Note: The examples and case studies in this article are hypothetical but represent real situations I have encountered in my practice working with Washington State public employees. Picture a 54-year-old budget manager at a state agency. She's in PERS 2 with 27 years of service, and she's aiming to retire at 58. She and her husband have about $750,000 saved between her DCP account and their IRAs. They give every year. Each December she writes a $1,500 check to their church, and she supports a...
7 days ago • 5 min read
Note: The examples and case studies in this article are hypothetical but represent real situations I have encountered in my practice working with Washington State public employees. A decision two decades away Picture a 54-year-old budget analyst for a Washington county. She has 26 years in PERS Plan 2. Her husband is 55 and works maintenance for a school district in SERS Plan 2. Between them they have about $750,000 saved, most of it in pretax DCP. They want to retire at 58. To her, required...
14 days ago • 5 min read
Note: The examples and case studies in this article are hypothetical but represent real situations I have encountered in my practice working with Washington State public employees. There's a several charts that I have seen that show how much you "should" have saved by each age. Picture Janelle. She's 52, a budget analyst for a county, and a PERS 2 member with 24 years of service. She and her husband, Tom, have about $750,000 saved between their DCP accounts and IRAs. She finds 50 on that...
21 days ago • 4 min read
Note: The examples and case studies in this article are hypothetical but represent real situations I have encountered in my practice working with Washington State public employees. Bruce is 64. He retired two years ago at 62, after 31 years with a county public works department. PERS Plan 2, and with more than 30 years of service he walked away at 62 with a full benefit, no early retirement reduction [1]. His pension shows up on the last business day of every month, the way it will for the...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Note: The examples and case studies in this article are hypothetical but represent real situations I have encountered in my practice working with Washington State public employees. The screen share that gives it away Neil pulls up his DCP account on our Zoom call and I can read the whole thing in about four seconds. He's 53. Water utility operations manager for a city on the west side, 24 years in PERS 2, planning to walk at 58. Between the DCP and an old IRA he's got a little over $800,000....
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Note: The examples and case studies in this article are hypothetical but represent real situations I have encountered in my practice working with Washington State public employees. Tracy’s real question Tracy is 54, a permitting supervisor for a county planning department, and has 27 years in PERS 2. She wants to retire at 58. On our call she shares her screen. Someone at a retirement workshop suggested she move a chunk of her DCP into an annuity, and she’s been sitting with it for weeks. Her...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Note: The examples and case studies in this article are hypothetical but represent real situations I have encountered in my practice working with Washington State public employees. Rhonda pulled up a retirement calculator during our call and shared her screen. She’s 54, a permit supervisor for a public works department, 28 years in PERS 2. She’d like to retire at 57. The calculator had given her a goal savings number. It was roughly double what she had saved. She’d been looking at it for a...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Note: The examples and case studies in this article are hypothetical but represent real situations I have encountered in my practice working with Washington State public employees. Cheryl is 57, has 31 years in PERS Plan 2 with a county public works department, and she brought a spreadsheet to our first call. One tab. A single number for annual spending. Then 35 rows of that number growing 3% a year until she turns 92. She built it herself over a couple of weekends, and she should be proud of...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Note: The examples and case studies in this article are hypothetical but represent real situations I have encountered in my practice working with Washington State public employees. The spreadsheet that grows forever Doug shares his screen and pulls up the retirement spreadsheet he has been building since March. He's 54, a public works supervisor with 29 years in PERS Plan 2, and he's clearly put real hours into this. Color coded tabs. Formulas stacked on formulas. I scroll down to the...
2 months ago • 5 min read