Around the NFL, from 1/27 to …

zn wrote:

wv wrote:

Enjoying old-age, memory-loss, caretaking,
propagandized savage-populations, and
capitalism’s complete destruction of all life on the planet.

How old are you guys.

I just turned 72.

I ain’t nowhere near retiring though.

I’m 65.

I retire at the end of May. Lotta reasons. I’m tired. I burnt myself out by running a theatre while teaching English half time. I gave up theatre after Covid levelled my program, and teaching English full time is less work than what I was doing, but I damaged myself by over-working for 18 years.

I’m also fed up with AI and with these young whippersnappers’ shorter attention spans and higher apathy levels. I don’t feel like I’m teaching much any more.

Finally, because of my age and years of experience, my monthly pension will increase insignificantly even with another 5 years of work (which I am not up for anyway). And as it stands, I would only make about 10 grand a year more by working full time than I will by retiring. The pension isn’t great because the salary isn’t great (I work in a “poorer” district), but living on the cheap overseas for a few years is part of my financial plan. There are a lot of places I can live under budget and actually save money by adventure travelling while I still am physically able.

I may go back to teaching part time in college depending on the pay, but I don’t know yet. My only firm plan is to exercise and get back in shape, and start taking weekly day hikes around the area. I live on the American River canyon, and there are miles of trails I’ve never hiked. And Lake Tahoe is only an hour away.

zn wrote:

Zooey wrote:

he pension isn’t great because the salary isn’t great (I work in a “poorer” district), but living on the cheap overseas for a few years is part of my financial plan. There are a lot of places I can live under budget and actually save money by adventure travelling while I still am physically able.

Look at social security too. Sometimes people wait for their “peak amount” at 70, but IMO it’s better to take a bit less than the peak amount earlier.

I don’t qualify. I have only 29 quarters, so I’d need to work 3 years outside of education to qualify.

zn wrote:

Zooey wrote:

I don’t qualify. I have only 29 quarters, so I’d need to work 3 years outside of education to qualify

???

You paid into SS, how is it you don’t qualify?

It’s only been for 1 year that teachers qualify AT ALL. It used to be that if one drew a teacher’s pension, that made one ineligible for SS regardless of how much money/time one put into the system. That just changed, but the minimum qualification for SS is 40 quarters of contributions. If you don’t have 40 quarters, you don’t qualify, and your money goes to someone else. I don’t make the rules.

EDIT: Oh. Maybe the CA teachers pension works differently. I have only 29 quarters of work prior to becoming a teacher. While teaching, I am exempt from paying into SS. Instead, I pay a comparable (slightly more, actually… 8 or 9%) amount into the CA teachers’ pension.

• This reply was modified 2 days, 8 hours ago by Zooey.

zn wrote:

I didn’t realize that. It shouldn’t be like that, that’s awful.

See my edit above. It may clarify.

i’m 63…. i’ve been working in high-tech sales since 1983…. i retired from HP after 34 years but i’ve been working for an electronics distributor for the past 5 years with no plans to retire soon.

BTW, GRITS once called the HP switch board looking for me to further discuss a Post Distpatch thread…. “hello can i speak to Joe Mad aka Roman Van Brocklin?”

have any of you got a call from a poster to discuss a thread?