Ah, Retirement, not working but still getting paid - the dream!
Now I am not a pension consultant nor have I retired, so I can't claim to have a lot of advice on the matter. And Let me be clear that this minimalist, 'always under construction website' is in no way a replacement for the official UFT Page, let alone equal to a personalized pension consultation, and as a UFT member you are entitled to one a year, And only one FINAL Pension Consultation.
You can schedule a pension consultation by calling this number: 212-331-6311
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My goal for this section is to eventually include some interviews with retirees, and how they're doing financially with a Pension, TDA, etc...
But I haven't interviewed anyone yet, so...
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I was recently asked about Terminal leave, and wanted to include some information on that topic as it does relate to retirment.
Terminal leave is where you go on leave before retirement, remaining on payroll as an active teacher, but use up your CAR days (one day for every two you have earned).
So...
You do not show up to work.
You continue to get paid your regular salary.
You continue to accumulate 1 CAR day each month.
You continue to contribute to your pension.
This can only be done for a maximum of one semester (Fall or Spring).
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I used to read Chaz's School Daze Blog pretty regularly because he shared helpful information for teachers including UFT ins and outs. That stopped in the spring of 2020 when Chaz died from Covid, but his website remains online and is still a wealth of information.
Chaz went into great detail around the topic of Terminal leave and so if this is something you are curious about then I recommend reading his post about the benefits as well as the limitations.
http://chaz11.blogspot.com/2016/03/termination-pay-or-terminal-leave-what.html
Also, If you'd like to register for Upcoming UFT Pension Clinics you can do so here.
TRS - TDA - ROTH - 457 Account Information Page