Finally, after a couple months of rumors and innuendo, the College formally announced their Retirement Incentive package. You can read about all the details here. In order to get the Retirement Incentive, senior faculty have to agree to teach the Fall Semester. A letter informing the College that I’m retiring has to be filed by September 30. Once I retire in January 2017, I’ll receive a check for $45,000 (there are also some annuity options I’ll consider so I won’t have to pay any taxes on that amount). In addition, the College will buy my Sick Hours (I have over 3,000). That money will go into an account that will pay for my Blue Cross/Blue Shield health insurance plan for the next decade or so. So I’ll be retiring at the end of the year. Thank you for all of your valuable Good Advice!
Congratulations, George!
It’s a good decision imho – do what you like now, before it’s too late. Enjoy your life with your wife and family! I’m sure you have a large list of things to do for which you never had the time.
PS:
I don’t want to scare you, but I’ve seen several friends pass away in their 60s (still on their jobs …) and they had so many grat plans for the future …
A bit OT – an old joke some Jewish friend told me:
A Rabbi is aked: When does life begin?
After some deliberation he answers:
When the dog is dead and the children have left the house …
Wolf, thanks for the good advice! We have no pets (because of our allergies) and Patrick and Katie took off for College years ago.
Yay! I’m sure Jackie will be happy to hear this too. It will take some getting used to, but once you do you will wonder how you ever had time to work!
Jackie also got paid for unused sick days. As I remember it, there was a limit of how many days you could have, but as she usually got sick from the kids at least once a year she was well under the limit!
Congratulations on the incentive and pulling the trigger.
Jeff, the Decision to retire made sense to Diane and me. There won’t be any more Incentives since the College will be struggling with low enrollment problems for years ahead.
Congratulations, George! I know you considered long and hard about your decision, and I don’t think you’re going to regret it. Just think of all the time you’ll have for reading big fat books!
Deb, thanks for your good advice! It’s hard to leave a job that I enjoy. But as Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman would sing, “Time to Say Good-Bye.”
Very nice. And congratulations! Not having to negotiate that winter snow will be great.
WSU doesn’t even acknowledge sick hours. But Phil’s package had good features too. Phil thought he would miss teaching a lot more than he does. He does miss having a more purposeful life than retirement allows. But he’s getting used to it. He did finish his book NIXON ON THE BEACH.
Patti, I’m sure I’ll follow Phil’s pattern: various projects beckon. You’re right: I won’t miss driving to work in the ice and snow!
congratulations!! You won’t regret the extra time you’ll have. Jeff nailed it: you’ll wonder how you did it all and work as well. Missing the students and the teaching will be the worst of it, you won’t miss the bureaucracy or commute. Maybe you’ll be able to do mentoring. Hey, you might be able to start a program.
Can we expect to see you & Diane at Left Coast Crime in Honolulu in 2017?
Maggie, thanks for your kind words! You’re right: I won’t miss the bureaucracy or grading all those student research papers! I will miss the magic of the classroom. Other than planned trips to BOUCHERCON in New Orleans and Toronto, our plans are vague. This retirement incentive happened faster that I expected.
I’m thrilled to hear you finally decided to take the money & scoot. But one thing I’ve seen happen with several friends is the prospect of your being invited back to teach a course or two (on the cheap) as adjunct faculty, or fill some administrative role in a crunch, or some such thing. Knowing you, I suspect you’d find it hard to say no – but don’t let them make a sucker out of you! Scrooge wouldn’t.
Art, thank you for your enthusiastic congratulations. Rest assured, I have no intention on going back to teach as an “Adjunct” professor. I’m closing that chapter of my Life when I retire.
I knew it! Congratulations!
Bill, I’m sure you sensed that I was leaning towards Retirement. Each year has been more demanding lately. Time to leave while I’m still at the top of my game like Jim Brown did.
Congrats in advance of the event, George. I don’t see any mention of a pension, just payout and medical. You will get a pension, yes? You’ll find retired life is a Very Good Thing.
Rick, my New York State Teachers’s Retirement System pension is roughly 80% of the average of my three highest years of salary. I’m leaning toward the “pop-up” option that allows Diane to keep collecting my pension should I pre-decease her (statistically probable). But, if the Kelley Luck kicks in and Diane dies before I do, my pension goes up $14,000 a year.
Congratulations, George! Your real retirement incentive is big fat books, I know, but the money will also come in handy.
Jerry, thanks for the kind words! Yes, I’m sure some of that Retirement Incentive money will purchase an ample supply of Big Fat Books to keep me busy!
Congratulations, George!
It’s nice to see someone golden get a golden parachute.
Beth, the Golden Parachute is big enough for Diane and me!
Congrats some more, George…it sounds like a good deal…
And to think a mere 42 years ago you were writing letters to IF…https://archive.org/stream/1974-06_IF#page/n173/mode/2up
Todd, where did you dig that old letter up? I think I wrote that letter before I started shaving!
The wonders of the internet – reading this letter made me look up my book&magazine list on my computer. Yes, i bought that issue of IF – but it’s in my library in Germany of course …
I’ll have a look at it when I travel there soon!
A bit OT: My list says that December 1074 was the last issue of IF, what a shame.
Wolf, I was a big fan of THE WORLDS OF IF for years.
Good on ya, George. Bills season tickets?
Rick, I’d invest in Buffalo Sabres tickets before I’d spend a dime on Buffalo Bills tickets. The Sabres are on the way up, the Bills are stuck in neutral.
Congratulation, Dr. Kelley! I wish you the best in this new upcoming chapter of your life. Of course, your retirement will be a loss for ECC and the students who will miss out on your classes, but it sounds like this decision will be good for you and your family. I certainly am grateful to have been able to learn from you 🙂
Lauren, my retirement will open the door to you and Patrick to take my place. I think both of you would make wonderful professors!
About damned time.