New York State Educators

Helping Educators With Their Personal Financial Lesson Plan

A Comprehensive Approach to Retirement Funding

When thinking about retirement, you probably envision a life of leisure, playing with the grandchildren, traveling, enjoying the time to do as you please. But since people are living longer and healthier lives, you have to consider how to finance your leisure years. The traditional methods of social security and pensions may not be enough. A financial professional can help you review your benefits and establish additional financial programs for yourself and family members.

Are You Prepared to Fill the Gap?

As an educator, you are faced with unique challenges as well as opportunities in planning your retirement. Unlike many Americans today, you will have the resources of your professionally managed defined benefit plan. But your plan and the distribution option you elect are only one component of a comprehensive retirement funding strategy. While your pension will provide a steady income, there most likely will be a gap between what you earn now and what you will receive at retirement. We can help review your options to fill the gap and help facilitate your making the appropriate decisions.

Making the Most Of Your NYSTRS Pension

As a participant in the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS), you will have to make a choice as to the optimum way to take your benefits. The choice can mean the difference between receiving the full benefit and failing to get the full benefit to which you are entitled. Choosing your option can be a daunting task since everyone has a different situation. We at the New York Partners Group, a member of the John Hancock Financial Network (JHFN), can analyze your situation and help you select the option that is appropriate for you.

How Does Your NYSTRS Pension Fit Into Your Retirement Plan

At the New York Partners Group, our financial professionals will work with you to develop a comprehensive approach for looking at your retirement. Working as a team with your other financial professionals such as accountants and attorneys, we can help analyze your current situation, and where appropriate, make recommendations on how you might want to complement your existing defined benefit plan.

These include:

• How your defined pension might fit within your overall plan.
• How you may wish to receive distributions from your plan and the benefits and risks of each option.
• Consider your other sources of retirement income including personal savings, other investments, social security, and your spouse’s benefits.
• Strategies that may enhance your current pension plan.

Handling Retirement Income

• How do you make the most of your NYSTRS pension?
• When do you plan to start collecting Social Security benefits?
• How do these factors line up in your retirement financial picture?

The answer to these questions coupled with IRA distributions and any other revenue sources you may have form the basis of your retirement financial picture. Handling them properly is key to a financially secure retirement.

Is There Better Way?

You need to plan today to take care of tomorrow. Now is the time to consider your options so you have adequate resources and/or insurance at retirement to protect your spouse and not have to rely solely on your NYSTRS pension. In some cases, a life insurance policy death benefit can be used to supplement the income of the surviving spouse and allow the maximum retirement benefits to be drawn. You can rely on the professionals at New York Partners Group to approach this question objectively and provide you with both pros and cons to help you make a determination.

Link to New York State Retirement System: http://www.nystrs.org/