In the next few weeks I will be conducting interviews for a Program Specialist position at the resource center I direct. Interviewing potential co-workers is my favorite activity as an administrator. Over the years I have interviewed and hired teachers, lead teachers, sign language interpreters, nurses and secretaries. I construct hypothetical questions and have found that is the best way to learn if a person can think on his or her feet. Cover letters and resumes talk about flexibility and communication skills but I need to see performance!
One reason I enjoy interviewing people is to see their enthusiasm for change. I have only interviewed one person who was actually out of work at the time of the interview. All others were seeking a promotion or simply a change of environment. If the candidate does not convey sincere desire to work for me and with me, I move on to the next person.
Anna Quindlan reviewed applications from young journalism school grads and concluded that it was time for her to step aside. I urge you to read her column about the experience. I have a link to it on this site.
Since I am already planning to "step aside" I may find myself approaching the hiring process a little differently than in the past. I will let you know!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Second Career Help
Most of the websites for second career guidance seem to promote seminars or assessment tools that are costly. The AARP http://www.aarp.org/ website has numerous links to articles about job searches for older workers and is somewhat helpful. My recommendation for self-assessment is to read the following information from the National Career Development Association(NCDA) http://associationdatabase.com/aws/NCDA/pt/sp/Home_Page and then take a few of the free on-line surveys. I did the Princeton Review Career Quiz and the MAPP Assessment. The results were interesting and not very surprising. I spent less than an hour and no money!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Wish I Could Retire
Over the past two weeks I have heard some interesting responses to my retirement announcement. Several of my colleagues - all of whom are members of the same teachers' retirement system - have indicated that they can't afford to retire. The comment goes something like this, "I wish I could afford to retire." I simply don't understand their position (unless they are raising children). The Georgia retirement benefit is 60% of an average of two years of your highest salary, with an additional 2% for every year of service. Quite generous.
As Bill McKibben explains so convincingly in Deep Economy, happiness does not correlate with high income. And isn't happiness the goal? I recommend this book to anyone who has ever been concerned about excessive growth and development. McKibben offers numerous examples of alternatives to unchecked growth that result in less waste of resources, better nutrition, a higher quality of life and, yes, even increased happiness.
The framing question for many of the decisions I make is paraphrased from Deep Economy. Posted on my refrigerator is this: "What is more when you already have too much?"
As Bill McKibben explains so convincingly in Deep Economy, happiness does not correlate with high income. And isn't happiness the goal? I recommend this book to anyone who has ever been concerned about excessive growth and development. McKibben offers numerous examples of alternatives to unchecked growth that result in less waste of resources, better nutrition, a higher quality of life and, yes, even increased happiness.
The framing question for many of the decisions I make is paraphrased from Deep Economy. Posted on my refrigerator is this: "What is more when you already have too much?"
Monday, September 7, 2009
Withholding Taxes for Retirees
Last spring I learned that the tax tables for withholding are different for pensioners. Here is some news about withholding taxes from the Georgia TRS website.
- IRS Issues New Tax Withholding Tables
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued new tax withholding tables in conjunction with the U.S. economic stimulus plan’s new federal “earned income” tax credit for working Americans – the Making Work Pay credit. Although pension benefits are not considered “earned income”, the IRS has instructed TRS and other pension plans to use the new tables to determine how much to withhold from your monthly benefit payment. These new tables were effective April 1, 2009, and may reduce the amount of income tax withheld from your monthly pension benefit.
For those retirees having federal taxes withheld based on marital status and the number of exemptions claimed (as opposed to a fixed withholding amount), the effect will be a decrease in the tax withheld and a corresponding increase in your monthly benefit payment. You may want to submit a revised W-4P and/or consult with a tax advisor to ensure enough withholding is withheld from your pension benefit. If you wish to update your tax withholding, please do so online via your TRS account (click on the Account Login button above).
For additional information and assistance, visit the IRS Web site, http://www.irs.gov/, and use the Withholding Calculator; review the Tax Tables found in Publication 15-T; or refer to IRS Publication 919 (How Do I Adjust My Tax Withholding?). You can also contact the IRS at 800-829-1040 for more information.
I hope you find this information helpful.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Tax Savings in the Future
A new tax law went into effect last year in Georgia. Few people seem to know about it so I am including information from the Georgia Department of Revenue's website:
STATE INCOME TAX EXEMPTIONS FOR RETIREMENT INCOME. Social Security is exempt. Taxpayers who are 62 years of age or older, or permanently and totally disabled regardless of age, may be eligible for a retirement income adjustment on their Georgia tax return. Retirement income includes income from pensions and annuities, interest income, dividend income, net income from rental property, capital gains income and income from royalties. For married couples filing joint returns with both members receiving retirement income, the maximum adjustment for the applicable year may be up to twice the individual exclusion amount. Retirement income exceeding the maximum adjustable amount will be taxed at the normal rate. The retirement income exclusion for tax year 2008 and beyond is $35,000.
This is very good news. It is never too early to begin planning tax savings.
STATE INCOME TAX EXEMPTIONS FOR RETIREMENT INCOME. Social Security is exempt. Taxpayers who are 62 years of age or older, or permanently and totally disabled regardless of age, may be eligible for a retirement income adjustment on their Georgia tax return. Retirement income includes income from pensions and annuities, interest income, dividend income, net income from rental property, capital gains income and income from royalties. For married couples filing joint returns with both members receiving retirement income, the maximum adjustment for the applicable year may be up to twice the individual exclusion amount. Retirement income exceeding the maximum adjustable amount will be taxed at the normal rate. The retirement income exclusion for tax year 2008 and beyond is $35,000.
This is very good news. It is never too early to begin planning tax savings.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Leaving a Career, Starting a Blog
On April 1, 2010, I will retire from a 30 year career as a special education teacher and administrator. The purpose of this weblog is to provide a forum for other teachers who are about to retire in order to plan for meaningful work in the next phase of our lives. I hope we hear from the thousands of retired teachers around the world. We are, potentially, a powerful force due to the sheer number of us. We are all highly educated and most likely, financially secure.
I have several planned topics such as data on our community, the factors that determined our decision to retire, stories about kids we taught, the dreaded retirement parties, and our thoughts about the future of education. I will provide the prompts for these discussions. But building a real-time agenda with your input is much more important to me.
One reason I believe this blog can have a tremendously powerful influence is the content of most of the retirement sites on the web. What I found in my searches was mostly about how to save for retirement, how to invest for retirement, best-places-to-live-after retirement, and how to find travel bargains. I want to go deeper and talk about how a career in education shaped us and how we can use our knowledge, experience, and skills to build a better world. But keep in mind that a real-time agenda does not prevent us from addressing investments, travel and fun places to live!
Today let's look at some data to get us thinking. I want to gather evidence to support my belief that we are smart, young, wealthy and that there are lots of us!
In a report published by the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) of Georgia for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, there were 78,633 retirees receiving a benefit payment from the Georgia TRS. Their average monthly benefit was $2,921. The number of retirees includes teachers, college and university personnel, librarians, and others who were a part for the system such as cafeteria workers, and their beneficiaries. That is a lot of people with college educations and a certain level of financial stability.
I was interested in learning the average age that teachers retire because we are, compared to the majority of Americans, young retirees. Staff at Georgia TRS are working on finding that number for me. Think about this: if you began teaching immediately after obtaining an undergraduate degree at age 21 or 22 you would be eligible to receive full retirement benefits for 30 years of service at age 51 or 52. That is young!
If you have information about the number, age, and benefits of teacher retirees in other states, please post it here. Let's have some discussion about the size, quality and economic power of our community!
I have several planned topics such as data on our community, the factors that determined our decision to retire, stories about kids we taught, the dreaded retirement parties, and our thoughts about the future of education. I will provide the prompts for these discussions. But building a real-time agenda with your input is much more important to me.
One reason I believe this blog can have a tremendously powerful influence is the content of most of the retirement sites on the web. What I found in my searches was mostly about how to save for retirement, how to invest for retirement, best-places-to-live-after retirement, and how to find travel bargains. I want to go deeper and talk about how a career in education shaped us and how we can use our knowledge, experience, and skills to build a better world. But keep in mind that a real-time agenda does not prevent us from addressing investments, travel and fun places to live!
Today let's look at some data to get us thinking. I want to gather evidence to support my belief that we are smart, young, wealthy and that there are lots of us!
In a report published by the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) of Georgia for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, there were 78,633 retirees receiving a benefit payment from the Georgia TRS. Their average monthly benefit was $2,921. The number of retirees includes teachers, college and university personnel, librarians, and others who were a part for the system such as cafeteria workers, and their beneficiaries. That is a lot of people with college educations and a certain level of financial stability.
I was interested in learning the average age that teachers retire because we are, compared to the majority of Americans, young retirees. Staff at Georgia TRS are working on finding that number for me. Think about this: if you began teaching immediately after obtaining an undergraduate degree at age 21 or 22 you would be eligible to receive full retirement benefits for 30 years of service at age 51 or 52. That is young!
If you have information about the number, age, and benefits of teacher retirees in other states, please post it here. Let's have some discussion about the size, quality and economic power of our community!
(Ask me about the meaning of the picture I selected.)
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