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Okay, Tek_Freek. Apparently you're more up on this than I am. All I know is that in my neck of the woods no one gave two damns for electronic until the recent past. It may have been widespread where you are, but I'm telling you right now I was churning out about 5-7000 lines per day, 7 days a week, until 2 1/2 years ago. Perhaps it is only coincidental that Obama launched his health care reform about oh, 2 1/2 years ago.
Doesn't matter, this thread isn't on transcription anyway.
Thanks everyone for your comments. My initial post was in error that I have to work 8 more years, it is actually 6 years (typo). I work in the public sector and they are changing the number of years you are vested to obtain health care. It suddenly goes from 10 years (which I have) to 20 years effective 1/1/14. To get 20 years I will have to work another 6 years. My problem is if something happens like I get layed off, fired, etc. I will not be able to get health insurance. Plus I really don't want to work until I'm 66. I will have the windfall on social security when I can obtain that at 62 because of my public service, but at least if it is still available I'll be able to collect social security. It is just very scary to go from a decent salary to all of a sudden a poverty level salary. I know things will work out, I just am stressing over it. This forum amazes me, I always get so many responses with good information. I'm glad I visit here. Thanks again.
Thanks everyone for your comments. My initial post was in error that I have to work 8 more years, it is actually 6 years (typo). I work in the public sector and they are changing the number of years you are vested to obtain health care. It suddenly goes from 10 years (which I have) to 20 years effective 1/1/14. To get 20 years I will have to work another 6 years. My problem is if something happens like I get layed off, fired, etc. I will not be able to get health insurance. Plus I really don't want to work until I'm 66. I will have the windfall on social security when I can obtain that at 62 because of my public service, but at least if it is still available I'll be able to collect social security. It is just very scary to go from a decent salary to all of a sudden a poverty level salary. I know things will work out, I just am stressing over it. This forum amazes me, I always get so many responses with good information. I'm glad I visit here. Thanks again.
This is exactly what I was alluding to and I am very familiar with the situation. I might and will suggest that you look at this not as a recipient but as a tax payer and member of the community. Health care benefits after ten years is really a luxury that is probably not affordable any more and wanting to retire at prior to 66 with minimal years working is one that a few citizens would not have sympathy for. I am not intending to be cruel but I am well familiar with the situation you describe and know folks who decided to keep working as it was in their self interest. I know folks who decided not to continue working and are back or looking for part time work because they didn't have full pension benefits. Part of the problem is that are many and I am not suggesting you are one who took public sector jobs just to get the benefits.
EXCUSE ME, TuborgP, I have worked ALL of my life (45+ years!) and I am not one of those people that seek their entitlements! Just because I work in a public sector job I am not one of those so called lazy government employees. I find your comments rude and intrusive. I did not post on here because I am lazy and want to quit working and suck off the government. I am just worried about the future, is that a bad thing???? It is hard getting older and not knowing what the future will bring. Just because I really don't want to work at my present job until I'm 66 does not mean I'm a lazy person. You must judge everyone and sit on your soap box. Go ahead but don't judge before you know all of the circumstances. Have a good evening.
EXCUSE ME, TuborgP, I have worked ALL of my life (45+ years!) and I am not one of those people that seek their entitlements! Just because I work in a public sector job I am not one of those so called lazy government employees. I find your comments rude and intrusive. I did not post on here because I am lazy and want to quit working and suck off the government. I am just worried about the future, is that a bad thing???? It is hard getting older and not knowing what the future will bring. Just because I really don't want to work at my present job until I'm 66 does not mean I'm a lazy person. You must judge everyone and sit on your soap box. Go ahead but don't judge before you know all of the circumstances. Have a good evening.
You are missing my point and I was trying to be careful how I was saying it and was not trying to offend you. I was saying you might want to look at it from a third party perspective and the cost of it to the system. I am a retired public sector employee and very familiar with the situation you are caught up in and understand it from both sides. I have talked to and provided insight to many in your situation and know it is a two edged sword. Either way you are going to have to live with your decision and there are pros and cons to each. My thoughts were to help make sure you had everything in a context that did not make it seem like anything was happening to you that was not decided for the public good. Most public health care retirement benefits are not like pensions and can be changed at the discretion of government as many are finding out. You may want to consider the security of working as insurance. You know the general political climate in Ohio as it relates to public sector benefits and which direction the wind is blowing. In fact your situation might well be a result of that wind. Not sure if you are state or local but hasn't the state SERs system for teachers made changes for anyone retiring after 2017 ? Might that impact you or are you safe with that?
She is looking into closed captioning since she is a fast, accurate typist and it can be done from anywhere.
I thought real-time closed captioning is done by court stenography systems (which is why such hilarious errors are often seen). The black-box captioning, hmm. I've worked in captioning and just realized I have no idea where the black box captioning comes from. (Ah, the olden days of manual entry).
Where I work, famous for being being the tech times, has moved to voice recognition software.
Regarding Peace Corps, know that one must choose one's assignment/country carefully. Not likely that someone of 60 would like to camp out in a village a long distance from any real health care. (I tried PC for professional reasons at age 33. There were three older (50s) women in my group. When a bacterial illness swept through the group, one woman was in the "best" hospital in the capital. Suffice to say she quit immediately and went home as soon as she was able. The care was bizarre.
One woman I know went to Monserrat for P.C.- worked normal business hours at a good government job, was surrounded by flowers and stuff people go on vacation for, and dated all the British med students. Her friend applied for P.C. and listed "Caribbean" and ended up in Haiti right after Duvalier left. She quit after four months. Couldn't have been more different.
Anyway, OP sounds like he needs a more... stable... solution if he needs to work for eight more years. PC isn't for everyone, and it sure isn't for everyone of a certain age. (Been there/done that).
Although I'm sure the Peace Corps is appealing to seniors with altruistic motives, recommending it for financial survival borders on the ridiculous.
Rather then living in some third world locale, where the natives drink out of mud puddles, just relocate to a low cost area in the U S and live on your SS. You'll still have electricity and indoor plumbing.
Don't count on getting one of those Wal-Mart greeter jobs, either. I hear Wal-Mart has decided to cut way back on them.
But there are other jobs that are perfect for seniors that get posted in local papers. One friend of mine is a receptionist for a private daycare and she works from 3:00 - 6:00 pm every weekday. Just enough to bring in some extra money and it's a sit-down job. She found it in the local paper. The listings in the papers are slim, I admit.
This is exactly what I was alluding to and I am very familiar with the situation. I might and will suggest that you look at this not as a recipient but as a tax payer and member of the community. Health care benefits after ten years is really a luxury that is probably not affordable any more and wanting to retire at prior to 66 with minimal years working is one that a few citizens would not have sympathy for. I am not intending to be cruel but I am well familiar with the situation you describe and know folks who decided to keep working as it was in their self interest. I know folks who decided not to continue working and are back or looking for part time work because they didn't have full pension benefits. Part of the problem is that are many and I am not suggesting you are one who took public sector jobs just to get the benefits.
I appreciate you posting this. It is a tricky point, but important for all to think about.
As a member of the younger generation, it is amazing to me that it is possible to have a health insurance benefit after having worked for only 10 years. That's just insane.... and totally unaffordable for our society. She already will be eligible for Medicare in just a few years, and to have health insurance covered ON TOP of that is such a fantasy...... It is not that I am suggesting you were a lazy worker or feeling entitled, it is just that this benefit is crazy good, and was probably a mistake for the government to have offered in the first place. The fact that you were forward thinking enough to choose a job with this benefit was very very smart of you. So I can understand why you are struggling now. I would be too. I would want those health benefits, and would be thinking if there was any way I could keep those and make some sort of lateral move/new job.
I have already realized that I will probably have to work indefinitely, as do many of my peers. Retirement in the old sense of the world seems impossible. My employers don't match retirement contributions. Working in the private sector for me means no pension, no health benefits long term... it is just shocking to me to see some of the public sector benefits. I do wonder whether I should be moving to the public sector now (!) but suspect the benefits of course will not be the same by the time I'm 60/70.
Of course, I can also understand being tired at age 60, having an unpleasant work environment, or having health problems that are making it hard to work. Even more concerning, as the job market changes/shrinks, employers may not want a 65 or 70 year old on their payroll.... as we may be slower, and may bring in higher health care costs for the employer. It is very scary to me, and I worry about it now.... So I do sympathize with your situation.
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