CalSTRS Free Education Videos and Webinars

It’s Never Too Early to Plan Your Financial Future!

By dara: FA VP and Faculty in Letters, Transfer

I hope you read Billy Gunn’s article about the updates to our 403b contributions. It’s a great partner to my article here. Many of us take care of our physical and mental health, but taking care of our future financial well-being is just as important!

When I was hired full-time, I had no clue about financial wellness and financial planning…mostly because I previously didn’t have any finances! But with the salaries we earn comes the possibility of a comfortable retirement, and the CalSTRS education videos and free webinars can help you at any stage of your career.

CalSTRS stands for the California State Teachers' Retirement System, and they offer tons of guidance for your retirement planning. One terrific resource is their page of “Member Benefit Education Videos,” with information about how your retirement benefit is calculated, understanding how much you will need in retirement to maintain your standard of living, what purchasing service credit means and how to do it, beneficiary options, and much more.

I never thought I would say anything good came out of the pandemic, but when it comes to the next CalSTRS resource, something actually did. CalSTRS has a series of free webinars, which is also designed to meet you at any stage of your career: early, mid, or near retirement. The mode of delivery for these workshops varies, and many of them have useful associated handouts to download and read. Some of these webinars are interactive, where you can get in-depth information about your benefits; some are hands-on workshops, if you are close to retirement; and many are in the format where if you have specific questions about your retirement situation, you can ask them in the chat. With this type of format, there is less of a chance of the presenter having to speak to someone's individualized circumstance; it allows for the webinar to be more far reaching and general…allowing for a greater amount of information to be shared. You can access the list of free webinars and register at the CalSTRS Webinars page.

Coming up, on February 23rd and March 13th is Am I Saving Enough?—“Designed for midcareer educators, this webinar will provide you with a few scenarios to help you understand how long you may need to work and how much money you may need to save to achieve the retirement you desire.”

These CalSTRS Member Benefit Education Video resources are incredibly useful and informative, so if you can devote some time to check them out, you might get information that adds to your financial health!