In 2016 I wrote the blog ‘Monetizing Being a Public Servant‘ which looked at the question, ‘what do you do after your retire from the public service?‘.  That blog was an individual’s perspective of what to do post-retirement.  This blog takes a slightly different view in that it asks: ‘should society more actively engaged retired public servants through an alumni function?‘

Why Public Servants?

Public servants are targeted simply because they are easy to find.  Public service pensions are  run from a handful of centralized organizations and thus communicating with the pool of individuals is easier. 

Many of the public service pensions in Alberta are managed by the Alberta Pensions Services Corporation (APS).  APS has 100,000 pensioners and 375,000 plan members.  Nationally, the federal Public Service Pension Plan has more than 304,000 pensioners and 303,000 active members.  In Alberta there are more than 650 registered pension plans – two thirds of which are private pension plans of a few hundred to thousand members.  

The Service Ethos

Okay, so there are a few hundred thousand retired Albertans in one spot – what now?  To start, a very gross generalization about these people.  An individual who works for the public service probably does so because he or she has an underlying ethos of altruism.  They choose the industry because they want to help their communities or believe in the purpose of the organization.  Some might point to a more mercenary ethos of good pay, exceptional pension, comparable benefits and job security.  These are all true (ish) but almost every public servant I have known enjoys the service aspect of the career and likely into retirement.

What Would an Alumni Do?

As noted in my other blog public servants as a group, have good general organizational skills (e.g. HR, Finance, administration, etc.) and  unique skills (e.g. developing public policy, creating social infrastructure, etc.).  These skills have value whether or not they can be monetized.  The purpose of alumni would be to ‘identify work, volunteer and social opportunities in which retired Alberta public servants can continue to contribute to society and to their own personal well-being’.  Opportunities would be tiered in the following three ways:

1. Passive Information. Retirees can subscribe to news and information about fellow retirees and opportunities available to them.  This would augment existing social media venues. 
2. Employer Focused Volunteer Opportunities. Retirees would take on volunteer roles focused on their prior or other volunteers.  For example, volunteering as an United Way ambassador.
3. Volunteer Projects. Working with existing social agencies, identify volunteer roles that align with a retired public servant.  These may either be as a single individual (e.g. an organization looking for a board member) or in a group (e.g. spending a month building a school in a disadvantaged area).
4. Paid Work. Short term projects or opportunities specifically tailored toward public servant skills. These opportunities would be cross-promoted by accredited employment organizations or government organizations (e.g. paid roles to support elections, census work or a consulting opportunity).
5. Other. As the organization evolves, other opportunities may present themselves.

Rules of Engagement

Now that we know there is a body of individuals and have identified the potential work they do, some thoughts on organizational principles:

1. Be self-identifying: only retirees who want to be part of an alumni are enrolled.
2. Past Employer Agnostic: retirees would receive information on an opt in basis no matter who was their last employer. Thus, a former municipal employer may have access to opportunities and information from a provincial or federal level. 
3. Non-political: as in their careers, the alumni seek to continue to provide non-partisan public service.
4. Mutually Beneficial: There must be an ongoing value proposition for retirees to opt into the alumni and to society in general to support the organization. This benefit will be multi-faceted.
5. Independent and Low Cost to Implement and Operate: As an independent organization, the alumni association would possibly receive funding from levels of government but the bulk should come from membership fees or other revenue sources.

What is In it for the Retiree?

Great, more spam, another fee and more bureaucracy a retired public servant may be musing.  There is an upside though of belonging to this or other similar organizations – it can help you live longer!  Numerous studies have shown that as people age, social connections or staying active physically and mentally will improve and extend one’s life span.  Undoubtedly most people will find their own venues to do this but an alumni association is one method to help in the transition from the career to the semi-retired to the full retired life states. 

Have Straw Dog, Will Retire

As I edge closer to my retirement date, such an organization appeals to me.  A quick internet search indicates that there are a number of advocacy groups for retirees but an association that is social and focused on extending the contribution of public servant retirees does not jump out.  As to what is the next step, well I guess I might have a project to work on for when I retire!

Further Reading and Links

• Association of Public Service Alliance Retirees: http://psacunion.ca/apsar.
• National Association of Federal Retirees: www.federalretirees.ca
• Retired State, County And Municipal Employees Association Of Massachusetts: www.massretirees.com.