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Nonetheless, I live in Virginia. Last I knew, teachers here can retire when they make some magical combination of age and years of experience equaling 50 or 55. I’ve not been involved with our public schools in ten years, so don’t remember the exact details.

As a teacher in VA, and a participant in the Virgina Retirement System, I happen to know the exact answer to your question.

Teachers are allowed to retire when they have 30 years of teaching and are at least 55. However, and this is the BIG however, their retirement pay is drastically, dramatically reduced. If I were to take advantage of retiring at 55 years in, my monthly benefit would be $347 (I know this because I just got my annual statement today). If I wait until I have reached 65, the benefit goes up to $1667. (That includes no extras such as insurance, etc). And that age will be gradually increasing to 67. I'm in the band that can retire with full benefits at 66 - considering I've been in enough years, which I will.

So, yes, technically a teacher could retire as early as 55 (considering they came in at 22), but I'm thinking very few make that choice.

I'd say it is safe to assume that many will think this to be an exorbitant pension, virtually raping the local economy and that I should only rightfully walk away with the clothes on my back.......

Thanks for the clarification. I was active with FCPS at the time the program was implemented (as I recall in the late 90’s, they were trying to push older teachers out the door).

One of the teachers at my daughter’s school was eligible to retire under then newly implemented plan at the end of said daughter’s junior year, but stayed on thru their graduation since she was a class sponsor. Everyone thought it was incredible that she’d stay and work that year for basically nothing.

My kids had FCPS teachers who were worth a million dollars a year; others shouldn’t have been allowed in the classroom. And a few in between.