I started teaching in the Pewaukee School District in 1990, and then spent 5 years in Manitowoc as a special education teacher. Since coming to Green Bay, I have served as a special educator, and a social studies teacher for more than 25 years. I also have been active in my union, and served as the union treasurer from 2012 until 2019. 

Many teachers struggle with the decision to retire, and with good reason. The statements that public employees receive from WRS are confusing, and are not helpful for understanding what a person might  expect for a monthly payment in the future.

 When I turned 50, I went to the WRS website to calculate my future benefit, but I wasn't sure I had the right numbers to input into the calculator. What would be my monthly payment? It was difficult to know. Without an accurate projection of my monthly pension payment, it was hard to formulate a budget for retirement, or even know when I should retire. I had a lot of questions.  How much debt could I handle on a pension? Would I have to pay my house off before retirement?  How much would I need to supplement my pension?

Eventually, I developed a process for projecting my future earnings and the growth of the pension fund, to determine  my future payment. Knowing what my pension payment would be helped me understand what I needed to do to get ready for retirement.

I want to share this knowledge by helping you understand the pension system, and provide you with a personalized projection of your future pension payment at various ages so you have the information you need to make a good decision. I can do this well before you are of retirement age, so you can plan in advance, and RETIRE AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE!