Today, you could easily find retired State Budget Secretary Mary Soderberg stacking firewood or working at a state park event. The work she dedicates time to today is often very different from the work she did for nearly 25 years as a commonwealth employee.
Case in point, Soderberg helped apply for a grant to build – and ultimately helped build – a 48’ trail bridge over a stream in the park.
“It came in pieces like an erector set and 20 – 30 volunteers built the bridge in a weekend,” Soderberg explained. “My husband and I, who never put up scaffolding before, were standing in a stream with another couple setting up the scaffolding the night before so that when the rest of the volunteers showed up in the morning they had a place to work!
“We installed a second bridge three years later, but we hired a contractor and crane for that one,” Soderberg added, “it was a pre-built bridge that was lifted into place with the crane.
“My husband and I bought a cabin in Pine Grove Furnace State Park shortly after I retired and I was asked if I’d serve on their volunteer board,” Soderberg said, explaining how she became involved with the Pennsylvania’s Parks and Forests Foundation and the Friends of Pine Grove Furnace State Park.
“The foundation, a nonprofit parent organization for 48 separate volunteer ‘friends’ groups, works to raise money and secure grants on behalf of state parks. It is a way to secure funding for the parks, that doesn’t come through the state budget,” Soderberg explained.
According to the foundation’s website, the organization began in 1999, to provide a voice for the Commonwealth’s 124 state parks and 2.2 million acres of forest land. Parks and forests throughout the state include approximately 11,500 miles of trails1 and a state park in 61 of the state’s 67 counties.
When asked about transitioning to retirement, Soderberg recommended that, “You really have to be thoughtful. It doesn’t just happen.
“After working in a high stress desk job, I knew I needed to get into shape, so I started working out three times a week and walking every day. Joining the gym has been a great way to meet new friends. I also joined a book club, which has encouraged me to read books that I wouldn’t have normally chosen. A whole new window opens through a book I wouldn’t have picked on my own.”
The same could be said for her retirement planning. “I understood the importance of vesting in the pension system and I chose early on to participate in deferred comp. Anytime I found a little extra money or received a raise, I put it into deferred comp.”
Understanding that COLAs are not guaranteed in Pennsylvania, “I made a conscious decision to not draw from my deferred comp right away,” Soderberg added. Instead, she viewed Social Security and her deferred comp account as self-provided COLAs. “My first ‘COLA’ would be when I started taking Social Security and my second would be when I started drawing from my deferred comp account.”
Wise advice from a woman named to the PoliticsPA list of “Pennsylvania’s Smartest Staffers and Operatives” in 2004, and someone involved in retirement issues as an active SERS Board member since 2016.
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1The Economics of The Outdoors in Pennsylvania, https://paparksandforests.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/economics-of-the-outdoors-4x9-1.pdf