By Duane St. Clair

A couple of decades ago, a secure retirement was pretty much a certainty as Westerville retirees Bob and Polly Nutter know.

But, it’s not simple to plan in these times, as their son-in-law and daughter, John and Sheila VanDorn, are finding out.

The Nutters, who are in their 80s, moved to Westerville 13 years ago and are basically backyard neighbors with the VanDorns, both 52.

The Nutters met in grade school in Clarksburg, W.Va., and married in 1942, three days before he left for the Army and a tour of duty that took him to the Philippines at the height of World War II. He left the service briefly and enlisted in the Air Force in 1947. In a 20-year span in the service, the Nutters had three daughters.

When it came time to find a permanent home, Polly insisted on Columbus, where she had lived for a time when not overseas with Bob. When he left the service, he was hired as superintendent of grounds maintenance at The Ohio State University. Finally, in 1985, he decided, “That’s enough.”

Dolly and he both collect Social Security benefits because the Air Force had paid into the fund. In addition, he has a military pension, which carries with it medical benefits known as Tri-Care. And, another pension comes from the Public Employees Retirement System he gained by contributing while an OSU employee. It, too, has medical benefits, but the Nutters use the military plan that covers both of them.

Thirteen years ago, the couple became disenchanted with their neighborhood on the north side of Columbus. Sheila insisted they move to Westerville. She found an affordable and comfortable home for them in the neighborhood that has easy access to shopping – and roads that lead out of town.

Sheila and John, who coincidentally also met in grade school in Columbus, explain that they chose Westerville because of the school system. Their son Joe was about to enter kindergarten and daughter Katie was 2 years old when they moved to avoid the arduous cross-town school bus rides their children would have to endure in Columbus. It was the sign of the times. Within walking distance in their neighborhood are schools at all three levels, including Westerville South High School.

John, who had worked as a painter, completed technical college training in the computer field and went to work for Republic Franklin Insurance. When it was bought out seven years later, he received “a very small amount” from a retirement plan that was invested in an annuity.

After a short stint in another job with limited benefits, he landed at BankOne, where he had a full retirement and benefit package that he envisioned would be his retirement job. But, in 1998, his job was “outsourced” to IBM, which became his new employer. He received a payout from the bank pension that he rolled over into an IRA to provide more for his wife if he dies. It was heavily invested in high-technology stocks and took a plunge when the bubble burst.

The job change, he says, meant his retirement again “started from scratch” with no credit for seniority. Now, his retirement’s financial future is largely predicated on a 401(k) account into which he’s pouring 12 percent of his income and which the company is matching for the first 6 percent. Although he uses a financial adviser, he’s not enthused that managing his accounts is all his responsibility with no employer input.

In recent years, while Katie has been in nursing school, he has taken out Parent Plus loans to supplement the school loans she can obtain while living at home. He’s working to pay those off quickly now that she’s a senior heading to a spring graduation and, at age 23, is too old for him to get more Parent Plus loans. He might quietly give her money, if necessary, without jeopardizing her loans.

After that, he expects to plow more into retirement accounts. But he faces another job change, probably later this year, when his job, which for five years has allowed him to work from an office in his basement, is to be “outsourced” again, this time to AT&T. He’s sure the retirement package will change and he’ll have to start another retirement account. “Traditional pension plans are a thing of the past,” he says.

Meantime, son Joe attended college, couldn’t decide on a major and now is an accounts clerk for the School Employees Retirement System, where he’s building retirement through contributions to the Public Employees Retirement System, a multi-billion fund with remarkable stability, generous benefits and a vast network of contributors to keep it afloat in good times and bad. Eventually, he may start using a deferred compensation option that’s available, but now age 27 and single, it doesn’t appear to be urgent to take that step.

John says he’d like to retire early. However, “Right now I can’t see retiring at 62, but time will tell.” He notes he could earn more “from a lousy bank account” than his varied mutual fund investments. “Things are so unstable, it’s impossible to put a (retirement) date down,” he adds.

Whenever it comes, though, the VanDorns are sure they’ll stay in Westerville.

Duane St. Clair is a contributing editor for Westerville Magazine.