Association helps answer retirement questions

Retirement is a big decision.

When should you retire? What are the steps you need to take? What comes next?

There are a lot of questions to ask — but those questions don’t have to be answered alone.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Retirement Association is there to help. The organization’s goal is to promote the interests, health and welfare of its members through a diverse program of activities and information.

“For anyone seriously considering retirement, it’s a good idea to participate in any informational programs you learn about,” says Ann Wallace, the association’s executive director.

Wallace retired in 2005 as an assistant dean in the School of Education dean’s office after 26 years there. For the first 17 years of her career, Wallace worked in the Department of Sociology, from which she graduated, on a series of research and training projects.

She suggests registering for the “Pre-Retirement Session” and one-on-one counseling provided by the Office of Human Resources as well as the small-group sessions offered by the Department of Employee Trust Funds. 

In addition to considering whether financial resources are sufficient, Wallace recommends employees also calculate how long their sick leave escrow might last.  Employees can go to the ETF website to calculate their estimated annuity and sign up for ETF webinars.

Even if retirement is far off, it’s something to think about early, Wallace says.

“With mortgages and children to put through college, it is difficult to think about saving money for their own retirement, but even small amounts put into a Tax-Sheltered Annuity 403(b) or a Deferred Compensation 457 account through the university can grow significantly over several decades,” Wallace says. “Money put there is not included in your taxable income; you pay the taxes when you take it out later.”

To learn more, sign up for an OHR program called “Early to Mid-Career Retirement Planning & Benefit Maximization.” 

A “Roadmap to Retirement Planning” can be found at retirement.wisc.edu.  It begins with some things to do when retirement is 10 years away, then five years, one year, two to three months and one month away, followed by a post-retirement section.

Wallace wants to remind UW–Madison retirees that they may be eligible for emeritus status — something that applies to faculty, academic and classified staff. Emeritus/emerita status is an honorary designation conferred upon retirees to recognize their contributions and accomplishments over their university careers. The retiree must have been a permanent employee with the University of Wisconsin–Madison who is at least 55 years old, is eligible for an annuity from the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), and has completed a minimum of 10 years of service deemed distinguished.

A document detailing the procedures for getting the designation appears on the websites of both the Retirement Issues Committee and the UW-Madison Retirement Association. 

Wallace says many people join the association before retirement in order to learn what some of the issues are. There are now more than 1,200 members.

While there’s a lot to think about when planning for retirement, Wallace emphasizes that it’s not just important to be financially ready — it’s almost as important to be mentally prepared.

“Some people forget that they should plan to retire ‘to’ something as well as ‘from’ something,” Wallace says. “If you have no hobbies, grandchildren or volunteering opportunities, you might want to develop some new interests while you are still working. A comment made by many successful retirees, on the other hand, is that they are so busy they don’t know how they found the time to work.”