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I also came to recommend Arkansas. My husband and I just bought an eventual retirement home there because our wish list was almost identical. We love boating, hiking, camping, fishing, hunting and have zero interest in cold, snow or winter sports. The cost of living is also very low in spots. As to the "decent pay" I can't advise you because we weren't focused on the job market as it's a retirement home but I would think law enforcement is desireable almost anywhere it just depends on what salary you want.
As an almost 50 year old my advice to your 22 year old self is GO! You have all the hard stuff (income and place to live) covered and no one else depending on you for financial support. Go and try it and if you hate it then you do something else. Life gets a lot less flexible once you have a spouse and kids to consider. Make the scary leaps now!
As an almost 50 year old my advice to your 22 year old self is GO! You have all the hard stuff (income and place to live) covered and no one else depending on you for financial support. Go and try it and if you hate it then you do something else. Life gets a lot less flexible once you have a spouse and kids to consider. Make the scary leaps now!
Hey thanks for the reply! I probably will end up taking it, I'm staying on the east coast so I'm only an hour flight away from my home so it'll hopefully be easy to visit.
I meant to write federal job. You could end up with opportunities nationwide, and many of the the benefits transfer interagency. You wouldn't necessarily lose leave, health plan, retirement contributions, etc if you transfer.
Gotcha and yes that's one good thing about the feds.
I meant to write federal job. You could end up with opportunities nationwide, and many of the the benefits transfer interagency. You wouldn't necessarily lose leave, health plan, retirement contributions, etc if you transfer.
Gotcha and yes that's one good thing about working for the feds.
Take the job. If you find you're not a good fit after a year or so, go to USAJobs.com and look for another federal position. All of your benefits transfer, including accrued vacation and sick leave.
The Federal Employee Health Benefits program has some pretty darn good plans, and you'll need to sign up just as soon as you are employed. Study the participating plans carefully each year during open season to ensure you have the right combination for yourself. Look into FedVIP, too, for vision and dental benefits.
One other very important thing: ALL new hires are under the Federal Employee Retirement System, where most of your federal retirement is via the Thrift Savings Plan, not merely a civil service annuity. That annuity is much smaller than the old Civil Service Retirement System was, before the TSP came into being. The moment you become a federal employee, sign up for contributing the maximum annual amount into your TSP; the government will add another 5%. By the time you reach retirement eligibility, you'll have a significant amount of retirement monies available to you. If you leave federal government service, that TSP remains yours.
Retirement after 25 years is only true in certain cases, not to the majority. It's a combination of x number of years plus your age and a few other computations that some math graduate students came up with during a kegger...
If you haven't done so yet, spend some serious time on https://www.opm.gov to learn about the civil service system and how you can develop a career there.
Take the job. If you find you're not a good fit after a year or so, go to USAJobs.com and look for another federal position. All of your benefits transfer, including accrued vacation and sick leave.
The Federal Employee Health Benefits program has some pretty darn good plans, and you'll need to sign up just as soon as you are employed. Study the participating plans carefully each year during open season to ensure you have the right combination for yourself. Look into FedVIP, too, for vision and dental benefits.
One other very important thing: ALL new hires are under the Federal Employee Retirement System, where most of your federal retirement is via the Thrift Savings Plan, not merely a civil service annuity. That annuity is much smaller than the old Civil Service Retirement System was, before the TSP came into being. The moment you become a federal employee, sign up for contributing the maximum annual amount into your TSP; the government will add another 5%. By the time you reach retirement eligibility, you'll have a significant amount of retirement monies available to you. If you leave federal government service, that TSP remains yours.
Retirement after 25 years is only true in certain cases, not to the majority. It's a combination of x number of years plus your age and a few other computations that some math graduate students came up with during a kegger...
If you haven't done so yet, spend some serious time on https://www.opm.gov to learn about the civil service system and how you can develop a career there.
Thanks. The job I would be taking is under 6c/12d retirement since it's a law enforcement position. I think law enforcement can retire at 20 years/50yo or 25 years any age right?
You will move many times in your life, but you may not have this kind of employment opportunity very often.
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