Frugality Today, Freedom Tomorrow

Hays County Paralegal Mike Rana is determined to take advantage of his TCDRS benefits by doing everything he can now to set himself up for financial success in the future.

By Rebecca L. Bennett

 

When Mike Rana joined the Hays County Criminal District Attorney’s Office as a Paralegal in the Civil Division, it was his first real opportunity to begin saving for retirement. 

“My goal to start retirement planning came later than most because I have had several career changes,” he says. “This one has been the most stable, lucrative and growth-oriented to date.”

Mike began his career as an audiovisual technician at a community college in Worcester, MA, but he ultimately decided to pursue his paralegal certificate through Texas State University.

During the program, Mike worked as a merchandising associate for Home Depot. Soon, he had not only successfully earned his paralegal certificate, but also his master’s degree in Legal Studies. At the end of the program, he landed a county internship that turned into his current full-time role.

Now that he’s settled into life as a paralegal, Mike is determined to take advantage of the stability and benefits Hays County offers by doing everything he can now to set himself up for financial success in the future. This has included paying off his student loans, budgeting regularly and setting savings goals.

“One thing that has been expressed to me frequently is to start small,” he says.

Mike has also worked to set up multiple streams of income he will be able to draw from in retirement. Taking advantage of the present moment to start planning and saving for retirement is important, Mike says, because “we never know what the future holds for us in terms of employment, economic uncertainty or our career paths.”

For one stream of retirement income, Hays County’s financial representative helped Mike roll over retirement funds from his previous jobs into his new Roth IRA. Mike has also confirmed his eligibility to receive Social Security benefits someday, which will create a second income source. He also plans to channel his various skills and experience into part-time freelance work later in life for a third source.

And then there is Mike’s TCDRS benefit. He recently met with a TCDRS representative for an online counseling appointment to learn about the value of his benefit. He shared that the session was very helpful and introduced him to one of his favorite retirement-planning resources: the TCDRS Benefit Estimator in his online account.

“It helps me see what my potential pension and lifetime benefit payment is with my current salary,” he says. “The tool also allows me to adjust the values to reflect potential salary increases and see what’s possible.”

Mike hopes that exercising financial discipline now will ultimately support a more “nomadic” lifestyle in the future, allowing him to freely travel the country someday in an RV. “Retirement is a long way away, but at the current time, I see it with me doing far more traveling,” he says.

Photo courtesy of Mike Rana

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