[quote=jeeman]I forget who it was earlier in the thread, but they said they didn’t see their teacher friends living lavishly. Lavish doesn’t mean that they buy a Mercedes Benz and move into a mansion. But getting $50k/year at age 50 for sitting around on your butt is lavish to me. I know that my retirement accounts won’t be anywhere near that at age 50. I’ll have to work for a while…[/quote]
jeeman, those were my relatives I was discussing here, who taught in other states. I have one relative who is a principal (still working) and six who were/are teachers (2 still working). They all drive 8+ old American vehicles and live in large brick ranch homes. Two live in frame homes, one small and one large. Except for the one in the small frame house, they all built their own homes because they already owned the lot/land. In order to qualify for a 100% pension, teachers have to work 30 years. There’s no way they can “retire” at 50 unless they quit early. I’m not sure if they can even collect any of their pensions until age 55, so would have to take deferred retirement if they left teaching any earlier than that. Of the two that are still working, one is in her 32nd year and continues for the love of teaching 4th grade. She could quit at any time, sit home and collect her pension. In her state, retired teachers have only ONE healthcare choice, the Pacificare HMO, which she told me is costly and bureaucratic. Hence, many teachers teach until they are eligible for Medicare (currently age 65) and only have to pay for its supplements (parts B & D) out of their pensions.
My own kids have had MANY teachers in their sixties who exceeded 30 years in the classroom but continued for the love of teaching. All have retired now and the longest length of service was 37 years (CVESD).
The mandatory retirement age for teachers in CA is 70 (CAR, correct me if I’m wrong on this).
Edit: Oh, and I wanted to add that my teacher-relatives who built their own large homes/outbuildings are all married. They did so with their teaching earnings ALONG WITH the earnings of their spouses. Teaching doesn’t pay as much there as it does here in CA.
