Muji, most state and county employees are paid based on years of service, age and depending on contributory and non-contributory plans. You are normally eligible after 5 years of service and the age of 50. Benefits are different. I am not sure how state benefits are determined. County is based on sick leave hours and position.

Here is the information for your retirement. You can determine your monthly allowance based on worksheets:

https://sra.maryland.gov/retirement-estimators

Keep in mind that if you are union or have benefit deductions, these change ad they are no longer deducted. However if you have to pay a contribution for benefits that may make a difference in your allowance. On paper I make less than what is shown on my paychecks, but in reality because I don’t have union fees, employment fees and other fees, I make more. If I had retired at 65, I would have made over $2,000 more a month than working and with social security on top of that.

You might be surprised that you may make more retired than working., but calculate the difference. You will probably on paper based on 7 months early retirement loose a few hundred dollars, but because of less fees make more than you are now. The big thing is will you have healthcare and what will the cost be. (medical, vision and dental)

Best Wishes, Muji!

Due to my anxiety and having to be on Family medical leave I was contemplating retiring early. I would have lost some money but it wasn’t enough to stop me from doing it if I couldn’t go back to work. My problem was they were paying all my health ins and I would have been using most of my retirement money to pay for ins.
Thank the Lord I am back at work.

Thanks, Secouya. I checked in follow up to what you say here. It turns out that before 2011, when I began teaching at my community college, the minimum was 5 years of service as you say. The year I signed on it was doubled to 10. So I can't retire until July 1, 2021 because of the new doubled requirement of years of service requirement. Argh.

mattiemae52, yes, that's the other thing. If I retire before age 65 I don't qualify for Medicare. Figuring out health coverage in the couple of years before I turn 65 is a big issue.

I don't know, different country but a lawyer would know too. All the best to you

Hi Muji, you might check on disability retirement, but this often only a percentage of your retirement, like half. There is a way to kind of retire early but it takes cooperation of your doctor, you can go out on disability. I am not sure of the laws in your area, but where I am it counts as employment time. You can be out for a year. Your doctor has to ok it. Then in July put in for your retirement. You probably should retire July 5th or a few days in so your state will cover benefits for that month. The thing is that you have to maintain an address in your state to receive the disability because technically you are still employed.

My grandfather, the one after whom I'm named, faked disability to get early retirement, so though his unethical scofflaw behavior had nothing to do with me, I'm a little sensitive about disability myself. Plus, my young boss where I work has displayed a pattern of ageism with older colleagues for 10 years now where I work, trying to keep her job in the face of slipping student enrollment by forcing instructors she supervises into early retirement or disability at every opportunity. I came back from teaching a class once to find she'd let my college's human resources disability officer into my office with a master key to ambush me with a suggestion that it was "time" for me.

Rather than see that as insulting I guess I could see that as an opportunity, but given how insulted I am by that and how ashamed I am of my grandfather I decided to work to retirement without disability. Maybe it's foolish pride, but just speaking for me from my own context it seems like integrity A few more months and I will have preserved my integrity in the midst of all of this.

I know that these times are incredibly stressful Muji....... Teaching is really hard on people.... I know that my landlord/roomie hasn't been himself at all and he is wiped out

If you don't want to take disability then think about taking a few sick days.... This isn't fugging it...

You have chronic illness one of which is PTSD and this is incredibly stressful

You aren't your grandfather and your boss has been a royal pain.... To hell with her.... Take good care of you....

You don't have to take disability but please don't make yourself sick with anxiety because of pride....

Big hug.... I'm glad that today is Friday..... xo

Muji, sorry if you found this insulting. I in no way meant to offend you. You have a valid disability with kidney disease and PTSD, so there is no faking involved. It’s just a way you could fill the gap if you are ready to leave, but don’t have quite enough time. Mirroring what SunCloud said, you are not your grandfather and a very honorable person. However, nothing is worth jeopardizing your health. You deserve to be able to have enough health to really enjoy your retirement.

Hope you had a Good Friday. Enjoy the weekend!

Muji, I wish I had solid advice to give you but all I can say is I am in your corner. The pandemic has forever altered the whole world. We never went back to “normal” after Pearl Harbor or 9/11. But we did adapt as best we could.

Retire soon as you can. Good luck. Keep us updated.

Oh, no, Secouya, you didn't insult me, it was my boss and her sending a disability officer to my campus office to ambush me that insulted me. I asked her later why she'd done that and she said I'd taken 6 sick days during that school year. Six? It was early in my now 10 year struggle with chronic kidney disease, so I thought that keeping it down to 6 was pretty good. It was certainly well within what our contract allows.

I got past it by finding out that it was a general pattern of age discrimination campus wide by my boss and her boss, both of whom were young and ambitious. My closest associate was C., the head of the nurses aide program, and they got her to retire at mid year. First, they took away her secretary, assigning her elsewhere. Then they took C's office and made her, a boss, share an office with several part time faculty in a room in the back of a building at the remote far side f campus. With me, they took my office away and move me to another one so as to give mine to a person who wasn't even an instructor. She was an assistant to our testing center.

C and I have tenure, but stuff like that is meant for us to want to resign and retire early. It's working. Wish I could at mid year like C did now.

Age discrimination isn't the only kind at my school. We have 20% African American students, but zero African American tenured instructors. I think we've set some sort of dubious record there. Some day I'd expect my school to have to face a law suit over one kind of discriminatory practice of another, and I really would like to be gone before that happens. Knowing my boss and her boss, even if they lost they likely wouldn't learn a lesson from it.

Sorry Muji for what you have endured. It’s very stressful to work under those types of conditions.

Your boss is outrageous Muji..... Really awful..... She shouldn't be in the position that she is.... Big hug.....xo

I know, SC. I had a 30 year career at 5 other schools before coming to this one 10 years ago, and I never had a bad boss before. Lots of things went down, sure, no job was perfect. But I always had a fair boss before this one. I try to remember that as I put up with the shenanigans of the current situation. It wasn't always like this, and most bosses were really great to me. This one has issues of her own, it's not me.

Of course it’s not you muji. You’ve too much self awareness and you work on your issues. I wish everyone including your boss had the same mindset.
Just remember we are in your corner whatever happens.

Stay the full term. No one in any forum knows a thing about all of this. Don't take any chances.