re: My Parents Retired at the Age I Will Turn Next Year...

My dad retired from the state police back in around 1980. He was around 47. Back then you could buy time. He has military time and other time he could buy so he retired with 16 years actual service. He immediately went to work at the sheriffs department and drew another salary with his retirement.

He passed away in 1990, and my mom is still drawing his retirement. 44 years later. With insurance up until a few years ago.

The public service retirement system was completely broken back then and we are still paying for it.

The real problem is that we’re so coddled these days


A man is supposed to go down a shaft and dig coal for 30 years and then die of black lung 3 weeks into retirement. The medical establishment knows this, that’s why they spend billions on womens diseases and pennies on mens diseases

And see what happens when you try to get someone to wear a shirt for prostate cancer

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How can educators be 43/44 years old with 25 years of experience? Did they not go to school?

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I explained it, but maybe I wasn't specific enough. At that time, you could bank infinite number of sick and personal days. They never used them. So, when they decided to retire they had years of paid sick and personal days. They cashed them in and it was like they were still working for 2-3 years. So they both started working as soon as they graduated and began working on their masters. I think my Dad has three masters degrees. My mother has at least that much and two other terminal degrees. Every degree meant a pay bump.

So, they were able to retire at 25 years without actually working 25 years.

I think now personal and sick days are a use them or lose them in a calendar year, so that exploit isn't there anymore.

ETA: I realize that the amount they are drawing is a lot higher than most retired educators, but Dad was an Athletic Director for 6 years prior to retirement and his salary was just under that of a principal. Mom as Technology Coordinator for the county was among the highest paid non elected positions in the district (she started as a chemistry teacher, then librarian and then created her own job when schools wanted to incorporate the internet and network every school in the county) plus she was an adjunct professor at the University of Alabama, so that added to her total salary.

I got five years to retirement at 51

Yea it's not like that anymore. At least in Florida. I am on my 27th year. Master's degree. National certification my state retirement at 30 years is estimated to be 1600 a month.....

Those pension plans were designed by people that can’t do math while taxpayers are on the hook for them

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it ain't fix now, baw

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I agree, but they have made some corrections.

My dad took a pay cut when he joined the state police because he knew just how much he could make on the back end after he retired. Full benefits and percent of pay for the rest of his AND my moms lives.

Worked for 16 years (at that job) and steady pay and full benefits for 44 years and counting. I don’t think that’s still part of the package.

I retired from the Military at age 49 with 31 years. I'll be drawing a six figure pension until I die which is hopefully a long time from now.

Id reckon they’re probably “conservatives”, too.

Boomers have fricked everything up and WILL bankrupt Social Security and Medicare. We will be left with a fraction of those benefits when it is time to retire which is why you must max a 401k/Roth/HSA to even be able to survive at a subsistence level in retirement. Its sad.