Summer is Here! Teachers Should Know About These Benefits

As a teacher, you spend your days caring for students, managing a classroom, and keeping everything moving. With so much on your plate, estate planning can be easy to put off.

But estate planning is not just for people with a lot of money. It is about making sure the people you love are protected if something happens to you.

For teachers, this is especially important because your estate may include more than a house, bank account, or personal belongings. You may also have school-related benefits, such as a pension, retirement account, life insurance, disability benefits, or unused sick and leave time.

These benefits can be valuable, but they do not always pass through your will. That is why they need to be reviewed as part of your overall estate plan.

Common Benefits Teachers May Have

Every school district and retirement system has its own rules, but many teachers have some combination of the following:

Pension Benefits

Many public school teachers participate in a pension plan. A pension may provide income during retirement and may also offer survivor benefits for a spouse or another loved one.

The rules can be strict. In some cases, the choices you make when you retire can affect what your spouse or family receives later.

403(b) or 457(b) Retirement Accounts

Teachers often use 403(b) or 457(b) accounts to save extra money for retirement.

These accounts usually go directly to the person named as beneficiary on the account. That means your beneficiary form may control who receives the money, even if your will says something different.

Life and Disability Insurance

You may have insurance through your school district, and you may also have separate policies you bought on your own.

Like retirement accounts, life insurance usually goes to the beneficiary listed on the policy. Keeping those names updated is very important.