Become an Insider

TKR Woohoo! Now I've got two!!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Couldn't you take that towel and wet it, wring it out and then put a plastic bag (barrier) then an electric heating pad for longer lasting comfort? But with a huge warning. I did this before my LTKR and I was using it at night when I was sleeping in my recliner. I think I only had it on medium and fell asleep and ended up with a blister burn. So not a good idea to do that at night, or if you are tired.
 
Judy, I got a letter in the mail saying that they were dropping the employee sponsored 403B retirement plan for their teachers, and that I had until October 29th to withdraw with 20% being withheld for taxes and penalties for early withdrawal since I am not 61 yet! I will receive a whopping 500.00 dollars from the employee sponsored part for my 18 years of service! Makes me sad the way that they just keep cutting back on teachers.

Government has it wrong! Teachers should be the decisions makers, at the top of the pyramid, and it should go downward with each rung of administration. The students are our"customers" not our employees, and the government is forgetting that critical fact!
 
Sorry to hear that Sonja, and you are right, teachers are the key to a successful education. I believe it has a lot to do with funding at the state level. Living in Vermont, it is expensive, and we have a state income tax, which i know you don't in Texas. I will gladly pay more to support our schools and teachers, because without a solid base of education, these kids will never make it. But as important, great teachers won't enter the profession because they can't make it work financially. It's a real slippery slope.
 
Dawn,

I have a lot of friends who are fantastic teachers, but like me, are fed up with all of the paperwork! They are taking early retirements, or in some cases they started teaching later than I did so their age plus years of service is already enough to receive full retirement benefits, plus medical insurance. Teachers in TX do not receive Social Security, just Medicare, and whatever they put into their 403B. I had put 200.00 a month for 16 years, and the "generous" school district added a whopping total of 737.35 before taxes, bringing my take home to 501.08. They are trying to hit me with a penalty of an additional 10% since I am not 61 yet!

Wow, wouldn't that make anyone run and sign up to be a teacher in the school district I worked! :headbang:
 
Things are very different here, so I don't know what a 403B is. Does this mean your entire pension is $500 a month? If so, that's absurd! I know you don't have unions in Texas; right now here in Ontario all four teacher and support worker unions are taking the government to court over its recent anti-teacher legislation, which was rather punitve. But the real focal point is how un-democratic it was, very 1984. Even the gov't admits they might lose. Unfortunately, the another political party feels the gov't wasn't harsh enough! Public opinion is often anti-teacher too. I don't get that. We need at least two university degrees (I have three) to enter the profession. There aren't many fields in the private sector that need that. We spend our days caring for their children, doing everything from teaching basic social functions, ethics, and morals, to training how to protect them in case of dangerous events, basically by sacrificing our own safety. Plus curriculum. Sigh. Yet I love it, except for the administrative parts and people.
My knees and kegs still hurt. I think I was a bit feverish overnight. It's raining.
 
A 403b is like a 401k in the public sector but teachers are not eligible. I put 38,400 into the 403b over sixteen years and their idea of "matching" was to put 737.35 which was a percentage of what I put in! Really sad isn't it! :shocked:

And they want to penalize ME because the school district is closing down the benefits to "save money". They are't helping teachers anymore, and 500.00 is all I get but now 10% less? All because I withdrew early? Hmmmmm :hissy:
 
Judy..Are you taking a day of rest today? I know you have an OS appt this week..Can someone go with you? I find it helpful to have someone there to take notes and to sometimes hear what you dont because of the stress and the pain. Just an idea.
Hmm, I am California.,you in Canada..Hang in there. I'll be on the next plane.
 
WOW ! After reading some of your posts Sonja, I realize just how good we have it in comparison.
The faculty and staff here at our University are indeed fortunate when it comes to our pension plan. It is self invested. For every dollar we contribute from our salary, the University contributes 3! .
Also to receive full retirement benefits you only have to be employed for a period of 10 years.
We have people transfer here from other institutions because of our very attractive and generous benefit package.
Employee retention has NEVER been an issue here........for obvious reasons!
 
Steel wheels, can you get me a position on the faculty at Western? Please? I'm really good, 15 years exp. teaching secondary, 6 years post-secondary, grad degree, "real" work experience, published, the works. :tada: If you hire me now, I'll still be able to retire earlier than I will from my current job. Plus it's not far from where I live. Puhleeze? Let me know and I'll send you my resume. :whistle:
 
Merry, I'll send you directions to get here from the airport!

Taking it easy today, though I did go to physio this morning. Bend is at 125:). Still a ways to go with extension and other stuff, but still good news. I'm making a list of things to ask the doctor and will write down his answers. But I have no one to go with me.
 
Sonja, it seems like there should be something you can roll that over to without penalty. Seems there should be but that doesn't mean there is. :(
 
RestAssured said: ↑
A 403b is like a 401k

A 401k is the US equivalent of our RRSP. It is a tax except investment plan where you may contribute
 
Steel wheels said:
WOW ! After reading some of your posts Sonja, I realize just how good we have it in comparison.
The faculty and staff here at our University are indeed fortunate when it comes to our pension plan. It is self invested. For every dollar we contribute from our salary, the University contributes 3! .
Also to receive full retirement benefits you only have to be employed for a period of 10 years.
We have people transfer here from other institutions because of our very attractive and generous benefit package.
Employee retention has NEVER been an issue here........for obvious reasons!
Click to expand...
SIGN ME UP!!!!!!!!:yahoo: I don't mind the commute and I have a passport! LOL:rotfl:
 
A 403(b) plan, also known as a tax-sheltered annuity (TSA) plan, is a retirement plan for certain employees of public schools.

Some employees look to supplement their income from Medicare, because A. By the time I am ready for Medicare- 65 years old it might not exist, and B. in Texas, we are not allowed to pay into Social Security, so the only money I will receive upon retiring is money I have invested in my 403 B plan, and from (TRS) Texas Retirement System, which automatically deducted money from my paycheck every month. They will take my three highest paying years of service when my age and 20 years of experience, equal 85, and start paying me. Well, they will if Governor Perry doesn't shut the system down. I which we had unions, but that was made illegal long before my time.
 
Janet2012 said:
Sonja, it seems like there should be something you can roll that over to without penalty. Seems there should be but that doesn't mean there is. :(
Click to expand...
It would be nice, but since the school district is cancelling the entire program in a cost cutting move and I am not old enough to receive the benefits, I end up as the scapegoat.
 
Sonja, if you are taking the payout as a lifetime income stream, you should be able to avoid the 10% penalty. Basically I am talking about an annuity. The way IRS rules are written, if you are taking substantially equal payments over your lifetime, then there should be no early withdrawal penalty. If you are simply taking a systematic withdrawal that you can change later, then the penalty applies.

I know you are studying and moving on to something different, and most likely you will be contributing to social security in a new job and hopefully can earn a benefit over the years you are still planning to work.

In the states, retirement benefits at the university level are tremendously better than at the secondary level. It is amazing actually. But, on the other hand, a lot of states offer primary and secondary teachers great retiree health care benefits, which are extremely valuable, and often not available at the college level.

I feel for you folks who are clearly committed to educating our youth, and are kicked to the curb in so many ways. You are very special and I hope at least you feel personal satisfaction in your product.

I feel very fortunate to work for a company that provides investments and financial planning to the academic, medical, and not for profit world. They don't pay as much as the big companies, but they do have wonderful benefits. And I get to help amazing people! Counting my blessings as I type!

Dawn
 
Dawn,
Even though my knees had given up, I was planning on going back, The pressures they have started putting on the teachers since then are horrible! I couldn't be a teacher anymore! The only part that might be charged the 10% penalty is the 500.00. They can't touch mu annuity because you're right it is mine and I have it invested!:happydance:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Staff online

Members online

Total: 1,970 (members: 5, guests: 1,965)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom