Considering Jumping Ship? A Pirate Looks At Retirement

Abstract

If you’re like me, a “senior” faculty member at a public state university facing significant budget cuts, recently you’ve probably thought about leaving your current position for another faculty position in a different state. A possible reason for considering jumping ship is envisioning a clearer picture of your retirement as it nears on the horizon – a retirement that does not look quite what you had projected ten years ago, due to the that fact that you elected the defined contribution (DC) plan (often referred to as an “optional” or “alternate” retirement plan at universities) rather than the traditional defined benefit (DB) state employee pension plan when you first arrived at your university 20-odd years ago (which was the right choice, at that time, given the information available…keep reminding yourself of that), and then seeing the value of that retirement account drop considerably two-three years ago. Although your retirement account may have mostly recovered, there are still those lost years of growth that may have you second-guessing your previous decision. Alas, that decision cannot be undone, but a new decision can be created by moving to another state. It is this possible decision that is the topic of this paper. What factors should be considered in choosing between the traditional DB plan and the optional DC plan for an individual who cannot necessarily reach the maximum benefit under the DB plan?