[USER]

having $1MM net worth (including house) and need your advice. I’m 53 (no wife or kids) still work as a worker bee in a company (not manager).

I think ageism is very real, despite company trying DE&I.

By now, I’m sick of the daily grind and don’t want to work for another W-2.

I plan to resign next week but don’t have another job lined up or have other income plans.

Maybe take some time for reflection and plan for a 2nd act. Worse case, I have enough savings to last me until 59 if I don’t work.

However, not having medical insurance is scary.

What does think? Should I tell my boss to take this job and shove it?

Just want no regrets.

[Annie]

I’ve seen people that leave work just to come back because they don’t have any hobbies or other things to do.

Do you think ur able to take a sabbatical?

While it’s not very common usually big companies have it available unpaid.

ight give u space to clear ur head and think about act 2 without giving up the permanent job.

[Jule]

leave without medical insurance in place, a plan B for another job, and at an age that’s not easy to get hired unless you have a lot of experience in a highly desired and on demand skill?

not a good idea.

Also, unless you are planning on selling the house and drastically down size, live in your car or with relatives, don’t use your house as part of your retirement assets.

Net worth is just a view into your financial life, but a primary home cannot sustain you to live.

[Amy]

Sadly, the older you get, the harder it may be to find a replacement job.

I’d stay until you’ve got more savings or a better offer.

[Stef]

What do you want to do next? I’m 51, single, teens at home. If I were child free with your net worth I might liquidate it all and go work for the National Park Service.

And base myself out of a state that embraced the ACA and had good healthcare options.

[Scott]

You can use Aca for health insurance. I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but if you had all 1m in investments, that would still only spin off 40k a year.

So you most likely still need work somewhere

[Jenn]

I retired at 53 but the biggest deciding factor besides my cash # was that my health care is covered by my spouse’s employer until I’m 65.

[Kristin]

No you should not do that. The current job market for job searchers is soft.

I would suggest asking for a leave of absence or finding another position before resigning.

[Kristina]

I say go for it. There are a lot of part time jobs available when you’re ready and I agree ageism is very real in the workplace.

[Ran]

Hey, I don’t recommend leaving your job unless you have another job in hand because the job market is really tight right now.

I posted a Healthcare tech engineer based junior level position recently, reporting to me and I had over a 100 applicants.

If it is really hard for you, even work part time if you want to see how it goes.

Note: 1 Million is a decent sum of money and something you should be proud of but you are a bear market away from being at risk, I would build up a little more cushion before you take more risks like at least 500K more.

Going from 1Mil to 1.5Mil is not going to be difficult, getting to 1 Mil is the hardest part.

Also, as others pointed out with respect to Insurance, you will always have the ACA but imo with Political change there could come risks(I work in Healthcare and this is something we think is a possibility with a change in administration).

I would see how that plays out too just in case.

[Linda]

I agree that staying in your current job – while looking for another – is the way to go.

Even if it means taking a pay cut- if they have decent benefits and you’re happier – that’s a big deal.

Then, reassess your $$ each year vs thinking you have to “survive” another 5+ years.

Good luck!

[Christina]

Depending on your expenses, $1MM Networth is not a lot. How much of that is your house?

What is your FI number?

I’d not quit without a backup plan or know for sure you can afford to retire now.

Hobbies can be expensive.

ravel is expensive.

Everything is expensive when you don’t have an income.

Without careful planning, you may face a different kind of stress.

And then what?

What if you cannot find another job?

Is it possible to take an extended leave to rest and recharge?

[Marc]

My view is that there is no benefit to you in burning bridges. Always leave gracefully

[Chrissy]

If you have no income, would you qualify for Medicaid or zero cost ACA in your state?

My state you would have zero share of cost if unemployed.

[Bassel]

You need insurance. Find out how much on your state exchange and factor that in.

[Jeremy]

If you’re at your FIRE number then go for it!!! Otherwise I’d maybe wait a little bit because health insurance and other benefits can be pretty expensive

[Judy]

How much of that net worth is house vs 401k? And if you can’t take from your 401k without penalty and need to pay medical insurance out of pocket I don’t think retiring is a good idea.

Find a new job first.

[Nicole]

I would say hold off until you line up another job. I agree with you ageism is real and trying to find work after 50 can be challenging to say the least.

If you are debt free and have liquid funds you can touch to bridge you until you are ready to retire then I would say yes but otherwise I would hold off and make a plan to leave after you are debt free and bulked up your savings.

I say this because I voluntarily left a job after many years and even with my Bachelor’s degree and experience it was not easy to find another job.

And when I did find work it was from someone I used to work with that knew me.

[Kassandra]

Don’t quit. Let them fire you, negotiate a severance package. Take a break then apply for unemployment if needed.

Look at your local communtiy collge for career counseling.

[Author]

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