Are you satisfied with your pension? GD often complains about this and there may be some that are out of line with the private sector; however I bet most are really not that good. I retired with 25 yrs service at $1600 a month, we have had one small Cola adjustment  but they raised our health benefit the same amount. Thankfully I continued to work (  still active) with another agency with some retirement and have a 401.  I still feel a little slighted for all I went through in those 25 yrs for $1600.00 a month. I forgot to mention no SS paid then or now.

Between S.S., state retirement and VA disability, I am comfy.

Not retired from LE yet, but I CLEAR $1,600 a month after taxes and other deductions from my military retirement. I was enlisted and served 20 years... that with my no cost health insurance (Tri Care Retiree) seems fair to me for my previous service.

If I do a full 25 years at my current agency, I will see approximately $5,700.00 a month... this is based on the highest five years of pay which will be AT LEAST mid 90K.

For the most part. SS plus retirement. Spouse, the same.

I did just over 25 years and retired at 45. Still working at another agency now.
Pension check is $2400 and some change.
I figure 10 years where I am now and i'll get 20% pension which I'm pretty sure I can live off of since wife is so much younger and will continue to work.

30 yrs on Chicago police Dept. got my 40 quarters from working side jobs, and get a whooping $123 a month from S.S. at 62. I got fucked on my healthcare. In 2017 the city no longer offers healthcare to retirees. I pay in the market place $1021.37 a month for just my health insurance, with no subsidy, and a $3000 deductible. I can live payday to payday on my pension. We get a 3% COLA but it doesn't compound. I turned 63 last week. I can't wait to turn 65 to get on Medicare to get this high deductible $1021.37 health insurance premium off my neck. Who ever dream in 1977 when i came on the job that a civil service job would fuck you out of health insurance. Thank you Chicago lodge #7 FOP for not getting it in our original contract in 1980. We had a hand shake agreement for 60 years that retired police and fire fighters got free healthcare until they went on Medicare. The job fed my family for 30 years. I would come on the job again.

Not retired yet, about two more years to go, maybe less if I get pissed off.

Should be about $7,000 a month, then annual COLA's, then federal taxes taken out, no medical coverage anymore though, but we do get an additional $900.00 a month for medical until medicare kicks in.

401k money also, I should be okay, I just wish our deffered compensation plan had started earlier.

What pension?

I worked I  private industry all my life, not the government.

Just retired in March after 25 years. $5200.00 a month. I now work a part time job at a Ford dealership delivering parts 3 days a week. Life is good.

Congratulations. So you have a really good retirement right?

So my pension will be 4500 a month and I have a 457k with currently close to 300k which has to be liquidated by my 62 birthday so I’ll take monthly draws till then to accomplish that. I’m also in our DROP so in 3 years (been in for 2) I’ll have an account with  about 280k when I walk (that’s my kids college fund). I took a pension option that reduces my up front pay out but gives my beneficiaries 1/2 of what I make after my death until their death.

We get medical for ourselves until Medicare age and get 400/month toward dependent care but of course medical is one of the only things they can change/take away after retirement with little recourse.

We do NOT get SS on our pension so I would either have to get another job when I retire that pays into SS or just say screw it for the couple of Grand it would add a year.

I’ll probably work when I retire (but not as a cop) just because I won’t beable to just sit around when I’m 47.

No where near the stuff that GD gets all fired up about but I do get a check when I leave for 1/2 of my accrued sick time (currently 1900hrs) and my comp time bank (maxed at 200hrs). We do not get a vacation payout and can only carry 180hrs a year anyways.

J-

1500 a month after 20, retired in 98

1000 a month retired from public school system

Not rolling in it, savings and investments are what allow me to live.

We saved all our lives so we could play `till we dropped. 130 nights in the motorhome in the last year. Goal is to get that number UP!!!!! we fish, antique ,volunteer, travel and are having a ball. No money worries AND in the last few months I started drawing SS. We`ll eventually sell our retirement place and move into something much smaller and closer to the kids. Just keeps getting better and better!!!

I stopped working at 50 and FULLY retired at 55 and we`ve been hard at it ever since. The last eight years have been some of , if not THE best, years of our lives. No debt, no job, no worries,,,,,just fun!!! We don`t make near as much as we did when we owned our business but then again I no longer have ANY desire to fight airports and airlines and the associated costs either. Even though we owned an airplane of one kind or another for most of our lives I don`t miss flying one bit. It was more of a "tool" that we simply no longer need. We`ve found that SOOOOO many of the things we always "thought" we needed we really didn`t need. Ex.--- Giant Expensive Truck vs. my smaller Colorado that we have now. I don`t have to make any impressions on clients nor do I need to struggle parking any more. The Colorado pulls behind the motorhome MUCH better than a full size truck ever would. Wife drives a seven year old Infinity with less than 30,000 miles on it. Now she wants  a Mini Cooper. She drove BMWs for many many years.  My transition from business attire to shorts and flip flops has gone over quite well. I even wear blue jeans part of the year.

To those of you thinking ahead about retirement ,,,it WILL cost more the older you get. Plan for it. No debt,,,no debt,,,no debt!!!!!

I am good with it.

I am a walking talking epitome of what GD hates. Retired with 30 yrs, moderate sized fire dept in SF Bay Area. Retired out at rank of Captain.

Monthly pension $11,000, gross. Plus paid medical

Way beyond what I would have imagined back in 1979 when I started down that path.

This.
Especially the free medical on top of the pension.

Thank you for your taxes.

Then why are you in the BOS forum? To start shit?

I can retire in 3 years at 60% and I won't even be 50 yet. I have every intention of working into my 60's.

PD retirement check + .mil reserve retirement starting at age 58 + investments that I have had going + whatever 401k I can get into post LE + whatever is left of SS by then...I should be ok. I at least hope to not be eating dog food.

After 30 years on the job and 24 years of National Guard and a VA pension I earn $5500 a month.  I stayed for 30 years and I get the COLA and an annual escalator. (both real small but it's an escalator)  We paid the Social Security and I am waiting until I'm 66 to draw it.  That will add $2000 more to the pension.  It was a long hard road and I ran my self into the ground a few times.  When the kids were small paying that Social Security was tough but if I can live to 78, everything after that will be gravy.    The best thing I did for myself was rejoin the National Guard for the Tricare insurance after age 60.  It's saving me between $1600 and $1700 a month for the wife and I.  That will be $96,000 saved in 5 years.   I just retired from my last job and we will get the house paid for in the next 3 months.  Finally, light at the end of the tunnel.  I just hope it's not a train.

Don't count on Social Security. I have all 40 quarters due to side jobs. But thanks to Congressman Danny Rostinkowski in the early 80's passing a law, that people on municipal pensions can't get full Social Security benefits at 62 i started collecting mine and am getting a giant $123 a month S/S. I think if i waited to collect at 67 i would have gotten $280 a month. I hoped to get $400 ish in S/S. Rostinkowski hit the joint for stealing congressional postage money, he spent two years in the joint.

I'll likely hang it up next year, after 34 yrs service & 58 yoa.  Estimates have me drawing about $4500/mo after about $75k lump sum.  I get paid for 90 sick days, although I still have over 365 & that's after using 4 months with a heart attack this year.  My wife wasn't able to make it to retirement (nurse); she draws $1100/mo disability.  She'll be on Medicare but I've gotta figger out something to do for health insurance.  From what I've seen, that'll be about $1100-$1400.  Between starting work at 14; Army; & side jobs, I do get SS.  Best I figger, about $200/mo.   I've been investing for several years, & encourage everyone to start earlier than I did.



I don't look for any of these numbers to change.  My dad retired in 82 as LT with 32 yrs & mom is still getting $917/mo.

Is that just in your state? Every old retired cop and firefighter I know collects a pension and gets full SS.

I'll let you know. I turned in my papers last week and should pull just north of 45k. I don't plan on touching it for a while, though, since I'm taking on a promotion in another city. If you're not drawing SS, get another job that pays into it, but be prepared to pay the windfall penalty.

As far as free medical goes, enjoy it as long as you can. My pop enjoyed it for 30 years till the city snatched it away (we worked for the same agency). He and his wife have to buy their own through an obama-care type exchange the city set up. With the city contributing to an HRA, the cost for he and his wife is about $700 a month. At 76, pop drives Uber. Partly to cover expenses, but mostly to get out of the house. I walked away from our city policy and into my new employer's plan so I'm good for a few years.

Anyway, enjoy the golden years. Its a mighty good feeling to know I'm "retired" from the big-bad-city I called home for 25 years. Like a big weight lifted.

A lot of municipal agencies don't pay into SS. The money they pay into SS supposedly goes into their own retirement plan. Again....supposedly.

This is how our pension works. We done pay into SS therefore we do not get it unless you work another job and get your quarters.

J-

I've seen that posted here from guys in other states but there's a federal law that says you can't get SS if you get a municipal pension?

Those municipal agencies literally don't pay into SS for their employees.  For example, lets say you work for a place that doesn't pay into SS.  Let's assume your working life is 50 years.  You work for that agency for 30 years.  Prior to working for that agency you worked for a few years and paid SS and then you worked for a department and didn't pay SS, then retired and worked for another employer that does pay SS.  So you have 30 years of no SS payments and 20 years of payments to SS.  Your final SS payment when you reach SS age would be based on the 20 years you did pay in...and not the 30 years you didn't pay in.  

Seems quite fair to me.  

I know a number of public employees who talk about how great their pension will be.  But, when I remind them their employer isn't paying into SS and that changes how much their total retirement will be when they get to that age, they usually give me a deer in the headlights look.  



From the SSA's site:
Some Federal employees and employees of State or local government agencies may be eligible for pensions that are based on earnings not covered by Social Security.

If you didn't pay Social Security taxes on your government earnings and you are eligible for Social Security benefits, the formula used to figure your benefit amount may be modified, giving you a lower Social Security benefit.

Government Pension Offset


Another link with more info


More info

My union kept a strong medical plan for us when other departments were giving back for more money at negotiating. This has been going on since I was hired it 1981. We also extended out existing contract with no raises or takeaways through the last recession. I get lifetime medical for me and my wife. In California a lot of departments use a 3%@ age 50 their retirement formula. My union advocated against it and it paid dividends. When other cities and counties were taking heat for their pension costs we could say we weren't a part of it.
New hires after 2014 are in a different retirement plan that pays a lower percentage at an older age and no lifetime medical for their spouses.
I'm doing OK on my pension but have missed out on COLA for a couple years.

Some of you guys.  Wow.  At 25 (2027), I'll take home 2200.  And nothing else like healthcare.

We pay into both, so I expect to get both.
I wouldn't be surprised if as part of SS overhauls, means-testing will cut back on SS payments for those who get a pension.....

Same. And I have the same opinion but we shall see.

No SS for me. I didn't have the quarters and the offset would only make it half of what would be calc'ed out if I had the quarters.

Same here.  LEO for 31 years, more than doubled the pension I would have had at 20 years when most of my academy class started to retire.  Already marked my calendar for Oct 2018 when I can file for early SS retirement-90 days before 62nd birthday.

Worked my ass off in OT when I was young and flexible, it all went into retirement plans other than the pension. For years we pretty much lived on the wife's salary.  Back in the dotcom days I made a big score on Dell stock splits  which helped a lot. I also lucked into property for cheap that I sold later. Most of my retirement accounts are thru  credit unions and the wife runs it all. (there are benefits to marrying a CPA)

I bank 94K a year more or less, not counting the army retirement or SS. (I'm 60 but don't expect to see the latter)  The wife is younger, it'll be 2021 before she can retire.  That should bump us up to around 160K together. I have VA, but prefer to get my own medical, which turned out to be a VERY good decision.

You may have heard Androgynous Cumo is pushing a constitutional convention to cut your pension payouts to fund DACA and sanctuary state programs/federal lawsuits.

Yup, it's been in the news

I retired in 2007. Twenty eight years and five months on the job. Retired disability in the line of duty. My dept (FD) didn’t take out for SS. My only contributions to SS were on side jobs. Haven’t had a raise since I retired. I pay for life and health insurance through my union.  

I got a letter from SS a few days ago. It listed an amount if I were retired with disability, and then said that I didn’t qualify. It said I needed 39 “credits” to draw benefits and I didn’t qualify because 20 of the needed “credits” had to be earned in the last ten years.