Day 20 - Retirement is really happening

Okay, I promised to write about retirement.  Now that my fantastic trip to Italy is but a memory, let me catch you up about retirement.  

While I was gone, I got my final check from the government.  This check included my last week of work, payment of my vacation days that I had not used, and my performance award.  That is great news for those of you who will be retiring.  Right on time.  It is good news because you won't get your first check until the month after you retire and then it won't be a full check.  OPM suggests that it will be about 60% of your real pension.  

The final check was a lot of money, but before you get excited, let me add some reality to the situation.  Since I got all of the money in one check, the taxes were unbelievable.  Federal tax - 24.5%, State tax - 6.5%, and Medicare was about 5 times what I normally would pay.  So, the net check was big, but not that big.

I figure I will live off this check for the months of October - December.  If I get an interim annuity/pension check in October, November and December, I'll save that money for the first three months of 2013, because I don't expect a full check until April, if I am lucky.  So in Jan-March I'll use the 6 partial checks, plus what I've saved.  But, it looks fine for now.  That's what is important.

While I was gone, I also got two envelopes from the Office of Personnel Management. One of them contained my Retirement Services Reference Card, which contained my Claim Number.  With this number, I can access the OPM website for retirees.  At the OPM site, I will be able to make changes to my pension such as getting OPM to deduct state taxes and make allotments.  I don't have the claim number password yet, so can't tell you how easy the program is to use, but it looks good.

I also got a big envelope from the Defense Logistics Agency through OPM.  This contained copies of the forms I submitted when I retired.  I've not had a chance to go through it all yet, but will and will let you know what they say.

I spent this morning taking the funds I received and transferring them to various accounts for annual bills, vacations, monthly bills and for cash.  I don't want to look at my checking account and think I have ALL THAT MONEY, when in reality, the money is already designated for bills.

So, within three weeks of your retirement, with any luck, you will have your end of your career check, your paperwork, and your retirement card to access services on-line.  Not too shabby really for government work.  Thank you, OPM.