Originally Posted By Elderp Congrats on retiring. The concept seems so far away for me. We are right now heavily investing in different things plus I hopefully will have CALPERS when I retire but I doubt at this point it will be 57, I think it will be more like 60.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<In all honesty, it sounds like you are crowing a bit to me.>> Well, you are probably right... I'm pretty darned happy about it. I know we are very lucky. We both spent our careers at a place that has an honest-to-god pension plan. Being a state run organization, they also won't change the terms after the fact like so many companies do. There is always a trade-off. The University doesn't pay nearly as well for mid-upper level positions as private industry does. The president of the place only makes $400K for running an organization with a billion dollar budget. But we stuck it out knowing that the benefits were excellent.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>The president of the place only makes $400K for running an organization with a billion dollar budget. But we stuck it out knowing that the benefits were excellent.<<< Sounds like local government in the UK. Most Chief Execs are on $300,000 pa with $1bn budgets and populations of between 200k-500k people.
Originally Posted By JohnS1 I am confused about one thing - you said the university will pay your health care for the next two years. But then what?
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<I am confused about one thing - you said the university will pay your health care for the next two years. But then what?>> The University will pay our health care for three years which will get us to age 60. After that we can cover ourselves with the health plan for retired University employees. It currently costs $1,100 per month for the two of us but it is excellent coverage. We will be able to pay that using our health care savings account. If a person has been at the University for at least 5 years they put the value of your accumulated vacation into a health care savings account when you end your employment instead of paying it in cash. That is beneficial because we won't need to pay taxes on it like we would if they paid us in cash. My wife and I have been there a looooong time, and between the two of us we have about $45,000 in accumulated vacation. That plus some of our savings will cover the cost of insurance until we are 65 and can collect Medicare.
Originally Posted By Elderp Then if it is like CALPERS I am guessing they can continue coverage but will probably have to pay the premium. That is the way it is with most state jobs.
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 Congrats RT, we have a few clients in similar situations as yours and they are loving it! I am happy for you and your wife. You will have enough tucked away for trips to WDW and DLR and VEGAS right I would selfishly miss your reports. We are self employed so no benefits for us but DH loves his job so much that I doubt he'll ever fully retire. We plan to semi retire (means shaving off many clients) at 65. I am hoping for 62 When our kids were choosing a career I'd always ask, will you have a 401K, a pension, full health insurance, etc.? My 20 something kids would look at me like I was nuts. Congrats again RT, I look forward to some reports of your move and your new pizza flinging life
Originally Posted By disneydad109 I am very lucky. The state under the judical retirement covers my health care for life. That was is GOOD THING !
Originally Posted By jnemo congrads Roadtrip to both you and your wife. I am just a year or so older than you and planning on retiring next year. Right now I am working for that health insurance so when I read you post it really hit home. I am looking forward to happy times and lots of freedom. I wish that for you also.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<but DH loves his job so much that I doubt he'll ever fully retire.>> He is truly lucky to love what he is doing. We have faculty at the University who are the same... they work well into their seventies even though they could have retired long before. They truly love what they are doing. I wonder what percentage of people are that lucky... maybe 20-25%?
Originally Posted By Lisann22 I'll be 45 next Friday and I hope with my current plan to only have to work till I'm 55, 60 max. I'm so looking forward to that. I love my job but I still want to retire. LOL! I have so much I want to see and do. I just need to hang in there. At the 25 year mark with my company, I will qualify for health benefits for life at a very minimal cost. So my decision to relocate to Atlanta had a lot to do with not giving up those benefits with such a short time left in qualifying (3 years). I don't blame you one bit for taking the out and retiring early RT. I so want to do that. I have the same plan, keep working at a lower paying job, something flexible that allows me time to do what I want and travel. ;>
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Trippy: I am so so very happy for you. My dad passed away 7 months before retirement at 59 years old. He had worked very hard all of his life, planning for the future at ever step, with every turn. My mother is now "all set" but she would trade anything to have a bit more time with her spouse of 40 years. In light of that, I say DO IT, AND DO IT NOW!!! We live on borrowed time my good friend and mentor. If it makes sense, I wouldn't think twice. Live now. When I read the thread title I figured it was something like this and I was smiling before I even clicked. I hope you two are the happiest peas in the pod. Branson is a great place to goto. My parents were in the process of looking at Branson, Phoenix, Tahoe, and St Augustine (FL). Their first choice also seemed to be Branson. God bless you Trippy, I am very very happy and excited for you and your wife!
Originally Posted By DAR I asked my dad if he was excited to retire he said he was but there was a mix of sadness. He's a school principal and said he will miss the kids. But then he told me what he's going to make retired and it's not too shabby.
Originally Posted By LuLu That's awesome, Trippy! I'm so happy for you and DW! Count me in the "love what I do" category. Good thing too, since I'm self-employed! But I love being able to fit my "work" around my "life" to some extent. Moreso as I get older, I hope!
Originally Posted By jasmine7 Wow, congrats, Trippy! And howdy, (future) neighbor (I'm up the road a bit in Springfield; grew up about 30 mins from Branson). I think you'll like it here, and if you ever need anything, feel free to shoot me a line.
Originally Posted By hopemax Congratulations! My Dad "retired" 2 years ago at age 59. My mom had gone to WDW, and my Dad's company knew he would be leaving when the house sold, so when the round of layoffs hit, he got his pink slip. After the move, he's been enjoying his free time of being WDW Tour guide to friends and family, and swimming in their new pool. He hasn't missed working one bit. However, just last week, my Mom railed on him, "If he wants to be retired, fine, but that means he has to STOP slacking off on household chores and cut back on his spending. If that's a problem, WDW is always hiring."
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I'm unfamiliar with this term "household chores". Please elaborate. ;-)
