Tag Archives: military pension

Pensionable Careers: Fed vs. Military Benefits (Part 1)

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A Word from the Publisher

This post is the first of a two-parter from longtime friend of the blog Chris Pascale. Chris was a US Marine who served in Iraq in the mid-2000s but is now a US federal employee. If you want to know more about him, you can read his short bio at the end of the blog post.

Chris is also a published poet!

Chris writes here in a private capacity, which is good because he has several strong but fact-based opinions on which pathway (federal or military) provides the better retirement benefits value proposition from a “worth vs. worth it“ perspective. I emphasize the term pathway because judging the worthiness of a pensionable career should be more than just an examination of the retirement benefits provided. It should also consider the pros and cons one will experience while working towards those benefits during their career, which is what Chris does.

In that light, Chris clearly believes the federal path is the better one. That’s a critical view to represent since I spend so much time on this blog talking about the advantages of my military retirement benefits. That isn’t to say that Chris doesn’t support those making a career in the military; he simply believes the career and retirement benefits should be more equitable. The remainder of this article and the next explain why. Take it away, Chris! Continue reading →

FIRE in New Zealand: One Thing a Pension Cannot Buy

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Here’s an imaginary conversation that’s been playing in my head recently:

      • Almost non-existent long-term reader: “Hey Grumpus, I noticed you haven’t posted any new articles in a while. Is everything OK?”
      • Grumpus: “Thanks for asking, but unfortunately, no, everything is not OK. I’ve been mourning a personal loss.”
      • Almost non-existent long-term reader: “Oh…I’m sorry for your loss. Who are you mourning?”
      • Grumpus:“Not who but what.”
      • Almost non-existent long-term reader: “OK … That’s strange … What are you mourning?”
      • Grumpus:“I’m mourning the death of my defined benefit pension-enabled Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) in New Zealand lifestyle. It died in October 2022, when I returned to full-time work.”
      • Almost non-existent long-term reader: “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that! However, I’m afraid I must report you to the Internet Retirement Police (IRP) that Mr. Money Mustache talks about.”
      • Grumpus: “I understand. I’m now a FIRE imposter. Tell the IRP that I’ll go willingly.”

(Moments later, as the IRP is dragging a defeated Grumpus into the police van)

      • Grumpus: “My first attempt at a FIRE in New Zealand lifestyle is dead. LONG LIVE MY SECOND FIRE IN NEW ZEALAND LIFESTYLE!”
The End of a Short Era

You read that imaginary conversation correctly. My defined benefit pension-enabled FIRE in New Zealand lifestyle only lasted 1 year, 4 months, & 23 days. By FIRE in New Zealand lifestyle, I mean the time I spent in retirement with no GI Bill-sponsored or other full-time work-related income. During that time, my family and I lived in New Zealand, relying solely on the income from my Department of Defense and Veteran’s Administration (VA) pensions. I must admit, with a small amount of pride, we did an excellent job of staying under those spending limits.

Why, then, did I return to full-time work? I did it because a defined benefit (DB) pension cannot buy a New Zealand residence-class visa. And without a resident visa, an immigrant family like mine cannot FIRE in New Zealand. That’s not to say that money can’t buy residence in New Zealand because it most certainly can through an investor visa. However, in the post-pandemic New Zealand immigration system, that potential visa pathway was moved beyond my family’s ability to achieve. As a result, even though I’m guaranteed to earn the same inflation-protected amount of money each month until the day that I die, it wasn’t enough. I found myself at the uncomfortable crossroads of a return-to-work decision around September 2022. Continue reading →

The Pension Couch: Pension Roll-Over Questions

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What should pensionable employees who leave their job before normal retirement age (NRA) do with their pension at their former employer? Should they roll the pension over into a self-directed retirement account like an IRA? Or, should they wait until NRA and collect the annuity?

These are simple enough questions, but not ones I ever had to deal with personally since my pension never accrued a value while I worked. That said, there are ways to determine the answers to these questions. But, as with many things connected to pensions, such as the Golden Albatross inflection point, it often involves a mix of math and emotion. It certainly did for one reader who had a pension roll-over question, so I made it the topic of this Pension Couch post.

For those that don’t remember, Pension Couch articles are created from lightly edited and sanitized email/message exchanges in which I answer readers’ pension questions. Names and some details have been sanitized to protect the innocent. Also, don’t forget that I speak in general about pensions throughout this post because every pension plan is different. So, make sure you research your specific plan before taking any action! Continue reading →

The Pension Couch: 8 More Years

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Believe it or not, I get fan emails from time to time. They come in many different forms. Some of it is precisely what it sounds like, meaning people take the time to drop me a nice note and say how much they liked the blog, the book (or both), or how much something I wrote resonated with them. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that my ego likes those emails. I’d also be lying if I said I have great tracking system for responding to all them. So, if I owe you a response, please accept my apology in advance as I try to work through the backlog. More importantly, please keep sending those types of emails because I find them extremely motivating. They help me write, even on days when I’m not feeling particularly creative.

Advice requests are another form of fan emails I receive. Those motivate me too because I get to help people directly. Most of the time, the advice being sought is pension-related. For instance, sometimes, people want me to analyze their pension as a whole. In contrast, others ask about a specific pension design element. Anyone who’d like to see or listen to me provide an overall analysis of a pension can check out the ChooseFI episode where I counseled a young married couple about the wife’s pension.

Less often, advice requests center on career/life issues associated with pensionable jobs. These issues sometimes include a mental health angle. Since I blog about my mental health issues connected to my previous pensionable job, it’s no surprise that readers reach out with similar problems or questions. That’s the gist of the latest email, which I discuss below. Continue reading →

The Pension Series (Part 27): The Golden Albatross Pension Survey

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Would You Like To Take A Pension Survey?

I loved the Animaniacs cartoon when I was a teenager, especially one episode called “Survey Ladies.” In it, two ladies run around a shopping mall hounding the Animaniacs screaming, “would you like to take a survey?” and asking crazy questions like, “would you eat beans with George Wendt?” For those of you who don’t know, George Wendt was Norm in the sitcom Cheers.

That’s how I felt in March 2021 as I administered a pension survey to US-based pensionable workers and retirees from several personal finance Facebook groups and my blog’s email distribution list. I ran around (virtually) trying to convince pensionable workers and retirees to take my survey and answer many seemingly crazy pension-related questions. Sadly, I couldn’t figure out a way to work George Wendt or beans into it. Continue reading →

The Pension Series (Part 26): Continuance Commitment

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An Albatross By Another Name

Guess what? I may not have needed to coin the Golden Albatross metaphor! It’s sad but true. I cried (on the inside) when I discovered that business management academics had an entire theory that captured employees’ stay-or-go psychological condition long before I arrived on the scene with the Golden Albatross. It’s called ‘continuance commitment.’

While neither as catchy as the Golden Albatross nor limited to just pensionable workers, continuance commitment fits the Golden Albatross metaphor perfectly. The only difference is that the Golden Albatross describes the situation for pensionable workers. On the other hand, continuance commitment captures the stay or go feeling that any worker might face while working any type of job.

continuance commitment

Is this albatross masquerading as a management theory?

This post is all about continuance commitment and why I think it’s vital that pensionable workers know about it. The article starts small, with a definition of continuance commitment, and then moves on to the general theory. I then explain how continuance commitment fits into the study of voluntary employee turnover. I also link continuance commitment, voluntary turnover, and defined benefit pensions (DBPs) together. Afterward, I take a quick look at how continuance commitment ties into pension plan design, which I discussed in Pension Series Part 25. I do this to set up the discussion for Part 27 of the Pension Series. Finally, I end on a cautionary note about the types of employees continuance commitment produces. Continue reading →

The Pension Series (Part 25): Pension Design

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Defined benefit pensions are not created equal.

I wish they were, mainly because it would make my job of explaining pensions easier, but that simply isn’t the case. Most pensions are designed differently than each other. In some cases, pension design varies significantly, in others only slightly. However, in almost all cases, these variations in pension design produce unique plans.

This fundamental truth is key to understanding the potentially decisive role of a defined benefit pension (DBP) in a pensioner’s retirement outcome. This truth is also vital for understanding a DBP’s influence during an employee’s decision to depart a pensionable job before reaching retirement eligibility. Academics and economists call this departure decision a voluntary turnover decision. However, I call it a Golden Albatross moment for those in a pensionable job. Future pensioners and current pensionable employees must understand their pension design in both the retirement and Golden Albatross scenarios. They can do this by examining their pension’s design elements. Continue reading →

6 Lessons From 18 Months as a Pensioner

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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.

Continue reading →

The Military Retirement Process: Lessons Learned (Part 1)

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For the Military Members in the Audience

When I first announced that I was officially retiring in 2019 via the blog and my Facebook group, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Amidst all those positive responses, Timika Downes, a fellow Financial Independence (FI) blogger, reservist, and FB group member asked me to share lessons I learned throughout the military retirement process. I was non-committal at the time because I had no idea if there would be anything worth sharing. However, now that I’m through the first phase of that process, I realize I have a few nuggets of information worth sharing — especially for military Financially Independent Retire Early (FIRE) seekers like me.

Admittedly some of my lessons are more or less relevant, based on what you want to do after the military. However, any military member contemplating either retirement or transition from Active Duty can take something away from what I’m about to share. Top among those takeaways is this: The Department of Defense (DOD); the Veteran’s Administration (VA); and many state, local, and benevolent organizations have put a lot of effort into ensuring that current active duty military members transition successfully to civilian life.

As a student of history, I’m well aware that the above takeaway was not always true. The VA, and the taxpayers who fund it, have failed to take care of U.S. vets on numerous occasions. As evidence, consider the string of VA scandals outlined by CNN in 2014. Continue reading →

Choices and Thankfulness

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Choices

I’ll have you know that I do most the cooking on Thanksgiving in our house.

Happy Thanksgiving

“What are you thankful for this year?” is a commonly asked Thanksgiving question. It’s usually asked around dinner tables, which is where we Americans typically celebrate this holiday designed to bring us together and reflect on the bounty in our lives. In fact, Mrs. Grumpus and I asked our children the same question tonight as we ate.

Grumpus Minimus #1 (the older one) dutifully answered that he was thankful for his mom, dad, family, and friends. He then proceeded to list every single one of his friends. Grumpus Minimus #2 (the younger one) said he was thankful for Hickam Air Force Base, where he likes to go and watch Hawaiian airline’s planes land (Hickam AFB shares a flight line with the Honolulu airport). I bet no Air Force Base has ever been loved as much as GM#2 loves Hickam.

Continue reading →