Your school district’s health plan will typically cover medical, dental, vision and other insurance for you and your family.

Most professionals work roughly 260 days per year, whereas teachers typically work around 180 days! Vacation days will vary by school district, but you can generally expect: 

• Spring break
• December holiday break
• National holidays off
• Paid personal & sick days during the school year
• Time off during the summer. Teachers use this time to travel, explore professional development, relax or work elsewhere. Some districts offer summer positions for teachers, such as summer school or curriculum development jobs.

In New Mexico, you’ll receive retirement funds through New Mexico’s Educational Retirement Board. To qualify for and receive full benefits, you must meet requirements for age or experience—usually both. 

What many people don’t know is that you could retire early with a pension!

Teachers who began working in 2019 or later can retire with a pension if they meet one of the following requirements:

• Are at least 67 years old with 5 or more years of service.
• Meet the “Rule of 80.” That means your current age plus years of service credit add up to at least 80. (If you’re 60 and you’ve worked in education for 20 years, congrats! You can retire with your pension!)
• Have at least 30 or more years of service credit (the soft minimum retirement age is 58) (6)

How does teacher retirement work?

During your teaching years, you’ll contribute some of your salary to the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board. Your employer also contributes to the statewide fund. 

Your contributions, your employer’s contributions and the contributions of other New Mexico employees earn interest over time. Those contributions add up, so you’ll get a guaranteed amount of money every month when it’s time to retire. (7)

Stepping into a classroom could mean stepping out of debt. Loan forgiveness programs cancel your remaining student loans — meaning you don’t have to pay them back! — if you commit to teaching for several years.

New Mexico Teacher Loan Repayment Program 

The New Mexico Higher Education Department provides teachers in high-need positions, such as childhood and special education, with repayment of any principal and reasonable interest accumulated on federal loans. 

To qualify you’ll need to: 

• Be a licensed New Mexico teacher
• Be a U.S. citizen
• Complete at least three years of teaching in New Mexico
• Currently teach in a high-need position (e.g. bilingual education, STEM, childhood education, special education) 

Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program

The Federal Student Aid Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program helps public school teachers with federal student loans.

Teachers in certain shortage areas, including math, science and special education can receive up to $17,500 in forgiven loans. If you teach a different subject, you can still get up to $5,000! To qualify, you’ll need to:

• Have a federal Direct Loan or Stafford Loan.
• Teach in a school that serves low-income students.
• Teach full-time for five consecutive academic years.
• Have taken out your loans before the end of your five years of service.

Perkins Loan Forgiveness

You can get 100% of your Perkins loans forgiven if you teach for five years!

You’ll need to:

• Have a federal Perkins loan. 
• Teach in a school that serves low-income students.
• Teach in a state-designated shortage area.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

If you work full-time in a public service field — like teaching! — for 10 years, you can get your remaining student loans forgiven through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

To qualify, you’ll need to:

• Have a federal Direct Loan, or consolidate your other federal loans into a Direct Loan. 
• Work full-time (at least 30 hours a week).
• Make 120 on-time payments while you’re employed full-time.

Buying a house is expensive, but there are resources to find a home in the community where you teach. Check out these programs:

Good Neighbor Next Door

The federal government created Good Neighbor Next Door to contribute to community revitalization and to support people in service professions (like teaching).

Good Neighbor Next Door offers a discount of 50% from the list price of qualifying homes. The home inventory changes weekly — so if you don’t see something in your area right away, it’s worth checking back!

Teacher Next Door: New Mexico

Teacher Next Door helps classroom teachers become homeowners in the communities where they work. The program offers a wide range of support, including:

• Housing grants (up to $8,000) 
• Down payment assistance (up to $15,000) 
• Home loans
• Preferred interest rates

Want to continue your teacher education? Many school districts offer tuition reimbursement and professional development funds, for things like conferences or trainings.

Building your skills can increase your knowledge and your pay. It also helps districts retain top-notch educators — so it’s a win-win for everyone.