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| There are worse jobs than mine! |
There's nothing like a bad day at work to get a person (me) crunching the ol' numbers into the retirement calculator!! Yup, it was one of those days when one of my staff members crossed the line into work refusal and insubordination - not directed at me, no even worse, directed at the Dep't Head of special ed at our highschool. Oh yeah, it wasn't pretty.
So for the past couple of hours I've been checking out my teacher's pension, creating scenarios to see if I really can afford to retire two years early (June, 2014). Then I went on the CPP site to get an estimate on my monthly Canada Pension as well as OAS (Old Age Security). Add it all together and it works out to approximately half of what I'm earning right now.
As luck would have it we are currently living on 34.6% of my income. The rest goes to savings and debt repayment. So it is doable. With some to spare. The lowest amount would be the two years between when I'm 58 and 60 as CPP doesn't kick it until age 60 at the earliest. However I have RSPs and savings too. We certainly wouldn't be taking trips around the world every year but we could afford to come and live with YOU a few months out of every year tee hee!
Not only was I plugging numbers into the calculator at a furious pace today I also registered at our board website so I can see available postings in case I want to quickly EXIT, STAGE LEFT!! I don't really want to transfer but I do want to keep my options open and be ready if something interesting comes along.
My motto has always been: BE PREPARED!! and no I wasn't a Girl Guide or even a Brownie...I only made it as far as being a "Spark"! I used to be pretty mouthy as a child...sassy I think my Dad called it, as in "don't sass your mother!" Oh I am rambling on tonight! It's a sign of my disturbed mind. The worst thing about today was when 2 of the EAs said that some of our students don't belong at school (kids with autism can show some aggression from time to time but we've had NOTHING even remotely serious so far this year)!! I was actually ready to smack somebody! (and NOT the students!!) I'll show ya who doesn't BELONG!
Now I better get on my bike and ride my stress away!! It's either that or drink a bottle of wine and it's too late to go buy any and anyways I'm on my 3rd NO SPEND day and don't want to spoil it now.
I'm not even going to go back and edit this so please disregard any typos!!
(((Jane))) Sorry you had such a crappy day! :( I hope tomorrow is better!!
ReplyDeleteOh, Jane. I can't tell you how many days like yours that I've had. Numerous times of logging into my bank account and doing mad math, projecting if I can manage this or that. I relate!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJust today, after three months of freedom from that abusive 'person' I worked for... he sent a threat of legal action against me for files he has no ownership of. I called him and calmly said I didn't have those files... they were wiped from my drive and only had the files (PDFs) that he received from me for five years. He wanted files created from MY software to give his new designer who has HER software. He doesn't have that software and only paid me for PDFs for press. See me ramble? Touches a nerve so I do know so very well what you're going through.
I can't advise you what direction to take but I know you'll think it through. If your take your CPP at 60, can you still work if you wanted to so something simple or part time?
I feel for you Jane - work place politics, stress is ____!!!
ReplyDeleteLife's too short!
It's good to keep your options open!
PS. And of course you can come and stay with me :)
I am so sorry, you have such a hard job. Aids can be such jerks. They are usually power hungry non teachers that can't get jobs any where else. i would have a hard time working with such people. Not the kids, I would love the kids. Hang in there, I'm not sure I would not retire early also.
ReplyDeletewell it's good that it's do-able and at least now you know your options in case you need to make a quick decision.
ReplyDeleteCarla - thanks for the hugs:)
ReplyDeleteMichelle - yes, I believe you CAN now work AND collect CPP at the same time, that rule has changed. And yes, I have thought about P/T work to supplement for the first couple of years if need be. Ramble on my friend, ramble on...
Laura - thanks my dear, just a little jump across the big pond and I'll be there:)
Kim - you described the situation and the EAs perfectly! Thanks for your support!
Louise - I think its important to have a Plan B and C, just in case.
Oh Jane,
ReplyDeleteI sometimes feel that way and I have many, many more years to go until retirement ;)
I'm curious as to how much you are planning in your budget for CPP as my understanding is that our pension is reduced by our CPP amount, once we turn 65. It seemed as though it was basically a "wash"...
Good luck with the calculations and I hope today is a better day.
Sorry about you crappy day.
ReplyDeleteI am rally impressed you live on 34.6% of your income! That's fantastic.
I LOVE how protective you are with the kids...you are a GREAT teacher and a loving person...
ReplyDeleteSome people are just not cut out for your line of work, and it sounds like you have one on staff..
Glad you could retire if you needed to...and, oh by the way, hubby and I would LOVE to have you and Michael visit...of course the stipulation is that Michael grills us up something fabulous! :)!
Oh Jane, sorry you had such a terrible day :(
ReplyDeleteAs the mom of a special needs kid, thank you so much for your dedication with respect to your students and their needs. It's so important to have a teacher who understands that YES, they do BELONG at school. I know it's not an easy task. Thankfully, we have had amazing teachers for both my boys and my Andrew's EA is super-fantastic-terrific.
Sending cyber hugs to you...you get on that bike and dream of PEI!!
Oh Jane, sorry you had such a stressful day.
ReplyDeleteAs a mom of 2 boys on the spectrum, I really want to thank you for all the hard work you put in with your students and thank you for knowing that they do 'belong' at school. A good EA is so very hard to find (thankfully we have a super-fantastic-terrific EA for our Andrew...we LOVE her).
Sending cyber hugs!
@Christy - our pension is reduced by 13% at age 65 if you choose to start your CPP then. So not so bad. Plus of course OAS kicks in then and it's not clawed back unless your income exceeds $65,000 I think. So a nice big jump at age 65:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Niki! I'm impressed by that % too! Most people exceed their monthly incomes! I'm on a mission!
@ Talesofablendedfamily: thanks for your comments; it means a lot coming a parent with TWO kids on the spectrum - wow - I salute you!
@ Sharon - we'll be right over lol! Michael loves to BBQ! And it won't be low-cal! See, I blame my increase in weight on his cooking! And yes, I am VERY protective of my kids, if anyone leaves it won't be THEM!!!
Jane, it must be something in the air! I salute you for working with your "broken angels". It is a hard, hard job, and you don't need staff with the wrong attitude. I'm an auntie to a sweet boy with Autism and my hats off to those who deal with it on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteI'm sending a hug your way!
Hugs Jane. I read this last night but was to tired.
ReplyDeletePart of the new rules with CPP is that if you decide to go back to work part time after you start collecting CPP you can chose to contribute to CPP therefore possibly increasing your CPP benefit. this could give you a boost if you decide to go that way.
To tired to think anymore tonight.
Big Hugs
@ Sam - thanks for the hug! I agree there's "something in the air" - last week I blamed it on the full moon, not sure what's going on this week!
ReplyDelete@ Johanna - I didn't KNOW that about CPP, that is great info..thanks! Would you like to be my financial advisor??
LOL Jane I should ask the same of you!! Living on 34% of your income. It takes both Dave and working to make our budget work. I only knew that because I do payroll for one of my clients and try to keep up to date on any changes
ReplyDeleteThere are more changes too you should probably read about them.
http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/oas-cpp/legislation/bill_c51/index.shtml
Hugs
Thanks for the link Johanna - I was googling around for awhile today but didn't really find what I needed re changes to CPP, so many changes to keep up with these days!
ReplyDeletelordy what a day you had. I agree, having another plan is always a good idea in life. You just never know what you may need to do in a hurry and keeping your mind open to possibilities always makes these hurdles a little easier. Best wishes for a better week coming.
ReplyDelete