Preparing for Retirement

Schedule a Retirement Planning Session with TIAA − A TIAA representative can help develop a retirement plan, estimate your monthly retirement income, and determine if you are on track to retire. They will look at how much you’ve saved, how much you’ll need, and help you build an income plan for cash flow designated to last.

Estimate your future Social Security benefits – Register with the Social Security Administration to estimate your future benefits.

Union employees should connect with the Central Pension Fund.

Review Medicare Eligibility – If you or a covered dependent is age 65 or older or otherwise Medicare-eligible, you will need to sign up for Medicare prior to your last day of work. Six months before you retire is a good time to learn more about your Medicare options and create an enrollment plan. You may need to adjust current health insurance benefits at this point. You should apply for Medicare (Parts A & B) 2-3 months prior to your last day of work. For information on how to apply for Medicare, please visit Medicare.gov.

Review Health Insurance Options –Connect with Senior Linkage Line, Breitenfeldt Group, or another health insurance broker to review health insurance options in retirement, including Medicare and COBRA.

Review/Change Contact Information in Workday– Please make sure that the contact information in Workday reflects your post-retirement contact information.

• Personal email address is Required – this is how you receive instructions for logging into Workday following your termination date to access your tax forms.

Enroll in Medicare—You should apply for Medicare (Parts A & B) 2-3 months before your last day of work. For information on how to apply for Medicare, please visit Medicare.gov.

Schedule an appointment with TIAA- You should meet with TIAA to complete any required documents to ensure timely payment.

Meet with Human Resources– Call to schedule an appointment with a member of the Human Resources team.

Employees who are ending employment with Carleton College should know that their elected benefit plans for themselves/their dependents have differing coverage end dates, they are as follows:

• End of the Month – Benefit coverage extends through the end of the month in which you are ending employment:
  • Medical Plan  – COBRA eligible
  • Dental Plan  – COBRA eligible
  • Vision Plan – COBRA eligible
• Last Day of Employment – Benefit coverage ends at the end of the business day on your last day of employment:
  • Group Basic Life – COBRA eligible
  • Group Basic Accidental Death & Dismemberment 
  • Voluntary Life (employee, spouse/domestic partner and child life) – COBRA eligible
  • Voluntary Accidental Death & Dismemberment (employee or family coverage) 
  • Voluntary Long-Term Disability

NOTE: You will receive information about COBRA, which will allow you to continue eligible benefits, approximately 14 days following your ending date.

Although there is no official notification requirement, it is standard that faculty provide one year’s notice and staff provide six months’ notice of their upcoming retirement.

Staff should note that a minimum of two weeks’ notice is necessary to qualify for accrual payout.

Retirement is not a qualifying event to make certain benefit changes. If you’re planning to retire before the next Open Enrollment period, consider the following: 

• Only dependents covered under your benefits on your last day of work are eligible to continue coverage once you retire.
  
• Continuing Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions and Medicare Part A coverage may have tax implications. For more information, consult with Medicare and a tax professional.

If your spouse continues to work in a benefits-eligible position, they may be able to add you as a dependent to their medical and dental insurance. Additionally, Medicare allows delayed enrollment in Medicare Part B if you are covered by qualifying group medical insurance.

Your spouse should contact their employer for information on adding you to their health plan as a qualifying life event.