Faculty Talk Retirement at Planning Session

For the second-straight week, Duke Human Resources has worked with employees to help them better plan for retirement.

During a seminar March 4, 40 faculty from across Duke gathered to learn more about incoming planning, asset allocation and more. The workshop is part of a series of financial planning seminars to help staff and faculty better understand retirement options and how to reach their goals.

"I work hard to earn my money and I save my money, so I want it to work for me," said Nan Marie Jokserst, the J. A. Jones Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "A lot of people may think 'I'm going to work until I'm 90,' but people should explore what they want to do in their retirement and how they're going to do it financially."

Jokserst and her husband, Martin Brooke, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, plan to retire in about 10 years. She said that they last met with a retirement planner a couple years ago to ensure they are on track to be comfortable after retiring. They attended the session to confirm they are still following best practices.

"Martin is from New Zealand and after we retire, we want to spend a third or half a year abroad," Jokserst said.

Jokserst and Brooke's plans may be for 10 years out, but retirement may be coming earlier for other faculty members. Nearly a third of all faculty will be eligible to retire in five years.

Along with distribution options and Medicare, workshop attendees also learned how Social Security would factor into their post-work finances. Representatives from Duke's retirement vendors and Human Resources staff were also on-hand for a question-and-answer session to cover a variety of individual topics, like how taxes impact retirement income.

"One of the challenges with a topic like retirement is you have lots of people in very different places in terms of their understanding of planning and their retirement needs," said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president for administration. "What is great about a program like this is we start with a discussion that is applicable to everyone, but we also want time to get down into individual circumstances with everyone."

For Nancy Allen, that meant learning more about types of retirement accounts available to her and when is the best time to start receiving Social Security.

"It encourages me and my husband to think ahead and consider our future options regarding retirement," said Allen, professor of medicine with the Division Rheumatology and Immunology and vice provost for faculty diversity and development. "It's very helpful to hear the questions other faculty had related to Roth IRAs, Social Security and to have the experts discuss the experiences of others as they plan retirement."

Another faculty retirement workshop will be held in April and additional workshops for employees are planned as part of Financial Fitness Week in May. Financial Fitness Week sessions will be tailored for specific kinds of retirement planning, aiming to help faculty and staff no matter their savings history or current planning.