Retirement?
Today, my wife and I went to a meeting with the fellow who represents the U's Retirement Funding System. It was both a positive and horrifically frightening meeting.
He advised us to schedule a meeting with one of the "U's Retiree Specialists" so that we can learn about "ins and outs" on how to best organize our retirement. All sorts of things come into play and I heard a lot of terms that make my head spin like "Required Minimum Divestment" and "Roth Annuities" and a whole helluva lot of other financial jargon.
The fellow we met with today estimates that we "likely" can retire with a "monthly drawdown" that would match our current needs with excess. All of this is frightening as hell to me.
While I think it would be wonderful TO retire..... I absolutely FEAR the idea of becoming destitute. And, even though it may be foolish to think so.... I have had nightmares and fears of "retiring" and becoming homeless and having to live on the streets. I think I may have (perhaps too literally) taken my parent's stories of living during the Depression deeply to heart.
The fellow asked me to imagine something that I thought would be a sort of "splurge" I would like to do, and so I tried to think of one. Eventually, I thought of one and I told him that I would consider it a massive splurge if I were to buy myself a bright orange Jeep Wrangler........USED. He laughed, especially at my "used" addendum but said I could "easily" do that in retirement.
So, I asked this U sponsored fellow if he could recommend a book or two that he thought would in a LEGITIMATE way teach me about the ins and outs OF what to THINK ABOUT in order to retire. He had two that he thought were well written, accurate, and he added.... "intellectual" as well. I am HOPING these two books may allay some of my financial fears.
I have ordered these two books and I and my wife will read them. We have an initial meeting scheduled in July to meet this so-called "Retiree Specialist"..... and I already scheduled a Fall meeting with our current fellow that I spoke with today.
It is still well over AT LEAST a full academic year out OR MORE LIKELY LONGER PERHAPS..... but I am now more seriously CONSIDERING the possibility of retirement.
Besides the fears of financial peril through retirement..... I also have to begin to address and think through my fears of "Who will I be?" after I retire? I know I do identify VERY strongly with my role as a professor, and I am more than a little worried about WHAT WILL I BE after I am no longer a professor? Who will I be? Will I be anything anymore? It scares me in many ways to think of the loss of my identity.
I do KNOW I need to do a helluva lot of searching and thinking and working through this potential idea of retirement. It scares me.
PipeTobacco
6 Comments:
Consider becoming an adjunct professor, perhaps at a Community College near you?
You will always be a teacher/professor. There may be volunteer opportunities or part-time gigs for you. Remain open to that possibility while you explore the idea of retirement. I didn't have a partner when I retired which was frightening. My daughters didn't live close--one was in New York. My parents were both alive then which helped. I had to make my own routine and schedule which took me a while. I drifted for a couple months--not a great feeling. You can do it! I'm worried about whether our safety nets (social security and medicare) will hold under this administration. I haven't budgeted for that.
We’ll see how it goes. You are heavily invested in work, so retirement will be a big step for you. I think you will be set financially but I don’t know about socially.
From what I have seen, the folks who do best in retirement are the ones who don't fully retire, but rather transition to work of their own choosing, at their own pace, on their own terms. Maybe they stay on as editor of an academic journal. Maybe they teach some classes at a local high school or junior college. Maybe they devote their time to a book manuscript that their full-time university workload didn't give them time to complete. Maybe they connect with local attorneys and get hired as an expert witness in court from time to time.
The saddest cases I've seen are the ones where a formerly busy researcher or administrator tries to live a life of nothing but leisure, then finds that his mind and body quickly atrophy.
If you hadn't abandoned your pipes, I could see you becoming a tobacconist, or maybe working part time for a tobacconist whose company you enjoy. Or maybe you could train to become a permanent deacon and lean into church service. Or maybe there's some research you have always wished you had the time to do, or a book you wished you had the time to write. One way or another, Professor, my strong advice would be that you NOT stop working, but rather that you use retirement as an opportunity to change HOW you work and WHY.
just a minor point, but at his age becoming a Permanent Deacon probably isn't in the cards .... I looked into it late in life too ... turned out to be too late. The Catholic Church has rules that say you have to go through the years of discernment and training and still be less than "X" years old to be ordained. I missed my chance.
My spouse and I have been retired for 8 years. It was and continues to be a series of transitions. A quick, back of the envelope, calculation for the question "Would I be okay if I walked out tomorrow" is to take your current take home, assume that is your monthly budget. Take your pension and social security use your federal tax rate on the total, and the state rate only on your pension (Iowa does not tax SS, I don't know about pensions). How close are those two numbers? It's not 100% accurate but provides some peace of mind and an idea of what you are working with. With respect to retirement account withdrawals I used age 100 for duration knowing full well it is unlikely we will live that long but it gives me comfort knowing we have a cushion. There are plenty of experts who can help you optimize how you manage your retirement accounts, Roth rollovers, RMD's etc. and guide you through Medicare, Medicare supplements etc. A word of caution when utilizing financial advisors: Always understand how they are being paid. Always keep in mind that annuities, insurance, etc are products, you need to understand how the company selling that product makes it's money. If you do not understand your financial plan than it is likely not a good financial plan for you. The money piece of retirement is simply a process with a learning curve on how some of the pieces function. The mental transition is also a process. I enjoy a blog called "The Retirement Manifesto" which I have followed since he retired. He writes not only about the financials but also about the other challenges of retirement. Once you have satisfied yourself on the financials you might find "From Strength to Strength" by Arthur Brooks helpful with the mental transition.
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