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In the Long Run, Things Work Out

Financially in Retirement (I Think)

   By Tom Anselm

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that I’ve been retired   for over five years. Yes sports fans, I hung up the dry erasers back in the year 2010 after more than 22 years as a teacher. And more than 43 years since I got introduced to the world of special education.

After an extremely average performance at the University of Missouri-St. Louis from which I graduated ‘summa cum nothing’ out of the School of Business, I found myself working in real estate. Soon it was determined that a paycheck would be slow in coming, and, as I was now sharing apartment expenses with a couple pals from school, cash was needed. I guess it was by the hand of The Big Employment Counselor in the Sky that I was guided to the Personnel Office (the term “Human Resources” as yet not invented) of the St. Louis State School and Hospital, aka, Bellefontaine Habilitation Center.

It was a place where I had done some volunteer work with a group called the Bellefontaine Teenaiders as a high schooler. I walked out of there an Educational Assistant II with the grand salary of $570 per month, with benefits, I might add. That experience was the start of a career in the field of developmental disabilities that, with a few stops and restarts, has served me well. While at ‘The Bell’, I met staff and residents alike that had such a profound effect on my brain that I still dream of them, and fondly. So the kid with the business degree ends up in the classroom. Funny how things turn out, right?

Which brings me back to retirement, and the vagaries of finances, which was what I wanted to write about . The teacher retirement system in Missouri is really strong. Solid and well-managed. And as long as our elected officials keep their hands out of the cookie jar, we should be fine, and The Lovely Jill should be okay should I be the one to shuffle off this mortal coil ahead of her.   I fully realize how fortunate I am to be part of this gig, especially since pensions have gone the way of the DVD player, and those that still exist are constantly under the specter of dissolution.

My feeling is this is dangerous, with the popularity of the 401k, IRA, Roth IRA, and all the other ‘investment products’ that are out there for people to lose money in. Sometimes I get the feeling that the whole system is rigged. But that’s a story for another day. Back when teaching, I signed up for one of these. After a few years in, I had a balance lower than when I started. I could have made more by investing in my kids Kool-aid stand. I put my ‘business skills’ to that problem and got out.

And I heard recently that a person needs a million bucks to retire successfully. Heck, that ain’t gonna happen, especially since my ‘big earning days’ are behind me. But a lot of this depends on what the definition of ‘successful’ is. (Sound like Bill Clinton here?) With our various types of income with part-time work, pensions and social security, we are okay. We try to live simply.

Unless we win Powerball. But even then we wouldn’t have enough, since the generous Jill would give most of it away. Oh well. To paraphrase Forrest Gump… “Simple is as simple does.”

(Tom welcomes all responses. His email is tjanselm@sbcglobal.net. And check out his “ol’ buddy Otis” at THIS HERE’S OTIS on youtube.)

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