[pininja]

I upvoted you’re comments since they are accurate to my mother’s experience as a 33+ year elementary school teacher in CA. Her health care is similar to what my job provides, and then she gets a pension that highly incentives 35+ year career of continuous work in the same district. Any long term medical leave pauses pension credit, and moving to a different district within the same state can also mess with the pension terms.

Switching jobs 15 years in feels like an all or nothing situation since they haven’t been paying into social security.

I don’t know any teacher friends of hers that have retired before 30 years on the job. It’s stable, but it’s not an early retirement career.

Finally, I want to acknowledge that funding in CA for teachers is difficult to adjust and complex, but it’s all inherently public. https://ed100.org/lessons/whopays

[WalterBright]

Your link has many facts about sources of funding, but does not say what the value of the teacher benefits package is.

> retired before 30 years on the job. It’s stable, but it’s not an early retirement career.

I'd consider retiring at 52 early retirement, especially if it comes with a lifetime pension.

[pininja]

The median for retirement in CA is 61.9 years of age. Age factor plays a large role in setting pension, one cannot retire early without giving up a portion of the pension. The average monthly benefit is $4,088.

Here’s an idea of pension contribution

> Teachers contribute 8% of their monthly salaries into a state pension fund, while their employers contribute an additional 8.25%. On top of these payments, the state of California contributes another 2% into the fund.

All from https://www.teaching-certification.com/salaries-benefits/cal...

[WalterBright]

Thank you. So that gives the cost of the retirement plan at 10.5% of salary. The link, unfortunately, does not give what the cost of the healthcare plan is (or other benefits).

Your link also says they can retire at 50 with 30 years of service. Sure, it's not the full pension, but they'll still be receiving the pension for another 30 years. Seems generous to me.

I don't know a private company with a plan like that. SS doesn't start paying out until 62 (also at a reduced amount).