Palatine police Chief Alan Stoeckel offered thoughtful advice for young officers as he headed into retirement earlier this week. Stoeckel, 56, was feted by his colleagues in a retirement ceremony Monday at police headquarters. Police department veteran David Daigle took over as chief Tuesday. Before he headed out the door, Stoeckel touched on something he believes would be valuable for officers early in their careers.

As America’s workforce experiences a shift in the way jobs are structured — such as the advent of the gig economy, for example — the prospects for retirement are also changing. This has several implications for anyone thinking about life after work.

A retiring Vermilion police sergeant passed the torch to his son in an emotional sign-off video Monday. Sgt. Jeff Chandler retired after 35 years of service. In a post on Facebook, the department said: “We thank Sgt. Chandler for his dedicated service and over 20 years of leadership as a Sergeant. We wish him the best of luck on his future.” In his video, Chandler said his journey has been [...]

The world of retirement savings recently reached a significant milestone that has important implications for workers and retirees: For the first time, assets in defined-contribution savings plans represent more than 50% of all retirement plan assets globally, according to Willis Towers Watson. While some defined-benefit pension plans still exist, many more workers today have to rely on defined-contribution plans (think: 401(k) and IRA accounts) to fund their retirements. With today’s [...]

The I.U.P.A. looks out for the best interests of Law Enforcement Professionals across this great nation and its territories, not only during their careers, but their retirement concerns as well. That means that we remain apprised of current and upcoming legislation that affects both active and retired law enforcement. Through this diligence, we have maintained vigilance toward changing the Windfall Elimination Provision.

As I prepare to step away from my career as a law enforcement officer after 21 years, I felt an overwhelming need to share my experience with as many others as possible. For me, there have been four steps I have taken during my police career that has allowed me to leave physically and mentally fit so that I can enjoy the next phase of my life. In my previous articles, I wrote [...]