What's your retirement plan?

[Jon Miller]

also, what would you want to do outside academia?

I haven't thought of that part yet, I just thought through the finances again a couple weeks ago when I started preparing for the return to Chile (and living on my income and not on my grant's travel support) and came to the conclusion that it wasn't working. I asked my institution for a raise and am considering applying for NA professorships now instead of in ~2 years.

And I started thinking about leaving physics; I feel like the salary I am making currently is negatively impacting my family, my productivity, and my future.

JM

[Jon Miller]

how much do euroland postdocs pay?

2000 euros per month, net

JM

[pchang]

I thought income was the measure of a man? I thought making professional decisions for intangible reasons, like joining the Marine Corps, were irrational?

This is only true for fans of Nazi spin masters.

[Alexander's Horse]

I'd make a really bad grandparent - what are you doing papa? Smoking, you want a drag son? Don't tell grandma or your Dad.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

I had an excellent defined benefit pension scheme. It's now a fairly good defined benefit pension scheme. Bastards.

[KrazyHorse]

Aren't you the guy who looks at defined benefit pension plans and tells them how underfunded they are? If so, this shouldn't have been a surprise to you.

[Alexander's Horse]

I'm in a defined benefit scheme, backed by the government. There is always a risk the rules will change, they have already, or goalposts shift in other ways but the money side is solid. The Government would need to legislate through parliament to change the scheme, which is comforting.

I can retire at 55 and take an inflation indexed pension, which is quite comfortable. It works out at about a major or colonel's fulltime salary to put it in terms people might understand.

I'm 51 now. At 59 I can take a lump sum of contributions. The pension continues regardless.

If I die, my wife gets the pension at a slightly reduced rate. If we both die, the boys get the pension at a more reduced rate, until they are all in "full employment", whatever that means. if I die before pension age, they get a very generous pension. None of this is means-tested.

It's not a bad deal, but you have to put in the years. You need 30 years to make it worthwhile. They don't give you those years back.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Aren't you the guy who looks at defined benefit pension plans and tells them how underfunded they are? If so, this shouldn't have been a surprise to you.

Actually, that's not really true of the private sector schemes.

The FT raised this yesterday- http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9fc94250-9...#axzz3Od8HhzCP

Now that looks like doom and gloom, but they're including public sector schemes, which are basically run on the assumption that they'll be funded by the magic money tree. Meanwhile the private sector has been mostly following more prudent approaches, and about 75% of the schemes I saw over the past three years were showing a surplus position- and that's when valued on a prudent basis. The FT details average annualised returns of 9% over the past 5 years, and I was seeing returns even higher (10%-16% was the norm).

True- it's largely being driven by the distribution of surplus estate from With Profits funds, and that's not going to last forever. However most of these private sector schemes are pretty geriatric and have few outstanding liabilities left. In the meantime, this high returns have been a great slate-wiper.

And that's pretty much the case for the scheme I was in. It didn't have a deficit position, and the change was due to employee harmonisation changes. There are a number of other issues that cause raised eyebrows, but it's probably too esoteric to interest many people here. In fact, I've probably bored everyone to death already.

[pchang]

For US Companies, I think it really is doom and gloom.http://www.pbgc.gov/about/reports/ar...07ACNOV1720141

[Alexander's Horse]

Actually, that's not really true of the private sector schemes.

In fact, I've probably bored everyone to death already.

[FlameFlash]

Oh, my "actual" retirement plan is to live forever as part of my ever-expanding, universe-consuming, telepathic blob.

Wankersham?

[pchang]

No, just wanker.

[Dauphin]

2000 euros per month, net

JM

That wouldn't come close to cover my rent

[Lorizael]

Wankersham?

Google produces 476 results for this term, and I have no idea what it means.

[FlameFlash]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jidZCvGHdBM

Bravest Warriors