Free Retirement Seminars

ERB presents two seminars that help guide members to informed choices concerning their educational retirement options. Retirement 101 – Your Educational Retirement Benefits covers your retirement benefits and helps you to make wise decisions considering those benefits. It is presented in 2 ½ hours on a weekday evening, typically from 4:30 to 7:00pm.

Retirement 201- Getting Your Ducks in a Row, in addition to the Retirement 101 contents, includes information about Social Security, New Mexico Retiree Health Care Authority benefits, the New You – Aging Well, Estate Planning, and Financial Planning in Retirement. It is presented on Saturday mornings from 8:30 to 12:30.

Seminar materials including powerpoint slides and supporting materials help participants to make the most of their learning time. These seminars are for anyone even dreaming of their retirement in the distant future. Spouses are welcome.

All information in the seminars is of a general nature and specific, personalized, information should be requested from the ERB office nearest you.

register online - click here

back to top

SPOTLIGHT:
Meet ERB members

Carole Smith:
Count on her to know character

Teachers teach it, children and parents learn it, and all benefit immensely from it. Although it’s a phenomenon felt around the country, it’s still a mystery to some.

“It” is Character Counts, a character education initiative started more than a decade ago in New Mexico and various other states around the country. Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) was the first to officially declare itself a Character Counts school district, and schools and students have seen dramatic improvements in student behavior and staff morale after its introduction.

Carole Smith is lead coordinator of the APS Character Counts program.

“The results have been outstanding,” Smith relates. “We've realized a major reduction in negative student behaviors at many schools, and along with it staff morale has improved too. The students feel school is a safe place and the parents know what to do at home with their students to reinforce the Character Counts behavior.”

There is always more than one hat to wear in a school district, and Carole also helps schools expand their connections to local businesses through the APS Join-a-School program. These school-business partnerships benefit students in all kinds of ways. Some businesses offer students a job shadowing day; some help schools raise awareness of energy, recycling and the environment.

Smith helps coordinate partnerships with professional sports teams too through reading events, art projects and career discussions. “It’s really exciting,” she says. “I like working with businesses and schools and seeing how they can help each other. So many want to give back and to develop those partnerships.”

Life outside of work has been pretty exciting for her too. She’s been married just a month to her husband, Ray, whom she met six months ago while waiting for a flight at the airport. It was an early morning flight and, “He came over and asked me if I’d like a cup of coffee before the flight,” and that was that. He travels a lot, working on energy pipelines, and one day Carole says she’ll join him on some of those trips.

For now, she’s enjoying her job too much to think about retiring, but she knows she’ll be busy once she does. “I’m sure I’ll be joining groups and volunteering, and traveling. I’m outgoing so it’s going to be easy for me.”

But it will have to wait for awhile. She’s just not ready.

back to top

Taking the Mystery Out of Retirement 

Retirement Planning
Chapter 3

Inflation & Your Future

Inflation, in its simplest terms, means that dollar for dollar, your money will not buy as much next year as it does this year. This means inflation is a major factor in determining how much money you will need in retirement since, to cover inflation’s impact, you will need more money every year. In other words, if your money is not earning more than the rate of inflation, you will lose part of your nest egg’s buying power.

You can’t predict and you can’t control inflation. The only accurate inflation rates are from the past, and they vary widely. In 1980, overall prices went up a whopping 13.5 percent; in 2002, they went up only 1.6 percent. Looking at the past shows how rates may vary widely.

Healthcare costs rising faster than inflation

One exception to low inflation rates is medical costs, which have risen faster than inflation over the past 20 years, and which some experts think will rise about 10 percent a year over the coming years. If you have, or your family history includes, a serious medical condition like heart disease, you will probably spend more on healthcare than you ever imagined. In fact, the consulting firm of Hewitt Associates estimates that, on average, 20 percent of retiree income will be spent on health care.

While Medicare is a great benefit to persons 65 and older, it does not cover all medical costs – deductibles, co-payments, and long-term care, for example. Medicare Part A covers hospital care only. Medicare Part B, an additional insurance you will be offered when you become 65, covers doctors’ services, outpatient hospital care and things like physical and occupational therapy and some home health care. The current cost of Medicare Part B is $96.40 per month this year, and it goes up every year. In addition to Medicare Parts A and B, many retirees buy Medigap policies for uncovered services like dental and vision care and drugs. Depending upon where you live and the policy you choose, you can pay $55 to $300 a month. The New Mexico Retiree Health Care Authority (NMRHCA) offers Medicare supplement policies to most ERB retirees. In 1999, Medicare, private insurance and/or Medicaid paid for only about 65 percent of retirees’ overall health care expenses.

An additional feature is the Medicare prescription drug program (Medicare Part D). Those who become eligible for Medicare Part A and/or Part B can join a prescription drug plan offered in their area. By paying a small premium – around $37 a month in 2006 – those who join can get prescription drugs at lower costs. Prescription medication coverage is included in the NMRHCA Medicare supplement plans.

If you are thinking about retiring early, you may have to buy health insurance until Medicare kicks in at age 65. Fortunately, nearly all ERB retirees will be eligible for health coverage, either through NMRHCA or their employer.

In order to stay ahead of inflation, you can either invest and hope to earn an average rate higher than inflation or work longer and save more. Having more savings and income than you actually need at retirement can help to make your retirement years much more comfortable.

To learn more about NMERB go to our web site

www.nmerb.org

You can also find our printed newsletters online by clicking here

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board (NMERB)
Managing the Retirement Assets of New Mexico's Educators
Santa Fe 505.827.8030
Albuquerque 505. 888.1560
Las Cruces 575.647.3313