There are 7 options that you can chose from, but once you make your choice and sign the forms, you cannot switch to a different option. They made that very clear when we met with them at their office in Des Moines. I would recommend anyone that is in the IPERS system, as you get get close to retirement to set up an appointment with them and have them walk you through each option, and help you with the forms. We filled out 90% of the forms in their office, just had to take a couple back to our employers.Truest, least arguable statement in this entire thread!
Dad retired in 2005 and had about a dozen different ways to do it. I think there's even more options now.
Seeing how they are private accounts, I don’t see why/how that would need to be done.We going to means test IPERS too?
My dad retired at 57 (35 years teaching) and made more in retirement than he ever made teaching (~60% final salary each from SSI & IPERS). Granted his final max salary was like $40k.Damn right! I'm sick of all these fat cat teachers working for 40 years and living it up in retirement.
After 35 years!? Was this awhile ago or just recently?Granted his final max salary was like $40k.
My wife and I clear more in retirement than when we were working, between IPERS and SS, I think that is pretty common for a lot of teachers and people that work in the public section. Throw in no state income tax for retired people in Iowa, and its not a bad deal at all.My dad retired at 57 (35 years teaching) and made more in retirement than he ever made teaching (~60% final salary each from SSI & IPERS). Granted his final max salary was like $40k.
I mean, it's not "fat cat" money but it is a pretty sweet retirement pension at a relatively young age.
No chance it was recent. I remember seeing Lewis Central's teachers salaries shortly before I graduated in 2010 and the 2 eldest were at $72k. The lowest were high 40's or low 50's I think.After 35 years!? Was this awhile ago or just recently?
Lewis Central is a good sized district, in a smaller district there are a lot of teachers making around 50K a year or a little more. Now that is going to change with the state pushing that number up for the next couple of years.No chance it was recent. I remember seeing Lewis Central's teachers salaries shortly before I graduated in 2010 and the 2 eldest were at $72k. The lowest were high 40's or low 50's I think.
Lewis Central is a good sized district, in a smaller district there are a lot of teachers making around 50K a year or a little more. Now that is going to change with the state pushing that number up for the next couple of years.
Teachers salaries are really dependent on the wealth of the district, my daughter teaches in Gilbert, master degree and lead teacher in the kindergarten, 22 years of experience and will make right around 80K next school year.
2005. Had a Masters or he would have made less!After 35 years!? Was this awhile ago or just recently?
Declining enrollment is a major problem for most non urban wealthy districts. The rural areas are just getting killed by smaller families, fewer farm families and lack of good jobs in the area to draw people to the district. We are going to see a lot of small districts disappear or merge in the next decade, which is both a good and bad thing.Not to shift gears too much, but now that I have kids entering the district I watched a school board meeting.
This town has a flat population (which is a half win in Illinois). However the number of kids in school has cratered. They've lost about a quarter of the high school enrollment in the past decade-ish.
Have a cousin in Austin and she says they have the same issue in her district. Huh.
I know they say target 70% or 80% or something like that, but we are targeting 100% or more and are on track for that. Just given how inflation has been, especially in medical spend, etc. I want a little more certainty.For those that retired.
When you were planning your retirement, what % of your household income did you plan on spending?
What did you actually spend?
Anything unexpected?
My parents must be in the same boat. They weren't teachers but my mom worked for the federal government and retired at 58 so collected their pension and kept her insurance for a very low monthly premium. My dad retired at age 62 from the county road department and got to go on my mom's insurance for that price. They said it made no financial sense for either of them to continue working after they did and with social security they are making more than they did while working. Going on Medicare for them was actually a raise in health insurance cost.My wife and I clear more in retirement than when we were working, between IPERS and SS, I think that is pretty common for a lot of teachers and people that work in the public section. Throw in no state income tax for retired people in Iowa, and its not a bad deal at all.
What keeps a lot of people still teaching is that you lose your insurance, and it can be a long costly wait until you turn age 65. As I have stated before, that is where my wife and I caught a major break, there is a state law that if a city employee retires after 30 years in IPERS, they can stay on the cities insurance program, at the same amount they were paying when they left work. There spouse can also stay on the plan as long as they where on it 12 months before the retirement date. My wife turns 65 early next year, and will go on Medicare, but I can remain on her plan until I turn 65 in a couple of years, but the rate almost doubles. Which is still cheaper than what I could buy on my own.
Flat tax system really hammers the poor and low income earners at a much higher rate of the take home pay then those at the top of the system.
The only way the flat tax would really be fair would be to exempt the first $25 to $30,000 and then make sure that all types of income are included as salary. You would also need to eliminate basically all tax deductions, to ensure that everyone is paying into the system but the poor.
Knowing this is not the Cave and my intent is not to start any political debate but I still think the ideal solution is universal basic income (UBI) for everyone. Give everyone a monthly check and remove most other programs that are designed to support lower income individuals, farmers, safety nets, etc. and replace it with a UBI check.
It will never happen because no one is incented, especially the federal government, to move to a simplistic program like UBI because it would shrink the size of government.
sounds inflationary
My dad retired at 57 (35 years teaching) and made more in retirement than he ever made teaching (~60% final salary each from SSI & IPERS). Granted his final max salary was like $40k.
I mean, it's not "fat cat" money but it is a pretty sweet retirement pension at a relatively young age.
Didn't we kind of try this out during Covid?Doesn't have to be. I'm not talking about enough to not work and someone a lot smarter than me could do the economics to balance everything out.