Job Loss – need advice whether I can early retire?

[Koolau]

I am with the consensus here. OP needs to find some empl*yment for a few more years. It doesn't have to be in current field - just something to bring in a grand or two a month for a while. One advantage the 7 year old may have is low income parents. He should be eligible for grants/aid/loans for university.

I also think OP may be selling himself short. It's true that skills degrade over time, but "no skills" seems an over statement. I'm guessing there are ways to bring skills up to date (Junior College or university). YMMV

 

[joeea]

Basically, I cannot be employed because I have no skills.

There are plenty of unskilled jobs available. Or perhaps your wife has skills and she could work full time in a more lucrative job.

I want to hear the words 'that i can retire now'. I can tell my wife that we won the game and out of rat race

Okay- you can retire now. Use your assets until you decide to take social security. Hopefully you have already calculated what you will receive in benefits and it will get you to the 30k per year you have decided you will need. And hopefully that will suffice for the rest of your life and your spouses life. (Taking social security at 62 may not be your best choice here. Consider calculating the alternatives.)

I need 30k per year, so for next 12 years I need Just 360k - which I have right now available in Stocks. So, why I should work? I don't want to think about - earth quake, Nuclear War, son leg broken, unexpected expenses, Kid College. Am I missing anything?

You could be missing many things besides the things you don't want to think about.

Has anything unplanned happened to you in the past 40 years? Any of them costly? Do you think you can avoid them all in the next 40 years?

How about inflation? Do you remember any time in the past when inflation was high? I do.

After 12 years - I am eligible for Social security and i can withdraw from my 401k.

Right. And of course you can withdraw from your 401k now if you are willing to pay a penalty.

 

[aja8888]

After 12 years - I am eligible for Social security and i can withdraw from my 401k.

And what will that SS calculation look like with 12 zeros in the mix?

 

[pb4uski]

I have trouble fathoming how an electrical engineer with 20 years of experience doesn't have sufficient skills to find employment that can support your modest lifestyle and needs, but perhaps there is something that you haven't told us (and that is fine).

However, it appears that you would be ok if you can't return to work. I ran FIRECalc with $42k annual spending, $885k of assets, 40 year time horizon, $15k SS starting in 2030 when you are 62, $7.5k SS starting in 2033 when DW is 62, $18k a year of income from your DW working from now to 2033 and a 50/50 portfolio and I was surprised that the result was a 100% success rate.

I suspect that is because between now and 2030 assuming that your DW brings in $18k a year that your WR is only 2.7% and from 2033 on it is only 2.3%.... so IF, and that is a capital I and a capital F, you can live on $42k a year and your SS at 62 will be about those amounts then you may be ok, but you will be at risk of a significant adverse event throwing you into poverty.

 

[mystang52]

I also smell troll. But if not: get a j*b, any j*b. I'm sure with 20 years electrical engineering, there are transferrable skills in that. Go to state-provided career counseling if need be.

 

[dallasboy]

Thank You all, ...special thanks to pb4uski for running the FIREcalc. I never did that myself.

I have moderate to severe Crohn's disease and on top of it I am unable to focus or concentrate on anything. I enrolled in couple of online courses, but withdrew myself. This early retirement idea is driven by my inefficiency to secure another job or skill.

based on the suggestions, I may have to look for work from home or part time jobs ....few more years ... i guess. No Choice

Thanks!!!

 

[pb4uski]

I suggest that you run FIRECalc yourself since you know your numbers. You can also look at what-ifs using the "Investigate" tab.

For your or your DW's income from working, I would suggest putting it in as a pension on the "Other Income/Spending" tab and then offset by a corresponding off-chart spending item beginning when you will stop working.

Good luck.

 

[cnocmmz]

Thank You very much for the replies. Let me do some research on annuities.

Basically, I cannot be employed because I have no skills.

I want to hear the words 'that i can retire now'. I can tell my wife that we won the game and out of rat race

I need 30k per year, so for next 12 years I need Just 360k - which I have right now available in Stocks. So, why I should work? I don't want to think about - earth quake, Nuclear War, son leg broken, unexpected expenses, Kid College. Am I missing anything?

After 12 years - I am eligible for Social security and i can withdraw from my 401k.

Dallasboy
I think in your case there are too many variables. Your age and the amount you have saved seems too risky, plus you do not have have any real GUARANTEED income, i.e. pension etc.
You say you have no skills; however, you can skill work...correct? Recommend working until 55 and then draw down from investments until Ss eligible. Good luck!

 

[Scrapr]

Dallasboy

The Crohns may be something you have to take into account. I have what i would say is moderate Crohns. Took about 4 years to get stabilized. 4 hospitalizations in 3 years. 3 of which were for a week. Finally did a bowel resection and things are on an even keel now. But your medical expenses may bump around a good amount. The Dr says average 10 years between bowel resection surgeries.

Good luck

 

[pb4uski]

Getting Disability Benefits for Crohn’s Disease | Nolo.com

You may be eligible for Social Security disability benefits based on your Crohn’s disease. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a multi-step evaluation process. First, the SSA will determine whether you are working at the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level; in 2017, SGA level if $1,170 per month. If you are earning $1,170 or more per month, the SSA will deny your claim. The SSA must also determine whether your Crohn’s disease is expected to last at least a year; because Crohn’s is a life-long disease, this requirement is easily satisfied. The SSA will next determine whether your Crohn’s disease is “severe.” To be “severe,” your Crohn’s disease must substantially impact your ability to do basic work activities.

If you had private disability insurance where you worked or on your own then you may have a claim on that coverage too.

 

[ncbill]

Thank You all, ...special thanks to pb4uski for running the FIREcalc. I never did that myself.

I have moderate to severe Crohn's disease and on top of it I am unable to focus or concentrate on anything. I enrolled in couple of online courses, but withdrew myself. This early retirement idea is driven by my inefficiency to secure another job or skill.

based on the suggestions, I may have to look for work from home or part time jobs ....few more years ... i guess. No Choice

Thanks!!!

No one has mentioned the option of SS Disability?

I know it's a high bar, but there will be plenty of local attorneys specializing in this area.

 

[pb4uski]

No one has mentioned the option of SS Disability?

I know it's a high bar, but there will be plenty of local attorneys specializing in this area.

I mentioned it 32 posts ago and again 2 posts ago.

 

[Spock]

As retire2020 suggested, IMHO, you have your investments upside down with your accessible now (need it now) money at risk in stocks and all of your inaccessible (until you're 59.5) 401K funds in the lower risk categories. I would reverse this (beware of capital gains taxes, etc)... If the market tanked tomorrow you got 10 years for your 401K to recover, but if you're taxable accounts = 50% of current value tomorrow (the 2008 crash) you're left with 200K to last you 10 years till you can tap the 401k without tax penalties.

You know you're details more than anybody here, but double check your employers health insurance.... if its COBRA, thats only going to last 6/12/18 months and who knows where the roulette wheel is going to stop on Obamacare subsidies. If you got some sort of life time coverage, good for you.

I'm in a similar boat as you. Electrical/Software Engineer with 30+ years experience and 5 patents I was laid off last year. Job search in tech fields when 45+ is a joke. I gave up looking.

IMO, in your shoes with 10 years till drawing your 401K and a 7 year old, you need to find some sort of non-tech job. After making bigger $ in engineering, non-skilled wages seem like "not worth your time"... but you need to slow your net burn rate by having some sort of income even if small... a part time min wage job would cut your burn rate by 1/3.

As others suggested you need to play with various retirement calculators with different burn rates to see how long the $ might last. FireCALC, Financial Engines, Mint, every brokerage has one, etc plus play with your own spreadsheet.... each of these migh give you wildly varying answers, but eventually they'll converge.

 

[Brat]

Thank You all, ...special thanks to pb4uski for running the FIREcalc. I never did that myself.

I have moderate to severe Crohn's disease and on top of it I am unable to focus or concentrate on anything. I enrolled in couple of online courses, but withdrew myself. This early retirement idea is driven by my inefficiency to secure another job or skill.

based on the suggestions, I may have to look for work from home or part time jobs ....few more years ... i guess. No Choice

Thanks!!!

You may have ADD which runs in my family. Son and grandson take meds which has helped a lot. You should ask your physician about an assessment.

 

[pb4uski]

As retire2020 suggested, IMHO, you have your investments upside down with your accessible now (need it now) money at risk in stocks and all of your inaccessible (until you're 59.5) 401K funds in the lower risk categories. I would reverse this (beware of capital gains taxes, etc)... If the market tanked tomorrow you got 10 years for your 401K to recover, but if you're taxable accounts = 50% of current value tomorrow (the 2008 crash) you're left with 200K to last you 10 years till you can tap the 401k without tax penalties....

I see the liquidity point but the OP's current portfolio is very tax efficient since he will be in the 15% tax bracket all qualified dividends and long-term capital gains will be tax-free.

Even though I am retired my portfolio is similarly structured (cash and equities in taxable accounts and both equities and bonds in tax-deferred). What I do is as I need to replenish cash needed for spending I sell equities in the taxable account and buy equities in my tax-deferred account. There are many of us here on this forum that have structured our portfolio that way.

If the market tanks tomorrow then he would be selling equities in his taxable account and likely selling bonds and buying equities in his tax-deferred accounts and I see no problem with that.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Every state has a state run department or bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation that is mostly funded by the Feds that will help you get back to work. It was created specifically for people with disabilities. They will also pay for any training you may need and work with employers that are willing to employ PWD's. I used to work for them. It is a great, free resource.

 

[haha]

Can wife become full time teacher?

OP should get a job, or apply for permanent disability, on emotional/ mental health reasons if he can't think of anything else.

Trying to make this fit into "retirement" category requires too much bending and folding. Sure, if all else fails, try it, but I'd do what millions of other people do, get help from the various programs out there to provide this.

Ha

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Thank You all, ...special thanks to pb4uski for running the FIREcalc. I never did that myself.

I have moderate to severe Crohn's disease and on top of it I am unable to focus or concentrate on anything. I enrolled in couple of online courses, but withdrew myself. This early retirement idea is driven by my inefficiency to secure another job or skill.

based on the suggestions, I may have to look for work from home or part time jobs ....few more years ... i guess. No Choice

Thanks!!!

You might be better off staying home where you can cook from scratch and experiment with different diets to stabilize and hopefully improve your condition. We've had good results in our family trying out diets from Eastern medicine for a wide variety of maladies over the years. There is not much downside in experimenting with various healthy diet changes and a huge potential upside.

Then maybe look for some kind of online training and digital nomad work where you can work at your own pace.