Teacher Retirement Planning Is A Unique Challenge
Retirement Planners: Go To The Pros Retirement planning for educators can be confusing. If you don’t fully understand all of your retirement options along with the changing landscape as it pertains to state laws governing pensions and retirement health care, consider bringing a professional to your team. For Michigan educators, it’s important to find a retirement expert who understands the specifics of Michigan’s teacher retirement pension and health care system. State laws as they pertain to pensions and retirement health care are constantly up for debate and change. In fact, some Michigan lawmakers currently working on the 2018 budget would like to make closing the Michigan pension system to new teachers a priority in an effort to save money. These developments should be watched closely and if your financial planner isn’t discussing these issues with you and thinking proactively about your options, find someone who will. Supplement Your Understanding: Tap into Online State Resources If you’re in the state pension system, make sure you understand how much your pension may be worth when you retire and when you’ll qualify for that pension. In Michigan, you can calculate your pension by visiting the Michigan Office of Retirement Services website. That website also offers important information about when you’re eligible to retire and what considerations to take into account before deciding to retire. What will you pay in health care costs when you retire? Again, the Michigan Office of Retirement Services website can help you calculate those costs. You’ll want to think about your health, dental and vision coverage options. You’ll need to consider such things as your age upon retirement, whether you’ll qualify for Medicare when you retire, or whether you might be covered by a spouse’s health care plan. Again, if you’re confused, get expert help from a professional that answers these questions every day. Ideally, you can arm yourself with critical information from the state and meet with a retirement expert who can offer a deeper level of advice and planning. Whatever you do, don’t procrastinate. Your retirement savings success depends on you learning how your state teacher retirement system works and how to get the most from your pension and other benefits. Build A Multifaceted Plan As in any profession, it’s not wise to depend solely on one savings plan to fund your years in retirement. Even if you’ve taken the proper steps to maximize your pension, you need to have a supplemental plan. Understand your employer’s retirement plans. You may have the option of contributing to a 403(b) or 457(b) account. Understand the pros and cons of these types of savings accounts and how they might fit in to your big picture retirement plan. Also consider options outside of workplace accounts including Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs. And you must know if you’re eligible for Social Security. Whether teachers pay into Social Security varies and if you’re not sure if you’ll receive Social Security in retirement, check with a retirement professional who can look at your personal situation and let you know exactly where you stand. Life After Teaching Just because you decide to leave the classroom doesn’t mean you have to leave the workforce completely. If you plan to keep a part-time job, consider that when calculating your retirement needs. Early retirement isn’t possible for everyone; you may need to consider prolonging your work life to give you more time to save for retirement. A teacher’s retirement plan is different than those who work in the private sector. Working to maximize your pension, developing a plan with your retirement advisor, and knowing which part-time jobs you can keep into retirement without taking away from your retirement benefits from teaching will offer a strong plan for your financial future. Michigan Teacher Retirement Planning The Foguth Financial team appreciate the hard work and devotion of our teachers. We would like to extend an invitation to a free consultation to review your retirement package and create a plan that will allow you to have the retirement you dream off. Call us today!
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ABOUT USAt Foguth Financial, retirement planning is their specialty. From Social Security income planning to asset management, the Foguth Financial Group team takes a bird’s eye view of their client needs and goals in retirement to ensure that safety and growth are two foundations of every plan. ArchivesNo Archives Categories |