Hi - I am a teacher looking at retirement

[ohyes]

Found this forum page a few days ago and have loved reading through it. The use of w*ork cracked me up.

I won't post my $$'s until I have them in front of me and may not even post them then. From what I have read, my retirement savings is no where close to what some of you have. ...dreaming about retirement anyway.

This is my 31st year of teaching- all in the great state of Arkansas. I still love my job - well, at least like it a lot - but my husband (also a teacher) plans to retire after this year and the whole idea is calling my name.


You guys are funny and smart. I look forward to learning much from you!

[bbbamI]

Welcome to the forum ohyes.

[aaronc879]

Welcome. Two teachers means two pensions and healthcare(assuming public school) which means you don't need nearly the same amount saved as most of us. Talk to whomever it is you need to talk to and find out what you can expect for a pension for both of you. Then figure out what your expenses will be in retirement to determine whether you have enough to live on when you add your current savings to the pension income. Good luck!

[donheff]

Welcome to the forum and good luck with pulling the plug.

[movaly1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 Welcome. Two teachers means two pensions and healthcare(assuming public school) which means you don't need nearly the same amount saved as most of us. Talk to whomever it is you need to talk to and find out what you can expect for a pension for both of you. Then figure out what your expenses will be in retirement to determine whether you have enough to live on when you add your current savings to the pension income. Good luck!

Welcome! There should be someone in your human resources department in your district that can give you more detailed information about your pensions and healthcare benefits.

I am on year 10 of teaching so I still have a way to go!

[F4mandolin]

Fellow teacher here as well and will likely retire this year with about 28 years in if they offer early retirement(54 this next summer). I will have a so-so pension from the Govt, my wife will get a smallllll pension from the UK govt at 65 (or whatever they change that to if they feel like it). We probably have about $700k in savings total(house paid off as well). That plus a SS supplement from 56-62 is enough for us to pull the plug. Best thing to do if you haven't done it....check how much you spend a year....EXACTLY. Keep track of every expense. We came out real close to $30,000 last year and we were not trying to be cheap. The smartest thing I could do financially would be to keep working another year or two. Unlike you.....I have had it with teaching and am getting out as soon as possible and I would rather live reasonably cheaply. I have a bad bad attitude towards education these days and always said I would get out as soon as possible if I ever got this way.

[ohyes]

Thanks for all the welcomes.

DH and I have both attended the official state retirement info session for folks thinking about it. We got advice there, the low-down, print-outs on what we will bring home if we retired that day, the next year, in two years, etc. (I was a little disappointed in what we will bring home, but we can make it).

The real kicker is the insurance. Once we retire, health insurance will run us about $560 each through the AR Teacher Retirement System. I plan to shop around, but since everybody i know has stuck with the state plan, I figure it may well be the best deal.

To be honest, I am in the library. That is way different from being in the classroom. So, after 31 years, i am not burned out. My DH is in the classroom. He, on the other hand, has had enough. He has made it longer than I would have!

I am still teetering. Last night I found the thread about What I Did Today. No matter how much I still like my job, that thread sounds like even more fun. My retired friends tell me i will just know when it is time. They swear this is true. I sure hope so.

[F4mandolin]

It really is interesting at times to find out new things. I don't think my pension from FERS is all that good(MUCH better than a stick in the eye)......but my health insurance through the govt is a nice kicker. Right now I am on the low level of BCBS and I pay less than $100 a month for just myself. Adding my UK wife in Nov. Some of the pensions through teaching in the US can be pretty decent (especially univ.) I will have a take-home of about $1100 a month......

[yakers]

Hi, my wife retired after a career of teaching & some time off for child rearing. Another good site to hang out with teachers and their financial/retirement issues: http://403bwise.com/
Enjoy, wife & I have had a good time doing things we have dreamed of and in some cases helping out where we did not have time before.

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ohyes My retired friends tell me i will just know when it is time. They swear this is true. I sure hope so.

I can't guarantee you will know, but I sure did. I'd been toying with ER (early retirement) for several years and had achieved financial independence (FI). Still, I was enjoying the j*b for the most part. When all that changed, due to a different w*rk assignment, I pulled the plug almost immediately. Why put up with it if you don't need to.

Sounds like you are doing the right things to get your ducks lined up. It helps a lot to have assurance that you can make it in retirement before you leave. You may have the ideal situation if your DH wants to go first and test the waters. There is something to be said for changing things gradually. Maybe he can test drive the new life and wait for you for a couple of years to join him.

[Moemg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ohyes My retired friends tell me i will just know when it is time. They swear this is true. I sure hope so.

Welcome ! I agree with your friends . I knew when it was time and I had waffled back & forth . I retired once and went back to work one day a week shortly after I started that job I realized this was it . I did work a year and then left & never looked back ( okay I peeked but I never seriously considered returning to work )

[Stevewc]

You will need to look into the insurance options more.
Your price doesn't look good at all to me.
Did you all ask if there was a family type plan since you both teach? Just a thought.
I think you can do better.
Also keep in mind laws will be changing over the next few years.
Steve
PS. If I start to see huge cost increases on my current policy I reserve the right to change all my thoughts in this post.

[friar1610]

My mother was a teacher. It was only several years after she died and I took a close look at some of her paperwork (when I was going through a clean out phase) that I realized she was, at heart, a FIRE kinda person. I guess it must be genetic.