Ronstar
Moderator Emeritus
Definite maybe on joining Class of 2013 in my mid 50's. Co just approved a roughly 3mo unpaid leave (with HI, FWIW). Two FA's say I'm comfortably FI based on last sev yrs actual expenditures, and last yr investment inc was well over actual expenditures. After Co's approval of leave request, I was at first exuberant at prospect of 3mo off..... then ER. Now somewhat uneasy. After 3mo off w#rk, what if I like it? ER earlier than I envisioned & constantly explaining to all why I'm "off w#rk" so 'young'. What if I DON'T like it? Then horrified at the thought of having to w#rk until the big dirt nap. FWIW- plenty of outside interests to keep me busy, but leaving behind 30+yrs of highly technical skill is tougher than I thought it might be. Overall I guess it's a good problem to have, but still not an easy decision to move on with next phase of life.
Congrats!, but IMO, it will be real tough for you to go back to work after 3 mo's off. I have a lot of outside interests also. I agreed to stay on at 2 days a week for a year, but now find that I still don't have time for my outside interests. Now I somewhat regret agreeing to part time work. I hope you don't have any strings attached to your leave - such as the co requiring you to stay for x amount of time after the leave is done. You'll probably develop more outside interests during your leave that will make going back to work tougher than what you currently imagine.
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