Judy McCartney does Retirement
What do you do after 38 years in the credit union business and 22 years as president/CEO of $900 million Orange County’s Credit Union?
If you’re Judy McCartney, you hire a financial planner, relocate to a new city and purchase tickets to exotic destinations.
During her tenure, McCartney helped others grow and contribute to the credit union industry. She was a pioneer in her field, serving a Hispanic membership long before it was the ‘cool thing to do’; and, under her guidance, OCCU paid a monthly bonus to Spanish-speaking associates for a decade. Another accomplishment of McCartney’s was being a textbook editor for a finance course, used at a local college. She convinced the editors to replace the word “bank” with “financial institution.”
“I always played Monopoly when I was a kid and I was the banker, so I guess I was destined for a career in the credit union industry,” she said from her new home in Sedona, Arizona. “I’m very proud of my career and my accomplishments, but I’m retired now and I have a whole new life ahead of me.”
But like so much in life, McCartney said being able to retire is a numbers game.
“I saved, sure I did, but the prospect of retiring as a single woman was a little daunting,” she said. “It’s tough to honestly plan for it. You can either face it or try to pretend it’s no big deal. I decided to face it and I’m pretty happy I did.”
Two years ago, McCartney hired a financial planner to go over everything from investments to insurance while putting her retirement plan into motion.
“Things weren’t as bad as I thought,” McCartney said, laughing. “You worry about it all the way up to the day you say ‘goodbye,’ sure, but if you have a plan, it turns out it’s pretty easy.”
McCartney isn’t the only one retiring in 2008. This year, the oldest of the 79 million Baby Boomers, born from 1946 to 1964, turn 62. Many of them are joining her and the reality is this: those who retire early will accept reduced Social Security benefits, and in doing so, risk coming up short of their financial needs.
Over time, taking benefits early could mean a smaller payout and bigger taxes on retirement savings, not to mention a heightened risk of outliving the money.
Analysts generally urge retirees to delay withdrawing money from their 401(k), IRA and other retirement savings accounts as long as possible. That way, the thinking goes, the tax-deferred investments can grow and compound.
“I took advantage of some of the plans my credit union offered, and over the years I sought advice from people who knew more about investing than I did,” she said. “Retirement is something to look forward to. I loved my job, but people keep asking me if I miss it. Honestly, I miss the people, but I love retirement.”
Since January, when she walked out of OCCU for the final time as an employee, McCartney has been busy traveling to Europe and Mexico, and mapping out her retirement.
“I call this the last third of my life,” she said. “And you can’t play golf everyday. You need a plan and it’s never too early to start preparing for the future. Or the end. Whatever you want to call it, I’m enjoying the heck out of it.”