On 8/16/06 10:32 AM, "David Ilvedson" <ilvey at sbcglobal.net> wrote: > I would be interested in what some benefit packages really are...? For > instance, what generally does retirement give? 1/2 your salary + health > insurance? If you have to work on the cheap, what do you get when your done? > > David Ilvedson, RPT > Pacifica, CA 94044 > Hi David, As Jeff's post points out, it is anything but simple and straightforward. I'll give a few specifics from my situation to add to the mix. Our state retirement is 2.35% times the number of years service times your average last five year's salary. IOW, depends on length of service, 25 years being a pension over 50%. But that depends whether you take it for your own life span, or for the life span of you and your surviving spouse (which adds a level of complexity to the calculation, depending on relative ages). Health, dental, etc is rather complex. For me, one of the biggest benefits is actually being part of a group. What the University and I pay together for HMO is less than I was paying for mega big deductible catastrophic. And the company wouldn't cover my wife for specious reasons I won't go into. IMO, health insurance is the biggest financial problem facing all of us, including individuals, big corporations, and government entities. But I won't go into that rant, simply point out that this is the big hook for many of the institutionalized. I'll note that while I have had very generous raises over the nine years I have been "employed," virtually every cent has gone to health insurance increases. This is compounded by the fact that, as half time, I pay a much larger portion than a full timer (70/30 versus 30/70 match), but it IS rather discouraging. Added to the complexity is the fact that all our benefits at UNM are paid AND DEDUCTED "pre-tax." IOW, I get taxed on my income after my hit for health care. I don't get taxed on the money the university contributes to health and pension, or on what I contribute. This is a pretty big benefit, though I don't have the patience to do the figuring. You can work that kind of system out as a self-employed, but you probably take an enormous hit from an accountant to set it up. Bottom line: I like being half time. My net pay from the university sucks, but I have health coverage, the prospect of a pretty solidly guaranteed pension, and the opportunity to improve my chops trying out all sorts of techniques on the department's pianos pretty much at will. Then I can use those chops working on outside pianos and charge the top dollar I'm worth. Plus I happen to be an academic sort of guy, and having full access to the library including interlibrary loan, being in a higher education environment, plus any number of other "intangibles," like exercising my trade where it actually makes a difference, means that I am quite willing to take the bad with the good. Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico
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