DawnM Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 (edited) I am attending a retirement seminar today. I never thought I would even get to this point, much less actual retirement. I want to see if there is any way to get health benefits without waiting 7.5 more years, which is what I think I have left to receive full health benefits. Edited August 10, 2023 by DawnM 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 1 hour ago, DawnM said: I am attending a retirement seminar today. I never thought I would even get to this point, much less actual retirement. I want to see if there is any way to get health benefits without waiting 7.5 more years, which is what I think I have left to receive full health benefits. Good you are attending. I can go out at 59.75 (Sept birthday) and pay $125/ month for heath insurance and then they pay 100% when I go on Medicare. i joined this retirement program way back in 1989 though….and they don’t offer anything like it anymore 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 1 minute ago, Ottakee said: Good you are attending. I can go out at 59.75 (Sept birthday) and pay $125/ month for heath insurance and then they pay 100% when I go on Medicare. i joined this retirement program way back in 1989 though….and they don’t offer anything like it anymore Now I want to time travel. 😁Those sound like great benefits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 (edited) 4 minutes ago, Ottakee said: Good you are attending. I can go out at 59.75 (Sept birthday) and pay $125/ month for heath insurance and then they pay 100% when I go on Medicare. i joined this retirement program way back in 1989 though….and they don’t offer anything like it anymore I am so mad I didn't stay in CA and just finish my years there. I would get full health insurance for me and DH FOR FREE for life. I started in NC in 2016 and am still in the vested plan, but they have now cut it and for the past few years, any new teachers/educators will no longer get health care in retirement. It stinks for them. Oh, and since I started so late in NC, I have to work util 65, or rather, my birthday minus my sick days, which I hope to have about a half a year of sick leave by then. I think it used to be 62.5 but I got in after they changed it to 65. Edited August 10, 2023 by DawnM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 30 minutes ago, Innisfree said: Now I want to time travel. 😁Those sound like great benefits. I signed up at age 18 when I worked summer school and forgot about it. Then when I went back full time 4 years ago it was waiting for me. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 29 minutes ago, DawnM said: I am so mad I didn't stay in CA and just finish my years there. I would get full health insurance for me and DH FOR FREE for life. I started in NC in 2016 and am still in the vested plan, but they have now cut it and for the past few years, any new teachers/educators will no longer get health care in retirement. It stinks for them. Oh, and since I started so late in NC, I have to work util 65, or rather, my birthday minus my sick days, which I hope to have about a half a year of sick leave by then. I think it used to be 62.5 but I got in after they changed it to 65. Are you not grandfathered in to the program you started in? Or did you cash out? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 22 minutes ago, Ottakee said: Are you not grandfathered in to the program you started in? Or did you cash out? Grandfathered, if I go back I am under the old rules. I will still get my pension each month but health insurance is only if you retire from there and have worked the last 3 years in the district. It was an LAUSD thing, not a CA thing. I would have to go back for 3 years and work there and retire from there in order to get health insurance from them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 I say the earlier you go to the meeting, the better. My dh just retired (to work elsewhere!) months shy of year 25 in education, and we met with a retirement rep in-person the year before. It was very helpful and helped him be decisive when he did decide to do it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 Great idea! Hope it is really helpful for you. Having health benefits and a decent pension are like gold. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 UGH, I am watching the webinar but they glossed over health benefits and I asked in the chat and they said it is person specific so I need to call and speak to someone independently. The rest of this stuff I am pretty aware of and am married to a finance guy, so I am not worried about the actual amount I will bring home, I am pretty clear on that and there is a calculator on their retirement site to figure that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 My employer held a retirement course that was really helpful - it included considering mental and physical health after retirement, as well as some limited financial info. It also wasn't very specific on the finances. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 (edited) Sometimes I muse about how early I could have retired (theoretically) had I stuck with a teaching career. Ah well.... I have a retirement planning meeting coming up too.... I have mixed feelings about being in the geriatric group. I might be interested in doing those subsidized Life Line screenings. I wouldn't be opposed to senior discounts (though they don't start as early as they used to). But I am not liking some of the physical stuff, and it makes me wonder what I'll still be able to do in 10, 20, 30 years.... Edited August 10, 2023 by SKL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 10 minutes ago, SKL said: Sometimes I muse about how early I could have retired (theoretically) had I stuck with a teaching career. Ah well.... I have a retirement planning meeting coming up too.... I have mixed feelings about being in the geriatric group. I might be interested in doing those subsidized Life Line screenings. I wouldn't be opposed to senior discounts (though they don't start as early as they used to). But I am not liking some of the physical stuff, and it makes me wonder what I'll still be able to do in 10, 20, 30 years.... Yeah, I missed 10 years in there to stay at home, AND moved states, so it is frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 I should probably talk to someone when the opportunity arises, just to try to time it all as smartly as possible. But anything from me is all bonus--we were not expecting that I would be able to work again (thought I would be caring for dd forever). I started teaching in CA in 1989 and my roommate and I taught in the same district. I left after 4 years, she stayed. She's just a few years away from a very generous retirement. But she desperately wants to be able to live somewhere else but can't until she can retire, so it does have costs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 3 hours ago, Ali in OR said: I should probably talk to someone when the opportunity arises, just to try to time it all as smartly as possible. But anything from me is all bonus--we were not expecting that I would be able to work again (thought I would be caring for dd forever). I started teaching in CA in 1989 and my roommate and I taught in the same district. I left after 4 years, she stayed. She's just a few years away from a very generous retirement. But she desperately wants to be able to live somewhere else but can't until she can retire, so it does have costs. I started teaching the same year and in the same state. But I stayed 17 years. I wish I had just stayed OR that I had started working here, but I can't change that I have gaps or that I moved, so it is what it is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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