The Dream of Retirement

By Randy Logan, CLU, ChFC
WEA Tax Sheltered Annuity Trust

Investing now can help make it come true

We all dream of retirement. Images of ocean sunsets and rolling fairways fill our minds. Finally, we’ll have time to garden, travel, or read the latest best seller. For those who plan early, these dreams can become a reality. For those who don’t, they will remain only that — dreams. Whether you are 30 or 50 years old, if you want a secure, comfortable retirement, you need to start preparing now.

If you don’t know where to begin, or if you need more information about what to do, your WEA Tax Sheltered Annuity Trust (TSA Trust) can help. The TSA Trust was created by WEAC to give its members a viable alternative to higher-cost, commercial tax-sheltered annuities (TSAs). As a member benefit, the TSA Trust offers comprehensive financial programs and services tailored to your needs.

The TSA Trust has grown to become the largest TSA program in Wisconsin’s public schools. And, as a popular commercial says, membership has its rewards. As more of you have elected to participate, the TSA Trust has leveraged the collective buying power of the group to improve benefits and reduce costs for its participants.

Due to this leverage, the TSA Trust recently announced a fee reduction effective January 1, 1998. The WEA TSA Trust has no front-end fees, no contribution fees, no mortality expense charge, no surrender penalty or withdrawal fee, and no back-end loads. What this means is that you can be assured your money will work harder for you — and when you retire, you need not be concerned about waiting for your money or timing your withdrawals to avoid surrender penalties.

The TSA Trust staff can help you discover what it will take for you to bridge your “retirement income gap” and make your dreams a reality. So, if you would like to retire early or simply assure financial security for yourself and your loved ones throughout your retirement years, give the TSA Trust a call at 1-800-279-4030. You can speak with a retirement consultant to get answers to your questions about retirement, or to simply learn more about tax-sheltered annuities.

The dilemma of long-term care

Ask yourself these questions: “If something happens to me so that I’m unable to do everyday activities that I now take for granted (such as eating or taking a shower), do I have friends or family members who can help me with those things? Are those people available whenever I need them to help? If friends or family can’t help, can I afford to hire someone?”

Or to turn the questions around, if you’re married, would you be able to take care of your spouse on a daily basis if something happened to him or her? For most of us, the answers to such questions aren’t easy. You may want to take care of your spouse, for example, but that may not be possible. You may need to stay employed to pay your bills and take care of your kids. Or, your spouse may need special care that can only be provided by a registered nurse. Which means you must either hire someone to come to your home or to take your spouse somewhere to be cared for while you work. Either way, such care is expensive — about $3,000 a month.

It’s true that most people are not going to need long-term care until later in life. Still, 40% of those who need it are working-age adults and 3% are children under 18. Almost none of these people have protection against the staggering costs of paying for such care. Unfortunately, neither do the 57% of those who are 65 or older.

You may be asking yourself: Doesn’t my group health insurance cover this type of care? No. Health insurance policies don’t cover long-term care. But, what about Medicare or Medicaid? Sorry. The simple truth is: There is very little financial assistance available to pay for long-term care. Sure, Medicaid does pay for some, but only if you practically have no money of your own and then only if you are residing in a nursing home. Otherwise, the brunt of costs are borne by those who need long-term care and their families.

Group plans and individual policies

If you have financial assets to protect, you may want to consider long-term care (LTC) insurance. WEAC’s insurance program has both group and individual plans that offer protection against the cost of long-term care. The group plan is the most economical way for school employees to get LTC coverage. A number of school districts in the state have already purchased group LTC protection for their employees through WEA Insurance. And, while the group plan covers you and your spouse and is far less expensive than an individual plan, a group plan must be bargained in your district by your local. If you want more information on the group plan, call 1-800-279-4000.

If your district does not have group LTC coverage, the WEAC Member Benefit Trust now offers an individual plan for you and your spouse. This plan can also be purchased to cover your parents and minor children, and it is even available to those covered by the group plan. For more information, call 1-800-232-6632.

Randy Logan is a retirement consultant at the WEA TSA Trust.

February 5, 1998