Editor’s Note: In PoliceOne “Frst Person” essays, our Members and Columnists candidly share their own unique view of the world. This is a platform from which individual officers can share their own personal insights on issues confronting cops today, as well as opinions, observations, and advice on living life behind the thin blue line. This week’s feature is from PoliceOne Member Steve Evans of the Oregon Dept. of Justice, who recently retired after 48 years in law enforcement. Do you want to share your own perspective with other P1 Members? Send us an e-mail with your story.
By Steve Evans
Oregon Dept. of Justice
I recently retired after 48 years in law enforcement. I retired from street police work as Chief of the Reedsport, (Ore.) Police Department on the South Coast a while back, and now after nearly 18 years in the Intelligence Unit of the Oregon DOJ, I’m really retired. Well, okay, I’m still working as a part time contractor until the end of the year.
I thought I was prepared for retirement. I was wrong, but fortunately not too far wrong. It turns out that there were things I could have done four dozen years ago that would have better prepared me to retire — basic things that would not have cost very much, even on the tight budget my family lived with back in 1960. I’ll share those things with you here.
The first thing is this: don’t just rely on your retirement or Social Security because ether one could change drastically between now and the time you retire. Social Security is floundering. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that private enterprise can make any changes they wish to their retirement programs. There is no such decision yet about public retirement programs, but who knows what could happen in the future. Start saving some money now, even if it’s just ten or twenty dollars a month. Over twenty or thirty years, that can amount to a sizeable bag of bucks. Next, don’t touch it, not even in an emergency. It’s not for today, it’s for tomorrow.
Although we don’t usually anticipate it, nearly eighty percent of you are going to get divorced. If you can, protect your retirement from splitting it with your ex-spouse. Give them the house, the car, nearly anything you have, as long as they will agree to leave your retirement alone in a divorce settlement. Otherwise, you’ll be splitting that retirement in two. If that happens, you’d better increase that amount you’re saving from ten to twenty, to forty or fifty bucks a month. The key is this: don’t just expect your public retirement program is all you’re going to need and it will always be there, just the way it is today. Help it out from the start of your career, not within five years of the time you retire.
Also, if you are one of those people who happens to be living month to month on your salary as your retirement approaches, you are going to be in financial trouble when you actually retire, because your first retirement check is probably not going to come through immediately. It may take up to three months before you actually see a retirement check, so plan for that eventuality. You also want to start planning a budget for living on your retirement income before you retire, not when you retire. If there are retirement planning classes available, by all means go to one. They can answer nearly all your questions, including how to fill out the forms, which is essential to assure quick action on your retirement.
Finally, anytime it’s possible, make larger payments on your house than required by your lender. The larger amount pays principal, not interest, so your house gets paid off quicker. The optimum situation at retirement is for your house to be paid for — free and clear. Major loans for things like plasma TVs and cars should be paid off too. Plan in advance to make sure these things happen and you are assured of a pretty trouble free, smooth retirement process that will make your life easier and a lot more fun when you pull the pin.
