If you’re like most of us, you probably think retirement planning is something you only need to consider when the end of your career is in sight. Nothing could be further from the truth. The secret to a satisfying retirement is getting started early!

The “Road to Service Retirement” section helps you plan for service retirement. It includes helpful checklists you can use throughout your career to ensure you’re continuously building toward the retirement you envision. When you’re ready to retire, the information in the “Getting Ready to Retire” and “Retiring” sections will walk you through your retirement from the service, help you choose and help you use your health care benefits, and use the other benefits you’ve earned during your career with the service.

Note: “Service retirement” is an elective retirement, as opposed to a “disability retirement,” which is usually the result of a debilitating injury or illness.

Unfortunately, some members are forced to temporarily stop working or retire earlier than planned due to a debilitating injury, illness, or other life-changing event. The “Injury, Illness, and Leave,” “Workers’ Compensation,” and “Long-Term Disability” sections address these situations. 

We’ve also included a glossary and a list of contact information for our primary retirement-related benefit providers.

Begin Planning for Retirement Now

We all dream of the fun things we’ll finally have time to do when we retire. Your dreams can come true if you plan ahead. Dream your dream, then develop a plan to make it come true. Each of us has a unique vision of our dream retirement and will travel a unique path toward it.

Your retirement plan should be designed around your retirement lifestyle goals. It should include your financial and healthcare needs, as well as those of the other family members you’re responsible for. The plan should also identify all your available retirement income sources and other benefits. Here are a few of the things you’ll want to consider:

• Your retirement lifestyle goals.
• Your current health and long-term health care needs.
• Your current debts.
• Your other financial obligations (including care for immediate and extended family and other financial commitments).
• Your projected income needs in retirement.
• Your current monthly benefits from Social Security, deferred compensation, other retirement plans, and investments.
• Opportunities to increase the payout from your deferred compensation plan, as well as opportunities to purchase additional service credits or annuities.

You’ll also want to consider estate planning. For example, you’ll want to weigh the pros and cons of bequeathing your assets through a will versus a trust. If you decide to create a trust, you’ll want to consider the benefits of a living trust versus an irrevocable trust. A qualified financial advisor can help you understand these options, choose the right plan for you and your family, and avoid probate proceedings that can tie up your assets for an extended period.

For fire fighters, retirement is more than a financial decision. The work we do is stressful. It can take a toll on our mental and physical health and on our relationships with our loved ones. Planning for retirement will give you with options when you need to step away from firefighting.

We spoke with many retired fire fighters while developing this guide. Many are living the retirement they dreamed of. Some are not. When we asked retired fire fighters what advice they’d give to active fire fighters, they all said the same thing: It’s never too early to start.