The Decision
Carolyn has talked "retirement" ever since she started working outside the home. But her career consisted of several bis and pieces covering almost as many specialties as employers It's hard to make long range plans when you have no long range investments.
But when I retired in 2011 Carolyn had finally gotten a toe-hold with the Department of Childhood Education, Not only was she now a part of the mature and well-known California Personnel Employees Retirement System Cal-PERS) but she is now in a major, professionally run retirement program. w vested, diversely invest and a projected . Her earliest retirement date that would be within her lifetime. Because PERS is a defined benefit plan she could, by working until 2015, have a retirement of 20% of her salary. And 10 years later she could count on 40% benefit if she continued working. And part of her medical insurance premium wold be covered as well. Carolyn was trilled at having this benefit and began mentioning it in our family long range discussions. What I didn't notice was that as my retirement date of 2011 became firmer, her retirement date was becoming more 2025 and less 2015. After all, the benefit was much better , she loved her job, and she had a future. She had beaten cancer 3 times now so she was even a winner in that aspect.
With my increasingly fragile healh, I was beginning to question our assumption of how long we colud enjoy retirement together. Just when Carolyn was seeing after 2025 s as golden ones I was afraid that I would be dead or severely disabled b 2025. After a couple of serious discussions, we both decided that an earlier retirement might be called for.
Gamely shifting gears, Carolyn began targeting 2015 for retirement.
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