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Soon2bRET
04-13-2008, 02:50 PM
With a little less than 5 years to go, I'm trying to decide what to do next. I have a few things in mind such as: Getting my M.S. in accounting and becoming a CPA (I'll need 45 credits to be eligible) or maybe law school.

Any other ideas? How about the retired guys here.

Unregistered234567654
04-13-2008, 06:24 PM
With a little less than 5 years to go, I'm trying to decide what to do next. I have a few things in mind such as: Getting my M.S. in accounting and becoming a CPA (I'll need 45 credits to be eligible) or maybe law school.

Any other ideas? How about the retired guys here.

the best advice I can give you is don't expect what you will do next will live up to your expectations. Bng a cop for 20 years is a very unique situation. despite all the bitching and moaning most cops do, you are pretty much your own boss when you really come down to it. Honest? You don't have to produce much as a cop if you don't want to. If you screw up nobody is really going to knock you down. You can pretty much slip and slide for 20 years and nobody will care. Now you will go out into the real world and some little POS is going to order you around when you were on top of the world.

I also have an accounting degree way back. Did pretty good in school. Hated it and became a cop instead.

I would strongly suggest to you that you NOT seek employment doing law enforcement work. If you do that you will be doing what you are doing now so you may as well stay.

You will have the benefit of time that your pension gives you to make the best decision you can. Be aware that there may be some who will hire you and think you should work for less because you already have a pension. Remember that YOU worked for the pension, not them.

Stay out of Pvt Eye business. Make the break entirely. Law school isn't a bad idea. Whatever rocks your boat.

If you intend to retire do it no later than like 47. Once you hit the Big 5-0, it is getting too late for the legitimate job market.

Do whatever you want, but make sure you believe u will like it.

Soon2bRET
04-13-2008, 06:48 PM
I'm a 20 and out guy; one of the reasons why I became a cop was the pension. I'm looking for a 2nd career that will pay me a decent wage. I'll be 42 when I retire and I plan on working for at l another 20 years; our pension does not have a COLA so by the time I'm 62 my pension will only be worth half (in terms of buying power)

Unregistered5985867
04-13-2008, 08:09 PM
I'm a 20 and out guy; one of the reasons why I became a cop was the pension. I'm looking for a 2nd career that will pay me a decent wage. I'll be 42 when I retire and I plan on working for at l another 20 years; our pension does not have a COLA so by the time I'm 62 my pension will only be worth half (in terms of buying power)


YOUR post tells me a lot about you - I think. Not a die hard cop, just a guy probably who takes pride in doing what the best he can do without going overboard. You sound like you know what you want. Some guys can't leave the Job because they will lose a sense of importance holding on to a badge.

You seem to have already fufilled a lot of young boy's dream of growing up and playing cops and robbers. Twenty years is enough. How about going into teaching? There are always FED jobs open for something or other if you want another pension. The only problem with a pension is you have to live to get it. And there are no guarantees about that so far as I know.

What you should be thinking about NOW is to figure out a way to get 3/4's. Then you can spend your time chatting with me on the Internet.

How about taking one of those aptitude tests they give to find your hidden talents.

Just be true to yourself. I worked with a guy who went off and became a multimillionaire. In terms of money and recognition, the guy was the biggest success story of anyone I ever worked with, or knew about. One of his problems was that he was a miserable bastard while he was a cop, but he truly enjoyed bng a cop. He didn't have two quarters to rub together. Now he is a Bi-Coastal resident. And he is still a miserable bastard even worse than he was without money.

You have nothing to prove to anyone. Be a janitor or a CEO. The important thing is to be happy and provide for the family.

Best of luck. I got a feeling you will make the right decision.

Unregistered99999998
04-13-2008, 08:21 PM
With a little less than 5 years to go, I'm trying to decide what to do next. I have a few things in mind such as: Getting my M.S. in accounting and becoming a CPA (I'll need 45 credits to be eligible) or maybe law school.

Any other ideas? How about the retired guys here.

I would think you already have good communication skills bng a cop for 15 years. I know of a couple of guys who became TV reporters and seemed to have enjoyed it.

I worked with one kid in the PD, he was an intern ADA. I had cases with him to keep an ambitious kid on the reservation. Great fun kid named Jerry. One could just sense something about the kid that he had something special. He wanted to come back next year as a full fledged ADA. He was rejected for whatever reason. He was gone and the next time I saw him was on TV doing an Investigative TV piece called: Willowbrook. You know him as GERALDO.

Not only did he change his chosen profession, he changed his NAME.

My Vet is a Cornell Law Graduate who had a measure of success working at a white shoe law firm. The world was his oyster. He gave up his ticket and went back to Cornell to be a VET. And he seems happy.

Be true to yourself. You can fool even those closest to you, but you will never fool yourself forever. You will always know the truth about yourself and will regret it one day if you don't try to be what you can be.

I have been retired now for 15 years not doing much of anything. And I am perfectly content doing what I am doing.

Soon2bRET
04-13-2008, 08:25 PM
Thanks unregistered. In the last 5 years I've thought about (and tried working towards) half a dozen or so post-retirement careers. Just to recap:

1) I tried teaching as an adjunct (I have an M.A. in Crim Justice) and did not like it.
2) I did taxes for 2 seasons. It was somewhat enjoyable.
3) I took flight lessons bec. I wanted to be a pilot (got bored)
4) Tried selling real estate (I have no patience showing houses)
5) Worked security (no thanks)
6) Studied for and took the GMAT and LSAT in case I wanted an MBA or law degree. The law degree is still up in the air; I discovered www.jdunderground.com and the lawyers there talked me out of going to law school (It's a website where disgruntled lawyers discuss the profession)
7) I must have attended half a dozen seminars/info sessions for various franchises (I've looked into Subway, Dunkin Donuts [too expensive], H&R Block [maybe], Hungtington Learning Center, etc...)


...and I still don't know what I want to do!!! lol
The best thing about this job is at age 42, I'll be exactly where I was when I graduated college...young, full of life and have no idea what I want to do; the only difference is I won't be broke.

Unregistered098697
04-14-2008, 11:03 AM
Do yourself a favor and as a Tier 2 guy, stay until 32 years and retire with 70%. If you want to go to get further schooling, the job has a great program to pay a great portion of your tuition. Further, you can work part time as a teacher, lawyer, or whatever. If you think you are not "hireable" after 50 years of age, you are clearly mistaken, as you are.
Good luck

Unregistered89090988
04-14-2008, 11:34 AM
DON'T you just envy those peope who know what they want to do almost minutes after they pop out of the womb?

What you have to understand is you will NEVER find a job like the one you have. few can come to work and the rule is there are no rules for the day. In an instant of a second your day, or your life can go from boring to excitement - good or bad. Unless you want to be an astronaut or a Navy Seal, that is not about to happen.

You sound like a guy who would say about the PD : been there, done that, and it is time to move on. Some guys can't bring themselves to do that. Thr lives revolve around bng a cop.

Unregistered96345
05-02-2008, 07:19 PM
I just checked out jdunderground and looked through the pages of threads and there's one mentioning this thread:

http://www.jdunderground.com/thread.php?threadId=14779

-----

good luck in whatever you decide to do in retirement.

wayne horseley
05-02-2008, 08:22 PM
i wanna be a cop!

he y now
05-03-2008, 12:32 PM
Its nice to see a forum on this site that is congenial and actually offers some good advice. As many say, the biggest benefit to law enforcement is the ability to retire at a young age and move on to another career - something related or something totally different. At this point, not sure what I will be doing. I have my masters degree so the thought of teaching at a college somewhere is somewhat enticing...and the thought of sitting on a beach somewhere in the Florida Keys sounds nice too.

blueclaw
05-04-2008, 07:34 PM
Just curious...What didn't you like @ teaching as an adjunt prof. in college? I'm using tuition rmbursement from the PBA to work on my masters in CJ right now b/c I had hoped to go into teaching after I retire (this is still a long way off). I don't plan on writing books or become some world-renowed CJ expert, I just thought I'd enjoy earning a masters and one day teaching 100 and 200 level CJ classes at a community college to students from working-class and middle-class backgrounds that have a genuine interest in going into LE. Thoughts?

Unregistered876
05-04-2008, 07:44 PM
You won't get rich and you may or may not get satisfaction teaching but I urge all of you who contemplate retiring at 20 years to recognize that many worked hard for years to get the 1/60th so your pension would increase exponentially by staying longer than 20 years. Also, your time off, longevity, raises, etc. make it a smart move to stay as long as you don't hate what you are doing.

You would also well to study for promotion as your pension benefit also increases as a result. I have seldom met a cop who retired after 20 years that DIDN'T regret it and wished he had stayed longer. Seldom have I met a disgruntled retiree who did 32 or 35 years and they usually don't have to work at all.

former prof
05-05-2008, 06:30 PM
Just curious...What didn't you like @ teaching as an adjunt prof. in college? I'm using tuition rmbursement from the PBA to work on my masters in CJ right now b/c I had hoped to go into teaching after I retire (this is still a long way off). I don't plan on writing books or become some world-renowed CJ expert, I just thought I'd enjoy earning a masters and one day teaching 100 and 200 level CJ classes at a community college to students from working-class and middle-class backgrounds that have a genuine interest in going into LE. Thoughts?

Adjuncts on the island take in around 1.8-2.5k per class. It works for the school - figure $300/credit, 3 credit CJ class, 20 students, no bene's to the prof. Not a bad deal for them.

3 classes is usually the max they allow adjuncts - as per the various teachers CBA's out there (especially in a community college), so you are looking around $3500 per semester take home. Truly a hobby.

Scholarship is also an important criteria, so you're gonna have to publish in your area - which might be a possibility while in a MS program.

Another realm of concern is your subject area - CJ is not a core subject - some colleges don't even have it - others that have the classes may not have CJ departments - they lump it into Behavioral Sciences or Social Sciences. Given the ratio of retired cops to courses on the island, you're probably in for a fight to get a slot.

Best school you can get into. Highest degree you can get (not all at once). Willingness to relocate. Publication.

goog luck

Unregistered765
05-05-2008, 09:28 PM
Teach part-time, stay on the job long enough to maximize your benefits. Go to school, law school, et. al, and have it subsidized through the tuition rmbursement program available and leave when you have gotten the maximum pension benefit. The grass may seem greener out there but there are few jobs better than this one for time off, flexibility and all-around fun.

You will miss it and the people you work with, I guarantee you that.

Good luck

blueclaw
05-05-2008, 11:58 PM
I'm going for my Master's right now at Boston University (on-line...I get the same degree if I had attended classes in person). it costs @ 30k but if I only take 3 classes a year tuition rmbursement will cover it all when it's all said and done. I def. plan on the 32 year retirement (with prior NYPD time and after my 3 year military 'buy-back') at which point I'll retire when I'm 54 (not exactly a spring chicken but not one foot in the grave ther). I'll have better benefits from my pension than 95% of the active workforce so the bennies aren't my biggest concerns, nor is the pay if I have the 32 yr pension plan. I just think I'd enjoy it and it'd be an interesting post-SCPD career. Maybe even use tuition rmbursement down the line for a PhD (but that is def a loooong way off). The SCPD tuition rmbursement program is outstanding. You're a fool if you don't use it and you're even considering of going back to school. Do it right and it won't cost you a dime! Call the main PBA phone # and ask for the Benefit Funds office and they send you everything you need. I can't believe how many people on the job don't even know about it. We never had anything like this on NYPD!

Someone mentioned that they did not enjoy teaching at the college level. If you don't mind my asking, why?

To all the cop-haters on this message board: Thanks for funding my education through your tax dollars and thank you God for allowing me jump ship from NYPD and join Suffolk!

hey rookie
05-06-2008, 02:15 AM
I'm going for my Master's right now at Boston University (on-line...I get the same degree if I had attended classes in person). it costs @ 30k but if I only take 3 classes a year tuition rmbursement will cover it all when it's all said and done. I def. plan on the 32 year retirement (with prior NYPD time and after my 3 year military 'buy-back') at which point I'll retire when I'm 54 (not exactly a spring chicken but not one foot in the grave ther). I'll have better benefits from my pension than 95% of the active workforce so the bennies aren't my biggest concerns, nor is the pay if I have the 32 yr pension plan. I just think I'd enjoy it and it'd be an interesting post-SCPD career. Maybe even use tuition rmbursement down the line for a PhD (but that is def a loooong way off). The SCPD tuition rmbursement program is outstanding. You're a fool if you don't use it and you're even considering of going back to school. Do it right and it won't cost you a dime! Call the main PBA phone # and ask for the Benefit Funds office and they send you everything you need. I can't believe how many people on the job don't even know about it. We never had anything like this on NYPD!

Someone mentioned that they did not enjoy teaching at the college level. If you don't mind my asking, why?

To all the cop-haters on this message board: Thanks for funding my education through your tax dollars and thank you God for allowing me jump ship from NYPD and join Suffolk!hey rookie stop giving the trolls fodder here to slam my profession, the hatred posted here is bad enough

Unregisteredddd
05-06-2008, 10:54 AM
after my 3 year military 'buy-back') at which point I'll retire when I'm 54

----
1st, by the time you're 54, life expectancy will probably be about 100 so, I believe it's still "young".

2nd, off topic, but I'm curious about the military buy back you mentioned. Is it limited to 3 years? I'm looking to get on SCPD, if the county has another class from this last test, and I have several years prior military. When do you need to apply for the "buy back"? Do you need to declare it at the beginning? Is there a number of years wait time? Is it better to do earlier rather than later? (I.e. will it cost more to "buy in" if I wait until my tenth year vs doing it my first year?

Thanks for pointing this out. I never realized this buy back existed. I thought the most my time in military did was bump me a few points on the exam and get me a free grave at a national cemetary... :-)

blueclaw
05-06-2008, 09:13 PM
Ok...here it goes. To be eligible to "buy back" military time you had to:
1. Serve at l 3 years active duty in the military
2. Have at l 5 years in the pension system (NYS Police and Fire Pension System in my case).

Here's how it worked for me...I spent 4 years active duty in the US Navy from 97-01. I joined the NYPD in 07/02 and resigned in 09/06 when I was hired by Suffolk PD. in 07/07 I had the requisite 5 years in the pension system (doesn't matter that its on different jobs. 4 years 10 months NYPD and 10 months SCPD=5 years total)

Once I had the 5 years total, I sent a request to Albany to purchase my 'buy back". All commands will have this form. It's pretty straight foward. You need 5 years before you can buy back the time. Right now I'm just waiting for my "bill" so to speak to find out how much it'll cost me (I'm figuring @ 5K). I've been waiting quite a while but I confirmed that they recved my request so I have to be patient (If you've been in the military you know the old adage "hurry up and wait")

My father was career NYPD and he said by buying back the 3 years (that is the max you can buy back and you need at l 3 years active duty to do it) he paid off the $$ amount in @ a year and a half and now gets @ 5K more per year from his pension (that's if you do more than 20). If you want to get out earlier, you can get your 20 year pension in 17 years with the buyback.

Like the tuition rmbursement I mentioned in a previous post, you're nuts if you don't use it!

blueclaw
05-06-2008, 09:24 PM
Sorry my math was a little off. I had 4yrs 2 months NYPD and 10 months Suffolk when I applied to buy back 3 yrs military time. Drop a message on the board if you have any more questions. You were asking @ another class from the 03 exam. Don't think it's gonna happen. If you use your vet points and you don't get hired you can use them for a later civil service test (hopefully you took the june 07 exam and opted to use your points...if you did what where your scores for both tests if you don't mind my asking?)

Who care @ the trolls on this board? If you're SCPD you've got the world on a platter. Why do you care what some anonymous poster puts on a public blog? They're just envious and you can't tell me thr comments don't make you laugh from time to time.....It bothers you that they "slam" your profession? Sticks and stones my friend. Sticks and stones...

Unregisteredddd
05-06-2008, 11:36 PM
Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. I have five years USMC. 0 time in the pension system. So, if my understanding is correct, I would be waiting five years after getting on to make my request.

I didn't take the 03 test because it conflicted with a licensing exam I had to take, although re-reading my post I see where I was unclear. I apologize.

I took the 07 test and used my vet points. My score was/is 102.5

Regards.

blueclaw
05-07-2008, 12:30 AM
Congrats on your score! 97.5 raw and 5 points vets preference...you'll def get called in the first wave when they decide to investigating potential new recruits.

Yes, you would have to do 5 years on the job before you could "buy back" the 3 years military we were talking about. Best of luck!

Unregisteredddd
05-07-2008, 09:46 AM
Thanks for the congrats and luck, and I especially appreciate all the info. I hope to be able to put it to practical use one day.

Regards and stay safe!

WhoopdedoIseeyou
05-09-2008, 12:26 AM
With a little less than 5 years to go, I'm trying to decide what to do next. I have a few things in mind such as: Getting my M.S. in accounting and becoming a CPA (I'll need 45 credits to be eligible) or maybe law school.

Any other ideas? How about the retired guys here.


Come on...Come on over to the dark side...Be a PI...There's a lot more to it than bng a armed security guard...Or even just chasing cheating spouses.

Retired NYPD East Ender
05-14-2008, 04:13 PM
I run into a lot of SCPD retirees on the end, most are completely miserable and make no bones about it if they are honest. As a retired city guy I was just happy to make it out in one piece and find greener pastures. Most of the SCPD retirees I meet are miserable because during the course of thr careers they experienced excellent wages, great contracts with perks that were off the charts for normal cops, and they always had plenty of cash flow to sustain a better than average lifestyle. The stark reality is, if you are suffolk cop - you already have the best job you are ever going to have. The realization of that fact will help you make a decision about when to retire. It all depends on what you want. I'm happy just fishing every day, hunting during the season and driving around the country with the wife. Some have extreme expectations of retirement and get a huge let down when they finally realise what it's all about. Enjoy the job when you are working, save some money for a few rainy days and lower the expectations of how grand your retirement will be. The single biggest thing about retirement is not having to get up and go to work everyday to work for some dope who had three goos Saturdays in his whole life and all were on test days. That in itself is quite nice.

goodsaturdaybadlife
05-14-2008, 04:21 PM
I run into a lot of SCPD retirees on the end, most are completely miserable and make no bones about it if they are honest. As a retired city guy I was just happy to make it out in one piece and find greener pastures. Most of the SCPD retirees I meet are miserable because during the course of thr careers they experienced excellent wages, great contracts with perks that were off the charts for normal cops, and they always had plenty of cash flow to sustain a better than average lifestyle. The stark reality is, if you are suffolk cop - you already have the best job you are ever going to have. The realization of that fact will help you make a decision about when to retire. It all depends on what you want. I'm happy just fishing every day, hunting during the season and driving around the country with the wife. Some have extreme expectations of retirement and get a huge let down when they finally realise what it's all about. Enjoy the job when you are working, save some money for a few rainy days and lower the expectations of how grand your retirement will be. The single biggest thing about retirement is not having to get up and go to work everyday to work for some dope who had three goos Saturdays in his whole life and all were on test days. That in itself is quite nice.A good saturday... the definition of the SCPD and NCPD scum

blueclaw
05-15-2008, 01:04 AM
A good Saturday?....I'll settle with that. Luck, smarts, hell I don't care if it was satanic black magic that got me a good enough score to be hired. I thank my lucky stars everyday for my job and the benefits we get. That $100 test application fee has proven to be hands down the best investment I've ever made. More so than becoming a homeowner or earning a college degree.

Scum, huh?...please keep the hits coming. The trolls on this board are outstanding!

The Zhuzh
05-15-2008, 04:34 PM
A good Saturday?....I'll settle with that. Luck, smarts, hell I don't care if it was satanic black magic that got me a good enough score to be hired. I thank my lucky stars everyday for my job and the benefits we get. That $100 test application fee has proven to be hands down the best investment I've ever made. More so than becoming a homeowner or earning a college degree.

Scum, huh?...please keep the hits coming. The trolls on this board are outstanding!I have an idea for retirement for you PIG scum... go skydiving without a parachute and save us PRODUCTIVE citizens from paying welfare for your sorry asses.

luvin it
05-16-2008, 11:34 AM
I have an idea for retirement for you PIG scum... go skydiving without a parachute and save us PRODUCTIVE citizens from paying welfare for your sorry asses.
Very mature. Spoken like a jealous helpless ignorant lowclass piece of white trash you are. LOL

waslteart
05-16-2008, 12:04 PM
I have an idea for retirement for you PIG scum... go skydiving without a parachute and save us PRODUCTIVE citizens from paying welfare for your sorry asses.
iv ewe tym it jussed rigte the ayr wyll karie ewe ovyr thye tailesst trs

Harry's Place
05-16-2008, 12:54 PM
I love working SCPD. Even during vacations I wonder what's going on. They're going to have to drag me out the door someday.

blueclaw
05-20-2008, 05:24 PM
Hey Zhuzh,
Thanks for the vote of confidence! I'm always pleased to recve the full support of the residents of Suffolk County that I serve. So you had an idea for me re: retirement and skydiving huh? Sorry, I went skydiving once and have no real desire to do it again. So you feel like you're paying my 'welfare' huh? Sorry about that. I can't help your personal opinions with you bng a 'productive' member of society (what high-level position do you hold if you don't mind my asking?

Now I have an idea for you....Go ask your boss at the Cafe Royale strip club on RT 109 where you work as a chum scrubber if you can pick up some extra shifts mopping out the men's room on the graveyard shift to pay for your inevitible increase in taxes (Remember, SCPD is currently without a contract and we're in negotiations right now for a new one). Also my $10,000+ annual tuition for Grad School at Boston University is going up in the fall and remember, YOU'RE PAYING FOR IT with your taxes! The only money that came out of my pocket thus far for my education is the $25 I spent when I ordered a Boston U sweatshirt from the school's bookstore online .

Thanks again for funding my benefits and education (not to mention my 6 figure salary that will be going up soon once we settle our contract). Hope you enjoy your tax increase you wife-beating, white-trash skell

Unregisteredthezhuzh
05-20-2008, 06:51 PM
Hey Zhuzh,
Thanks for the vote of confidence! I'm always pleased to recve the full support of the residents of Suffolk County that I serve. So you had an idea for me re: retirement and skydiving huh? Sorry, I went skydiving once and have no real desire to do it again. So you feel like you're paying my 'welfare' huh? Sorry about that. I can't help your personal opinions with you bng a 'productive' member of society (what high-level position do you hold if you don't mind my asking?

Now I have an idea for you....Go ask your boss at the Cafe Royale strip club on RT 109 where you work as a chum scrubber if you can pick up some extra shifts mopping out the men's room on the graveyard shift to pay for your inevitible increase in taxes (Remember, SCPD is currently without a contract and we're in negotiations right now for a new one). Also my $10,000+ annual tuition for Grad School at Boston University is going up in the fall and remember, YOU'RE PAYING FOR IT with your taxes! The only money that came out of my pocket thus far for my education is the $25 I spent when I ordered a Boston U sweatshirt from the school's bookstore online .

Thanks again for funding my benefits and education (not to mention my 6 figure salary that will be going up soon once we settle our contract). Hope you enjoy your tax increase you wife-beating, white-trash skellwhy don't you off yourself and make this world a better place?

the zhuzh
05-20-2008, 08:06 PM
Hey Zhuzh,
Thanks for the vote of confidence! I'm always pleased to recve the full support of the residents of Suffolk County that I serve. So you had an idea for me re: retirement and skydiving huh? Sorry, I went skydiving once and have no real desire to do it again. So you feel like you're paying my 'welfare' huh? Sorry about that. I can't help your personal opinions with you bng a 'productive' member of society (what high-level position do you hold if you don't mind my asking?

Now I have an idea for you....Go ask your boss at the Cafe Royale strip club on RT 109 where you work as a chum scrubber if you can pick up some extra shifts mopping out the men's room on the graveyard shift to pay for your inevitible increase in taxes (Remember, SCPD is currently without a contract and we're in negotiations right now for a new one). Also my $10,000+ annual tuition for Grad School at Boston University is going up in the fall and remember, YOU'RE PAYING FOR IT with your taxes! The only money that came out of my pocket thus far for my education is the $25 I spent when I ordered a Boston U sweatshirt from the school's bookstore online .

Thanks again for funding my benefits and education (not to mention my 6 figure salary that will be going up soon once we settle our contract). Hope you enjoy your tax increase you wife-beating, white-trash skell
Hey. I'm the actual zhuzh, for what thats worth. I had to register my name because there is a anticop multipersonna loser troll, who likes to use names of guys who have thrashed him in a few threads. I did nt post anything negative about you. That was the cop attention loving troll, who continously tries to get even for his shit life on this board...like thats how life works.
Anyway I hope this clears the misunderstanding up.

the zhuzh
05-20-2008, 08:08 PM
why don't you off yourself and make this world a better place? Looks like you hit the sore spot again, Huh???

Yeah poser your life sucks, and you know ours is better. Hahaha:D :D you lose again!!!!!!!!!!!!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
05-24-2008, 11:20 AM
Ok...here it goes. To be eligible to "buy back" military time you had to:
1. Serve at l 3 years active duty in the military
2. Have at l 5 years in the pension system (NYS Police and Fire Pension System in my case).

Here's how it worked for me...I spent 4 years active duty in the US Navy from 97-01. I joined the NYPD in 07/02 and resigned in 09/06 when I was hired by Suffolk PD. in 07/07 I had the requisite 5 years in the pension system (doesn't matter that its on different jobs. 4 years 10 months NYPD and 10 months SCPD=5 years total)

Once I had the 5 years total, I sent a request to Albany to purchase my 'buy back". All commands will have this form. It's pretty straight foward. You need 5 years before you can buy back the time. Right now I'm just waiting for my "bill" so to speak to find out how much it'll cost me (I'm figuring @ 5K). I've been waiting quite a while but I confirmed that they recved my request so I have to be patient (If you've been in the military you know the old adage "hurry up and wait")

My father was career NYPD and he said by buying back the 3 years (that is the max you can buy back and you need at l 3 years active duty to do it) he paid off the $$ amount in @ a year and a half and now gets @ 5K more per year from his pension (that's if you do more than 20). If you want to get out earlier, you can get your 20 year pension in 17 years with the buyback.

Like the tuition rmbursement I mentioned in a previous post, you're nuts if you don't use it!



BUY IT BACK WITH DEFERRED COMP MONEY AND IT IS PRETAX. IT WILL ONLY COST YOU ABOUT 2/3RDS OF THE AMOUNT!!

blueclaw
05-27-2008, 12:02 AM
I recall one of the guys I work with talking @ using deferred comp $ to pay off the 'buy back" and it would be 'pretax'. I called Albany and they said they could not send me my bill b/c they have to factor in the new NYPD contract raises into the $ I earned wjile I was still a city cop and it may take up to a year to get my bill (I guess they don't move too fast upstate).

My question: How do I go about using deferred comp $ for my military 'buy-back' so that the dollar amount is pre-tax, therefore costing me less money?

Where's the troll's? I was enjoying the reccommendations of the Zhush-impersonator chum-scrubber!

RTPOSCPDNY
06-05-2008, 02:48 AM
I retired from SCPD with 20 years in 2001. You can still go to school while on the job with the excellent time off and flexible school schedules. I retired way too soon. Average total wages have risen 30 K in the 7 years since I retired. As long as the idiots the County sends to Arbitration keep pissing the arbitrator off SCPD should still get decent contracts with little or no real givebacks. The average starting salary for an attorney is probably about 50 K now a CPA probably about the same. If you retire get out of New York, but my advice to you would be that as long as you still like the job, and your personal working conditions are favorable, shifts, bosses etc stay on the job. If you need a change study for the Sgts test. Get a law deg or cpa and get promoted you could probably get into a command where you could use that deg. (The Department loves getting to use your Law deg or CPA at no additional cost to the Dept). Each year you stay after 20 increases your pension percentage so it is not really true that you are working for half pay.

Unrred
06-05-2008, 09:54 AM
I retired from SCPD with 20 years in 2001. You can still go to school while on the job with the excellent time off and flexible school schedules. I retired way too soon. Average total wages have risen 30 K in the 7 years since I retired. As long as the idiots the County sends to Arbitration keep pissing the arbitrator off SCPD should still get decent contracts with little or no real givebacks. The average starting salary for an attorney is probably about 50 K now a CPA probably about the same. If you retire get out of New York, but my advice to you would be that as long as you still like the job, and your personal working conditions are favorable, shifts, bosses etc stay on the job. If you need a change study for the Sgts test. Get a law deg or cpa and get promoted you could probably get into a command where you could use that deg. (The Department loves getting to use your Law deg or CPA at no additional cost to the Dept). Each year you stay after 20 increases your pension percentage so it is not really true that you are working for half pay.

Definetely go to school while on the job. Get the law degree. There is a lot you can do with it (outside your current profession or I'm sure within it). As for the 50K salary. Don't think of bng an attorney as a linear path. There really is unlimited income potential in it if you decide to break out on your own, or you get into a practice that will give you a percentage of any business you bring into the firm (on top of salary). Good luck.