Our CEO & Chairman of the Board, Dennis Smith and Vice Chairman, Peter Hayden want to hear from you.

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Q: Scott, Firefighter, San Francisco
I am just new on the job, and so why should I begin to think about retirement now?

A: Dennis
I have seen a kind of career cycle among first responders. First, there is the extraordinary excitement that comes from becoming a firefighter, nurse, EMT, or law enforcement officer. It is an unequalled enthusiasm not only for what you do, but for who you are, and what you have accomplished. You are a part of a great team and your life is focused on doing well, perhaps studying for promotion.

This excitement of new-ness lasts for about five years and then the enthusiasm for the job begins to be integrated into a more analytical view of your position. The romantic side of being a part of a respected uniformed force caring for others never ends completely, but your career will now begin to shift some into a serious questioning stage: Am I on the right career path? Am I spending too much time on events and interests that do not further my career? Am I being paid sufficiently, and does my spouse feel our family is economically secure? Have I protected my family sufficiently from any liabilities that might befall us? Do I have a handle on what kind of education I want to provide my children? What will my profession provide me for the next fifteen or twenty years in terms of health, retirement, and insurance benefits. You are still dreaming of wonderful times fishing, camping, traveling and playing outdoor games with your spouse and children. Life is an idea that you are molding into your own agenda and ideal. Perhaps you begin to study of promotion or maybe you start a little business on the side.

In your tenth year of work you might have already been promoted and you are in an advanced study program. You might even be the youngest Chief of Department or Chief of Staff in history, but then again you might have resolved to stay just where you find yourself in career placement and spend more time with your family or working in community charities. You find a pattern in your life which is acceptable, satisfying, and even fun. But, then, around your fifteenth year of work you will begin to worry about the challenges you see before you. Where is the money going to come from to pay the college bills for the children? Will you retire in five years or ten years or more? How are you planning for then end of your career? Will your savings supplement your pension so that you do not have to work a side job when you retire? Can you afford a retirement home, or should you take a reverse mortgage on the home you are in? Have you planned sufficiently so that your retirement years are a cup of tea rather than a constant challenge?

These questions of our current and retirement status change over time, but they exist for everyone to the same degree of seriousness. You must begin to think about these issues in the early stage of your career, maybe from the first week, for it takes a whole career span to save, invest, and spend your way to the final year of work. These final serious questions you ask yourself towards the end of your career should be discussed within your family, especially about the costs of education for the children and weekly retirement income when you at last put your paper in. Your family deserves this consideration and you deserve a happy retirement.