I turned 55 this year. That makes me old enough to retire as a teacher.
I didn't start teaching until I was 32, so this is my 24th year. I don't complain about my pay, but I'm taking that calculus class in order to get "hours" (extra "professional development" on my own time) so as to move over on the salary schedule. If I stay on track, I'll complete my extra 150 hrs this school year and will get a $4900 raise next year, just in time for the pay cuts that have to be coming due to decreased tax revenue from the coronashutdown.
Last year, all of us who would be 55 by the end of the school year were notified about a so-called golden handshake that would be coming our way--an offer with "a little sugar" to entice us to retire. Because I'm relatively young, mine was very little sugar. And despite my years of service and current pay, my age is what makes my retirement pay so low. The extra couple hundred a month wasn't enough.
Today as I left my classroom, my phone started downloading all my text messages. Turns out one of our teachers, who's 62, got another offer today. It was completely unexpected, he hadn't been told it was coming, and there's been no scuttlebutt this year about golden handshakes. His was a pretty good offer, he's probably going to take it. He and I talked about it my entire drive home.
About 2/3 of the way home, I thought, "Wait a minute, if he got one, I probably got one, too." As I drove up to my house, there was a tall white envelope sticking up out of my mailbox. Sure enough, I got one, too. I opened it. So much paper, so many different colored sheets! We were still on the phone, so he told me exactly what page to turn to in order to see my offer.
It's not enough. This offer was, again, only a teaspoon of sugar, just over $200/month additional. This would amount to less than 8% additional, and the total just isn't enough in California to make it worth my while.
Retirement is nice to fantasize about, but I know I have several more years to go. My plan has been to teach until I'm 63; when the Class of 2028 graduates, so do I, and they're 5th graders now. I should probably stick to that plan, at least until that teaspoon of sugar turns into a cup.
8 comments:
Is there a bump when your age + years of service crosses 80?
There used to be a "rule of 85" but I think that's been changed. It all depends on age, years of teaching, and highest annual pay according to the formula
Service Credit × Age Factor × Final Compensation = Estimated Monthly Benefit
which comes from this web site:
https://www.calstrs.com/blog-entry/understanding-your-retirement-benefit-formula
Since I've been under CalSTRS since before 2013, I fall under the "2% at 60" plan, which means I reach the magic maximum multiplier of 2.4% at age 63 instead of age 65. I'll be 63 in 2028 :-)
I got lucky. I turned 62 this year and got the "little sugar" offer. I was gonna retire anyway at the end of the year, so the timing was perfect. The last time our district made a golden handshake offer was in 2008. Obviously, it takes a financial crisis for this to happen, so maybe you'll get lucky and we'll have a huge one 8 years from now.
Just what I'm looking for, a financial crisis!
As heck. I'm 41. Still got a ways to go. I teach at an independent school and have a matched 403B though.
I'd love to retire at 55!
I would, too. But it's not economically feasible.
I need to get married and have a rich spouse so my retirement pay is just "gravy" :-)
You wouldn't be talking about this guy? I hope that you get the retirement you are promised... and before any changes like these get implemented in your subject area in the name of dumbing things down and going woke.
https://phyzblog.blogspot.com/2021/02/early-retirement.html
No, I did not reference or allude to him.
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