Many consumers are worried about debt relief as they reach retirement age.  With news of Social Security and Medicare being tapped out within the next few decades, Americans are looking for other options to retire in comfort.  Fortunately, there are some jobs that still focus on pension plan guarantees.  Here are some industries that still support their retirees.

• Public-Service Sector workers.  Local, state and federal government positions are still highly attuned to retirement benefit payouts.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost 80 percent of state and local government workers had traditional pensions last year. Olivia Mitchell, director of the Pension Research Council, stated “Police officers, firefighters, teachers and judges have always had pension plans.” She also noted that these careers are all putting more money into firming up their workers’ retirements to provide security for them.
• Large, private companies. Although pension plans are more difficult to find in the private sector, a recent study showed that 21 percent of private-sector entities had a plan for retirees. This is a huge benefit for employees who know they will have a guaranteed payout for their retirement years.  Consumers need to look for employment, but be aware of the retirement funding statistics. A recent poll showed that only 9 percent of companies with less than 100 employees and 34 percent of companies with more than 100 employees offer traditional pensions. Management and professional positions are also the most likely to offer  retirement plans, regardless of the size of the company.  Service-sector jobs are the least likely to have any retirement benefits.   Geographically, mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Pacific coastal regions are the most likely to have jobs with retirement benefits, in particular in their large metropolitan areas.
• Businesses with less than 10 employees.  Although most small businesses don’t offer retirement funding, exceptionally small offices normally do. This means offices with less than 10 employees, commonly doctors’ offices, law offices or family-owned businesses.  Author and expert on retirement Fran Hawthorne stated, “Very often, the owners of small doctor’s offices set up the pension plan because they want a tax-free way to put money aside for retirement. … The law requires that if you do this, you must provide the same pension for all your employees based on income.” This is encouraging news for Americans who want to work in the small business sector but still have a plan for retirement and debt relief in their elder years.

The key to success

Employees who are working for smaller businesses need to know that retirement funds are most beneficial when they stay with a company for an extended period of time.  Payouts are maximized based on time spent servicing a company.  It’s also beneficial to know that the sooner employees get retirement plans in place, the better they may fare at payout time.  Hawthorne added, “If you don’t get a job with a pension now, your (payout goes)  down every year because more and more pensions freeze each year.”

Planning for retirement

Planning for retirement is a number one concern of Americans today.  With unemployment running high, debt relief being sought and foreclosures increasing, people are wanting to store away money for the future.  There are still some ways to wisely handle the situation and live comfortably in the golden years.

Even as he leaves office as one of the most unpopular presidents in American history, George W. Bush won’t be needing payday loans, or really anything else for that matter. The 43rd President of the United States leaves office for his ranch in Crawford, Texas, and will be soon moving into a large home outside of Dallas in an elite neighborhood called Preston Hollow. Preston Hollow is one of the most affluent neighborhoods around Dallas, and most homes there go for over $1 million very easily. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will be a few streets down.

He may not be President anymore – but we still foot the bill

In the late 50s, the idea that former US Presidents still needed to draw some sort of a paycheck was on then President Dwight Eisenhower’s mind. His predecessor, and former boss, Harry Truman was running out of funds keeping an office open, and it was thought to be a great injustice. Though the issue had come up as early as 1912, it was decided by Congress that it was a good time to do something about it, and they passed the Former President’s Act. The Act entitled all former Presidents at the time and all who followed after to an annual pension, free medical care at any military hospital, and an allowance for staffers and assistants.

They also receive a fund for travel and any other office leaving expenses available for seven months after the date of leaving office, and with it they may travel to wherever they are going, and obtain office space, equipment, and any printing or postage associated with leaving office. The going rate for a former chief executive is about $191,300 per annum, and it is indeed taxable, so they won’t need payday loans again, for life.

A pension plan has never been refused

It is noteworthy that some Presidents didn’t really need any money going into office, as some presidents, such as Kennedy and Washington, outright refused to be paid, Washington asking only for living expenses getting covered.  That being said, no president has ever refused the pension upon leaving office, and former presidents can earn millions publishing memoirs and going on speaking tours.

Other benefits include up to ten years of Secret Service security detail, and a pension for former First Ladies upon the death of their husbands of $20,000 per annum, along with a Secret Service detail for ten year’s upon leaving office. The law previously was that outgoing Presidents received lifetime details, but it was changed during the later period of the Clinton administration. Bill Clinton is the last president to receive a lifetime detail. It should be noted that only one former president has refused secret service protection, though he maybe needed it due to his unpopularity – Richard Nixon, who discharged his detail in 1985.

A pension in hand is worth a lot to Bush

Say what you want about him, the office has taken a toll.  One year in office extracts about two to four years of ordinary wear and tear on a person, and analysts have said that his administration has put about sixteen years of strain in eight on him at least.  However, his benefits package is so good that he won’t be needing payday loans ever again.