait through it.
- Roth conversion strategy
- A Roth conversion strategy is a deliberate approach to moving money from a traditional retirement account into a Roth account and paying the tax bill now. It may be useful during lower-income years, but a conversion can raise taxable income and Medicare costs later.
- Roth IRA
- A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account funded with after-tax contributions, with qualified distributions generally tax-free under IRS rules. Roth IRA eligibility depends on income; for 2026, the phase-out range is $153,000–$168,000 for single filers and $242,000–$252,000 for married couples filing jointly.
S
- Sequence-of-returns risk
- Sequence-of-returns risk is the danger that poor market returns early in retirement do more harm because you are also taking money out. A 20% decline hurts differently when a portfolio is paying monthly bills than when you are still adding to it.
- Social Security timing
- Social Security timing is the decision about when to claim retirement benefits, usually between the earliest eligible age and a later age. For people born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67; your pension, work plans, health, and spouse’s record matter.
T
- Taxable brokerage account
- A taxable brokerage account is an investment account without the retirement-account contribution and distribution rules of an IRA or 403(b). Interest, dividends, and realized gains may create a tax bill in the year they occur, even if you do not take cash out.
- Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
- The Thrift Savings Plan is a defined-contribution retirement plan for federal employees and members of the uniformed services. It has its own fund lineup, withdrawal rules, and rollover choices, so a TSP should be reviewed separately from a hospital 403(b).
- Traditional IRA
- A traditional IRA is a personal retirement account that may offer a tax deduction for eligible contributions and generally taxes distributions as ordinary income. Money moved from a 403(b) often lands in a traditional IRA, where future RMD rules may apply.
- Trust
- A trust is a legal arrangement in which a trustee holds and manages property for named beneficiaries under written instructions. It can help manage assets after death or incapacity, but it does not automatically replace beneficiary designations on retirement accounts.
V
- Vesting
- Vesting is the point at which you gain ownership of employer contributions or benefits under a workplace plan. Your own 403(b) deferrals are generally yours, while employer matches, pension benefits, or deferred compensation may have separate service requirements.
W
- Will
- A will is a legal document that states who should receive property and who should handle the estate after death. It usually does not control assets with a valid beneficiary designation, such as a 403(b), IRA, or life insurance policy.