Professor Emeritus

[Vincent Brannigan]

Good Morning

I'm Vince

I was awarded Professor Emeritus status this year and I am exploring my options in research and teaching. I will remain active at my University teaching courses a year I but no longer have the day to day pressure to raise research money. Yes I know "Professor" is a job some people retire to, but these days at a research university it can be a real grind. I was in the old and superior defined benefit system that allowed retirement at 56. The younger folks have to work till they drop. This is no joke. The university contribution to tiaa- cref retirement plans is about 8% of salary. Given that most professors start careers at age 32 or so, they tend ot work to about 70

My children are in grad school, and my wife is a very senior federal government employee who loves her very stressful job.

I do most of my research in connection with Europe. I'm both a US and an Irish citizen so I can work in Europe I have been a visiting professor in both Germany and Scotland. I go several times a year. I was always the department expert on cheap travel but I'm always willing to learn something new.

Activities
Scuba diving, skiing (very basic) Lecturing (my children think I should be a tour guide on a battleship) .

Vince


Vince

 

[samclem]

Welcome to the board.

One of my professors in grad school was an enthralling speaker who had a million interesting stories. He had a great time in retirement giving lectures on cruise ships. The cruises are for history buffs or political/policy junkies, and professors and other experts are brought aboard to give lectures on the ship. They don't pay very much, but he and his wife enjoyed free cruises to a lot of interesting destinations, and he loved the job.

It's not for everyone, and I'm sure there aren't many slots, but it sounded like fun.

 

[JDARNELL]

Welcome and Congratulations. My FIL is in the same boat. Big research Chemist guy that after 32 yrs in industry retired and teaches chemistry to nursing/pre-med students. For years he would fly to a university 1500 miles a way to work with grad students once a month and only teach one class a year because they had all the labs he needed. He speaks about once a year somewhere in the world on his reasearch topics.

Now at the local college, he basically gives them his salary and raises all kinds of money for research even though there is no pressure on him to do so. He would rather the university buy more lab equipment than pay him. Every year he is voted the #1 teacher by the students and raises more money than the entire department. For him it is a labor of love as he is FI.

Tomcat98

 

[template]

Welcome to the forums, Vince.

 

[donheff]

I do most of my research in connection with Europe. I'm both a US and an Irish citizen so I can work in Europe I have been a visiting professor in both Germany and Scotland. I go several times a year. I was always the department expert on cheap travel but I'm always willing to learn something new.

Activities
Scuba diving, skiing (very basic) Lecturing (my children think I should be a tour guide on a battleship) .

Welcome Vince. I too like scuba and skiing - or now more frequently snowboarding - also basic. Are you an Irish citizen who moved here or a US citizen who "grandfathered" in to get Irish citizenship? I qualify on the basis of two of my grandparents. I don't plan to move to the the EU or work there. Do you think there is enough other value in the EU membership to apply for Irish citizenship?

 

[LOL!]

Welcome to the board, Prof. Brannigan. For other [assistant, associate, full] professors out there, even though your employer puts money into your TIAA-CREF 403(b), you are supposed to put your own money into it as well. For instance, when I was starting out my employer put in 15% of my salary, I put in an additional 15% (the max at that time). While I no longer work there, the cornerstone of those early contributions to my TIAA-CREF account allowed me to consider early retirement while still under age 50.

 

[haha]

Welcome Vince. I too like scuba and skiing - or now more frequently snowboarding - also basic. Are you an Irish citizen who moved here or a US citizen who "grandfathered" in to get Irish citizenship? I qualify on the basis of two of my grandparents. I don't plan to move to the the EU or work there. Do you think there is enough other value in the EU membership to apply for Irish citizenship?

Don, must the Irish ancestor be as recent as a grandparent? Or will earlier immigrants to US qualify you, so long as the proof is there?

Ha

 

[Meadbh]

Don, must the Irish ancestor be as recent as a grandparent? Or will earlier immigrants to US qualify you, so long as the proof is there?

Ha

Department of Foreign Affairs - Citizenship

 

[save4aFIREyday]

Hi. You have to have a parent or grandparent born there to get citizenship. I obtained Irish citizenship through my grandfather who was born in Belfast. The application process ended up taking a lot longer than I had expected due to my grandparents' marriage certificate not being filled out properly, so I had to get supplemental information which was quite challenging to find. The people at the Irish Consulate in New York were very nice and helpful throughout the process, though. Also, I have a friend who also got citizenship through a grandparent and had no paperwork issues, so the process was very smooth for her.

I am not sure what I am going to do with my citizenship, but I am glad to have it. Considering how many countries are part of the EU now, it certainly gives you some options if you are inclined to use them.

 

[Vincent Brannigan]

As to the Irish Citizenship. My Grandfather was born in Ireland.
My Father was born in New York, but his father had registered his birth with the Embassy. I registered myself in 1986, unfortunately after my children were born, so it does not pass to them. My wife is also an Irish citizen but the Law has changed since she was approved.


Vince

 

[Vincent Brannigan]

Welcome to the board, Prof. Brannigan. For other [assistant, associate, full] professors out there, even though your employer puts money into your TIAA-CREF 403(b), you are supposed to put your own money into it as well. For instance, when I was starting out my employer put in 15% of my salary, I put in an additional 15% (the max at that time). While I no longer work there, the cornerstone of those early contributions to my TIAA-CREF account allowed me to consider early retirement while still under age 50.

Certainly anyone who saves 30% of salary for 30-35 years should be able to retire at age 50-60. My plan required 7% employee contributions. Because of the peculiarities of defined benefit plans, the "value" of the employer's contribution is difficult to calculate for any given individual . The average is about 14% but in my case it was closer to a value of 23% (using lots of assumptions in a calculation). Of course you had to stay 30 years, and that has its own costs.

One problem with most retirement financial calculators is that they use pre- retirement income instead of pre-retirement expenditure. Since the retirement saving is not expended, but saved, use of salary or income produces a distortion. In my case the employee contribution and my share of social security were part of salary but not expenditure. Obviously these "expenses" would disappear if you have a non employed retirement.

Vince

 

[RetireeRobert]

One problem with most retirement financial calculators is that they use pre- retirement income instead of pre-retirement expenditure. Since the retirement saving is not expended, but saved, use of salary or income produces a distortion. In my case the employee contribution and my share of social security were part of salary but not expenditure. Obviously these "expenses" would disappear if you have a non employed retirement.

Vince

Then fool those calculators by entering an "income" excluding such amounts.