Pre-Retirement Seminars Help You Make
the Jump
to Retirement
As the saying goes...look before you leap.
Retirement is one of the most exciting and challenging periods in life. When you’re ready to retire, we want you to land on solid ground. Every spring, KPERS has pre-retirement seminars across the state to help you understand your KPERS benefits and the steps you need to take before retirement. At each seminar, we’ll explain the following topics so that you can make the best decisions about retiring.
- Planning for retirement
- Choosing your retirement date
- How your retirement benefit is calculated
- Steps in the retirement process
- Retirement benefit payment options
- Options for continuing life insurance
- State and federal income taxes
- Working after you retire
These free, one-hour seminars begin in March and run through the end of April at locations across the state. Pre-registration is required as there is limited seating at most locations. Your employer should have received a seminar schedule and registration information in February to distribute to you. You also can find the dates and locations at www.kpers.org. If you’re considering retiring in the next five years, it’s not too early to begin planning. Please join us at one of our pre-retirement seminars.
If You Are Unable to Attend a Seminar
Visit the “Publications” page at www.kpers.org to download a copy of our KPERS Pre-Retirement Planning Guide (PDF, 661KB), which covers the same topics as the seminars. You also can contact the Retirement System at 1-888-275-5737 to have a printed booklet mailed to you. |
Social Security Launches Online Benefit Signup
Applying for Social Security retirement benefits just got a little easier. The Social Security Administration recently launched a new online service that will allow you to apply for retirement benefits without ever going to a Social Security field office. When you’re ready to retire, you can apply online in about 15 minutes.
Before you start your application, it’s a good idea to get an online estimate of your benefit. It will help you to answer some of the questions on the application. You may want to print or save the estimate to refer to while you’re completing your application.
To apply online, visit www.socialsecurity.gov and click “Retire Online.” You will be asked a brief series of questions about you and your work.
If you need to stop to look up some information, you can return to your application without losing any of the information you entered.
For questions, click on the “more info” links. When you’re done, just click the “Sign Now” button to submit the application. There are no paper forms to sign, and usually no additional documents are required. If more information is needed, Social Security will contact you. |
