The Pension Couch: Early Retirement Penalties

Posted on 07-September-21 by Grumpus

I run a Facebook group for pensioners, pensionable workers, and/or their significant others called Golden Albatross/Golden Handcuffs. The group relies on the wisdom of the crowd to answer members’ pension-related questions and/or discuss pension-related topics. From time to time, the group serves up good topics to write about. For instance, I recently exchanged comments about the early retirement penalties built into their pension with a group member. It didn’t appear that the group member understood the reason for these penalties. As a result, I provided a short explanation as to why they did.

Fortunately, the Facebook exchange reminded me of a more in-depth email exchange I had with a reader a few months ago on the topic of early retirement penalties. Since the email conversation was far better organized (and researched) than my Facebook exchange, it seemed like a good candidate for a Pension Couch post. For those that don’t remember, Pension Couch articles are posts created from lightly edited and sanitized email exchanges in which I answer readers’ pension questions. In this instance, I answer McGruff’s (the crime dog from Public Service Announcements in my childhood) questions about the early retirement penalties built into his/her law enforcement pension plan.

Do early retirement penalties spell death for pensioners’ early retirement hopes?

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6 Lessons From 18 Months as a Pensioner

Posted on 26-May-21 by Grumpus

Back in Time

Wow! Where did the time go? I blinked, and my first year-and-a-half as a pensioner flew by. Before you start laughing about my use of the term “pensioner,” I’m aware that in many parts of the world, “old age” comes in front of the word “pensioner.” However, since I’m only in my mid-40s, I’m not ready for the Old Man Grumpus moniker just yet. Let’s just agree that pensioner describes someone who receives defined benefit pension payments, like me, for the past 18 months.

I’m not the first personal finance or Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) blogger to write about the lessons from their first X number of months in retirement. In fact, it’s a popular topic. That said, none of the articles specifically address pension-related lessons learned. This article fills that void. So, I’ll put aside my usually verbose introduction and reveal six pension-related lessons that I’ve learned during my first 18 months as a pensioner.

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The Pension Series (Part 5): Survivorship (Updated)

Posted on 16-January-18 by Grumpus

Substantive Correction

This is an updated version to my article originally posted 04 October 2017. This version includes a substantive correction. The previous version of the article failed to accurately describe all the calculations required when comparing a pension with an inflation-linked Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to life insurance. I noticed my omission today and reworked the affected paragraphs. I also took the opportunity to clean up some grammar. You will see substantive changes noted in red text. I believe the changes make the comparisons between life insurance and survivorship more competitive.

The incomplete calculations I described in the previous version of my article appeared weighted towards survivorship. That was not my intent. Since the intent of the article changed, and I believe in full disclosure with my readers; I felt this mistake warranted a revision with new publish date.

This is a first for me in the blogging sphere, although in the military we routinely strive for this level of transparency when an official report, memorandum, or instruction contains a major mistake. The primary purpose for issuing a correction is to prevent anyone from acting on erroneous information. It’s also important that the historical record reflect accurate information. I’ve decided to hold myself to the same standard on this blog.

As a result, I advise anyone who read and used the methods described in the previous version of this article to read this update and adjust your calculations accordingly. While I apologize for the inconvenience, and always strive for 100% accuracy in my articles; I would remind everyone I’m not a professional. Nor am I considering your case specifically. No matter how comfortable you are with your retirement numbers and plan; it’s always best to run your them by a professional like a fee-only Certified Financial Planner who adheres to the fiduciary standard. Again my apologies.

KJH, we honor the fallen in the Grumpus Maximus family.

Death Sucks

In late Summer 2003, a member of my unit and one of its seasoned mentors was killed in the early days of the Insurgency in Iraq. We were both part of a tight-knit group of young officers that worked and played hard. While I would not have called him a close friend, many in our group did, and I often sought advice and guidance from him. His death was a blow to everyone in our group and the unit as a whole. Nothing was the same after it. Most of us were not prepared mentally and we all took it personally. Each of us dealt with his death in our own way, and I am sad to say it splintered the group in ways I never could’ve foreseen. Continue reading →

Track Your Money (Part 3): Passive Tracking

Posted on 31-December-17 by Grumpus

A Passive Tracking Experiment

I’m ready to blow up this lab whenever you are!

In case you can’t tell from my title, this article is a follow-on to my previous two “Tracking Your Money” posts. In the first article, I reviewed my historical use of various software applications to track my money over the past 20 years or so. In the second, my brother (Grumpus Brotherus the Younger) reviewed the software application called You Need A Budget (YNAB).

If you did not read the first post in this series, you probably should. I don’t just say that because my brother’s post sucked (it did), and I think mine is much better (it was), or I want the extra site traffic (I do). No, I say that because I actually made a few worthwhile points in the post … if I do say so myself. However, if you’re unwilling or unable to go to the post, let me provide you a re-cap. Continue reading →

The Reluctant Financial Voyeur

Posted on 04-September-17 by Grumpus

Foreclosure From The Great Recession

Over the past two work weeks, I helped financially counsel a fellow officer whose residual financial issues from the Great Recession stood to impact his career. There we were, almost 10 years from the start of the downturn, looking at foreclosure documents starting in 2009. He’d only settled the foreclosure within the last year, and the DoD wanted answers. In some ways, I could hardly believe it. In other ways, it was a sobering reminder about the lasting impact that event will have on American society for years, possibly generations, to come.

It also proved an interesting glimpse into another financial way a life. I found a life almost alien to mine because decades ago my fellow officer chose to build wealth through rental properties. Despite my personal negative history with a 2004 property purchase (as related previously on this blog), I hold no ill will for those who choose property investment as a method for building wealth. If it works for them, that’s great. However, my comrade-in-arms had specifically chosen a highly leveraged method for acquiring rental properties. As I questioned him on the simple details that he should’ve known from using this strategy, I quickly realized he lacked the acumen for it.

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You Can Teach An Old Dog New Tricks

Posted on 12-August-17 by Grumpus

Grumpus, the Elderus Caninus?

The other day Mrs. Grumpus tried to kill me … twice. She sent me an email while I was at work, asking if our budget could support her joining a new community center with gym, childcare, and pool akin to the YMCA. The price tag attached to her query nearly gave me a heart attack. Fortunately, my bike commute has paid off, and my heart withstood the initial shock. To put this in context, since our marriage I’ve adamantly refused to pay for a gym membership since all military bases, big and small, have gyms — many with the type of classes she likes to take. It is an expense that does not make sense in the overall context of the benefits that the military affords its members. With that said, we’ve paid for outdoor exercise classes before, and at the time she asked about the possibility of joining the new community center, she had just stopped going to her latest outdoor class due to the summer break. In her email, she also listed several other memberships she was willing to let lapse. When I did the math though, the memberships she proposed to let lapse did not add up to the cost of the new community center. I sent her an email stating such. I expected much foot stomping and toy throwing when I got home.

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Track Your Money (Part 2): YNAB

Posted on 25-June-17 by Grumpus

Remember how I said Grumpus Brotherus had used You Need A Budget (YNAB) for years? Well, when I asked him to write a paragraph for my Track Your Money post, he sent an entire post’s worth of information back. Instead of editing the material down to a paragraph to fit my article, I decided to give him his own post. I present you here the first guest author for the Grumpus Maximus blog! Now I must warn you that Grumpus Brotherus is a nerd … I mean N-E-R-D. Which is ok these days since the nerds will apparently inherit the Earth. But at points within the article, he does geeks out on software

I can’t believe Brother Grumpus does this since ..

interface and whatnot. It is hard to believe he flies in fighter jets for a living. Although I guess jets are more software than hardware these days, so maybe it makes sense. In any case, I edited a little to de-nerd it for us ‘laypeople’, but otherwise all the themes are his own; completely unprompted by me …. you will see what I mean. Enjoy. — Grumpus Maximus Continue reading →