Before I retired, payday was always the last weekday of the month and it was my responsibility to pick up payroll checks at the Business Office and take them to my school site for distribution. If an employee had direct deposit, they got a voucher instead of a paycheck. Paydays always put everyone in good spirits even if it was only once a month. We usually had a staff potluck that added to the upbeat mood.
Now that we're retired, our "payday" is the first day of the month and our pensions are direct deposited to our bank accounts. Deposits to savings are automatic and since most of our bills are on auto-pay, there are few, if any, checks to write. There are no more contributions to be made to our retirement accounts. Our fine-tuned budget works well to meet our needs. Payday does not seem all that special anymore.
Nonetheless, I was pleasantly surprised today when I checked my bank account and saw I received the 2% COLA, which is supposed to be issued every October 1. Due to the bleak state of the California economy, I was afraid there would be no COLA. To celebrate, I'm taking dh out for pizza... so there goes my raise.
We keep telling ourselves we're fortunate to have pensions backed by legislation that supposedly makes them secure. But the skeptic in me wonders how long California will stay solvent. So I'm wary of the worst that could happen and glad we've saved enough to at least pay our basic expenses if our pensions dry up. As bad as it would be to lose our pensions, at least we’d have a roof over our heads and be able to buy groceries. But our traveling plans would need serious modification.
My dh often comments that being retired is like having a week of Saturdays. And I'm not complaining... it's great to have the time and flexibility to do whatever we feel like doing and best of all, to have "jobs" we can't be fired from. But I still miss the celebratory atmosphere of payday.
Pay Day and a Raise
October 1st, 2010 at 02:40 pm
October 1st, 2010 at 05:52 pm 1285955548
October 1st, 2010 at 09:15 pm 1285967744
October 2nd, 2010 at 09:31 am 1286011909
Jerry
October 7th, 2010 at 02:41 pm 1286462510
A few years ago, my brother retired. I asked him how he liked it and he said, "I miss my weekends." I didn't get it at the time but I do now that I no longer have a nine-to-five job.
I feel that my pension is fairly secure being that the Feds can print money but I can see how it could be greatly devalued if things get really bad. I'm naturally optimisitic, however, and do not think the worst will come to pass.
Still, I am taking steps to create additional income streams so that I would remain financially independent even if the pension were to stop.