Where Is My Retirement Now That I Need It?

I am 76 years old, and worked as a part-time instructor at a local community college for several years. I accumulated $1943.73 in my Oregon PERS Individual Account Program (IAP) from this employment. These monies were paid into my account by me and/or my employer. The IAP PERS account is in my name and periodic letters showing the status of this account were mailed to me at my home.


I ceased working for the community college June 8, 2009. I have never and do not work for any other Oregon State organization. I decided to retire from state service and apply for my IAP Distribution. I did so on September 11, 2009. The amount of money in this IAP Account is so low that I decided it would make more sense to apply for the retirement monies in one lump sum. The written rules on the IAP Application form allows for this. I applied for Oregon PERS to send this IAP Retirement distribution to me.


I have called Oregon PERS about every 60 to 90 days to check on the status of this application, and each time was told that due to the heavy work load at PERS, it would take at 90 days to 120 days to process this application. I was also eventually told that my papers of application were in order and that I would receive a check shortly (another 90 to 120 days).


Finally on March 15, 2010, I received a letter from Oregon PERS informing me that my work in a PERS-covered position was non-qualifying for IAP contributions and therefore they rejected my request for distribution of the funds in my IAP account. I called Oregon PERS on March 17, 2010 and was told that one must have worked 600 hours per year to be eligible for benefits.


I have a few serious questions.


1) To whom do the monies held in my name by Oregon PERS actually belong? If the monies are not mine, why were they collected from my previous employer?


2) What does Oregon PERS do with monies collected in the name of someone's retirement, but permanently kept in PERS' own company account?


3) Shouldn't public employees know that their retirement funds may never be distributed to them upon their retirement?


4) Have I completely misunderstood the function of a PERS Retirement Fund?

Can Unemployed Part Time Teachers Draw Unemployment?

HOW TO DRAW UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION WHEN YOU ARE AN UNEMPLOYED PART-TIME TEACHER.

PROBLEM:

Most states have passed legislation denying unemployment compensation to teachers during so-called “Vacation Times.” This is to prevent teachers from being paid from the school system and the state unemployment system simultaneously. These “Vacation” periods are generally during religious holidays and summer recess.

Full-time college and K-12 teachers are contracted with the school. Such contract is usually from 8 to 12 months in duration. Unless stated otherwise, these contracts are usually continued in succeeding years. Contracts between school systems and teachers frequently have paid non-working periods for holidays and times between teaching sessions.

Whereas this may seem reasonable for full-time teachers, it is NOT reasonable for part-time college and K-12 teachers. They are usually hired to teach occasional classes, quarters or semesters and are paid by the hour. The contract between the school and the part-time teacher almost always definitely states that such teaching duties do not lead to any tenure or assurance of future employment.

This working relationship between employer and employee is similar to the situation common with migrant workers. They are hired to do a specific job, and when the job is finished they are free to seek further employment elsewhere. Migrant workers are also generally paid by the job or by the hour. Migrant workers, however, are eligible to receive unemployment compensation during periods of unemployment.

Approximately 30 % to 80% of the teachers in community colleges, 4-year colleges, and universities are part-time! Most are denied unemployment compensation by their state agencies, are ignorant of their rights, and never even try to qualify for unemployment compensation. This means that hundreds of teachers do not benefit by any unemployment system.

SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM:

If you are a part-time employee (including teachers) and are laid off, or your job is finished, or you are not rehired, you may qualify for unemployment compensation. If you wish to draw unemployment compensation when you are out of work in your capacity as a part-time teacher, it is important to make the case that your part-time status is completely different from that of a full-time status. The names may be similar, but the contracts are entirely different.

You must, however, follow certain simple steps and rules. It is also best to put all your correspondence in writing. Remember, VERBALS DON’T GO! People frequently don’t remember verbal conversations as you might.

1. APPLY for unemployment compensation. You must ask for it.

2. DO NOT resign from your place of employment. Never put yourself in a position where the unemployment office thinks you QUIT working.

3. OBTAIN a letter from your place of employment stating that you are not scheduled to be hired for the next work period (quarter or semester). This letter will usually be from the Director of Human Resources and can be handed to you or mailed by the Human Resource office to the state unemployment compensation office. Definitely get a letter from your place of work. If they refuse, write a letter to the state unemployment compensation office and so inform them. Send a copy to the Director of Human Resources at your former workplace. The state unemployment office will then take care of the matter for you.

4. SEND a letter to the state unemployment compensation office stating that you would be happy to accept immediate employment, either part or full time, with your previous employer.

5. APPLY for any and all jobs that you are qualified for in your home area. Do this continually. The state unemployment office will be happy to help you do this.

6. BE ready to appeal an adverse ruling by the state unemployment office, and attend a hearing (usually via telephone) if necessary. This puts the decision making into the hands of a third party who will mostly likely give you an unbiased opinion.

7. REMEMBER to always be polite, even if you don’t like the final decision. Your case should prevail if you follow this list, and you have all your “ducks in order.” Follow the law and remember that you are a professional.

CONCLUSION

Best of luck! Two of us part-time teachers at Oregon Coast Community College have successfully succeeded and drawn unemployment compensation.

Student Loans

Revised Blog:  Saturday, June 25, 2011

Today seems to be another rave for my ranting. I don't know whether to follow the Bard ("suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune") or rant a bit ("Was soll all der Schmerz und Lust" Goethe) or just shut up and quit whining.

Friday I received a letter from a collection agency suggesting that if I didn't pay the balance on my student loan, they would "stand me on my head and pound sand ..............my ass." It seems that there is a balance of $2,500 on a student loan I took out almost 30 years ago with Sallie Mae. With the interest and fees and fines, the amount of money they are asking for is $15,000.

It also seems that they are as inept at correspondence as they are at book keeping. They never respond to my letters to them, but every so often I get a missive from them (Sallie Mae and whomever). Well anyway I don't have the money, and if I did I think I would take up drinking and spend it all on booze.

I believe that the arrogance and stupidity of government agencies increase logarithmically as you go from the very local level to the international level. I believe dealing with County Government is 10 times worse than the Local Government. The State Government 10 times worse than the County, and so forth. If this is true, then it would explain the condition our Country and World are in.

Thanks. I feel better now. Do we have debtor's prisons yet?

I’ll conclude by saying that, in spite of the cost, a college education is worth the time and money spent obtaining it. I believe this is true financially in the long run, but more important, for self-esteem and acquired knowledge.

How much does it cost to get a Ph.D.?

That is not a simple question, and there is no simple answer. If I assume you are asking about fees, tuition, living expenses, and are not including costs involving time and/or headaches, that simplifies your question some. Even so, you cannot forget there are monetary costs due to:

1.  Income you didn’t earn while you went to school,

2.  Income lost because of opportunities you missed while your head and body  were buried in academic work. Sticking with cash outlay costs, you will have to pay for tuition, fees, books and office supplies. These expenses vary from school to school. And there is no guarantee that you can finish the degree work in a set time.

When I went to the University of Minnesota (1950’s), an average Ph.D. degree took about 8 years.  At least half of that time was spent doing the research for the degree. It is rare that schools expect you to put in that kind of time now.

Northrup Auditorium Twin City Campus

I had to pass 2 foreign language exams, a 2-week written comprehensive exam over all subjects, and a 4 hour oral preliminary exam. At the end of my research period, I took a 4 hour exam in defense of my thesis. This was years ago and I still shudder when I think about my oral comprehensive examination. I was asked questions in German (not my native tongue), and in fields completely out of my major area of interest. Fortunately one rarely has to go through such an ordeal in this day and age. The cash expenses are bad enough. Today you should figure it will take about 4 years or so to finish your doctoral work after you get your Bachelor’s Degree.

I recommend that you shop around the different schools and determine actual cash outlays. I would also find out if there are available Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships, Scholarships, and/or an available part-time job in the department where you would work.

There is also the possibility of a student loan from some government agency. Stay away from these if you can. A $200.000 or $300,000 bill doesn’t make a good graduation present, and these loans must be paid off after you graduate.


So! Not counting living expenses, It could easily cost $20,000 to $30,000 per year to work toward a Ph.D. And it may take 4 or so years to get it.    Is it worth it? Financially?

Probably NOT!

My father-in-law was a Full Professor at the University of Minnesota and in 1950 had a salary of about $5,000 per year. A Master Plumber, at that time, made about $2,500 per year. Today a beginning College Professor makes about $40,000 per year, and a Plumber makes about $90,000 per year. And the plumber doesn’t have to pay off his school expenses.

In Industry or Government Agencies, a beginning Ph.D. will make between $35,000 to $65,000 per year. 

Oregon Coast Community College

Locally (Newport, OR) a Greeter working half time at Wal-Mart makes about as much money as a part-time Ph.D. at Oregon Coast Community College.

No one can predict salary structures over the next 30 years.

Having said all the above, would I do it again? YES!!!!

The rewards of a doctoral education are worth more to me than any cash outlays to get the degree!  If money is your only objective then the older system of learning as you work has some merit!

Conclusion:

1. Contact the school you are interested in and find out the actual expenses.

2. Talk with the person who likely be your Academic Advisor.

3. Examine all possible financial aids however and wherever they are.

4. Analyze why you want to get a Ph.D. degree in the first place.

5. Don’t be surprised if you spend between $150,000 and $200,000 to get
    through graduate school.

6. Realize that provided you satisfy basic needs, job satisfaction is probably       more important than total monies earned.

Perhaps one could reduce the cost of an education by implementing methods to improve retention of knowledge and increase the speed of learning.