DSEA Action!

the commitment continues. . . Is retirement around the corner for you? - by Rich Phillips, DSEA-Retired President DSEA-Retired has scheduled two Pre-Retirement Workshops for the 20132014 school year. If you're thinking of retiring sometime this year, plan to attend one of the two workshops - Nov. 9 or March 22, 2014. he first of the workshops is Saturday, November 9th; it will be held at the Delaware State Troopers Association located at 6349 North DuPont Highway in Cheswold. This is a large meeting space with plenty of parking. A registration form is included on this page. Please make sure you submit your registration form no later than Friday, October 25. Kristen Boehmer, a specialist from the State Pension Office, will provide information about retirement in the State of Delaware. Kristen has presented for DSEARetired before and can answer any questions that you might have. In the past, the Pension Office has provided estimates to those who registered. Recently, however, they informed us that they would no longer provide estimates to attendees. However, Kristen will demonstrate the ease of using the online calculator on the pension website so that you can estimate your own pension. An added part to the workshop is Ben Shamburger who has up-todate knowledge of Social Security . He will cover eligibility requirements for Social Security retirement and important considerations concerning when to begin collecting benefits. He will also discuss survivor benefits, disability benefits and Medicare eligibility . Ben worked for Social Security for almost 15 years and served as the public affairs officer for the Eastern Shore for the last seven years before his retirement in 2011. Please keep in mind the various ways you may qualify for retirement: • Unreduced service pension benefit Ø 30 years of credited service at any age T www.dsea.org Ø Age 60 with at least 15 years of credited service Ø Age 62 with at least 5 years of credited service Ø 25 years of credited service at any age under age 60 (reduced .02% for each month employee is short of 30 years of credited service) • Reduced service pension benefit Ø Age 55 with at least 15 years of credited service (reduced .02% for each month employee is under age 60) • Vested Pension Benefit Ø Employee must have 5 consecutive years of service Ø Pension is effective for the month following the employee's 62nd birthday . Our workshops are FREE to all active DSEA members. If you are not a member of DSEA or if you are a guest of a member, a $5 charge is requested to help offset the cost of the facility and refreshments. The second workshop will be held on Saturday, March 22 at Delaware Technical & Community College, Georgetown. More details will follow in a future DSEA ACTION! September 2013 DSEA ACTION! 9

• Cover