Hi, I've got fired today by megacorp...Looking for help...

[ivinsfan]

All the ones we reactivated at my last job were pretty much a rubber stamp. My HR guy would just search EQIP and verify that the new hire had an inactive clearance and then they'd fill out an application and it would be reactivated within a couple of weeks. It could be that we never tried to hire anyone who'd had a past problem though. In any case, I don't think an employer could see that there had been a problem, it would just show as inactive and the reactivation would then be denied at a future time.

As for clearance holders being aware of how things work, nope. Most of the civilian software engineers I worked with are downright clueless about how their clearances are managed. Ex-military are much more aware.

MY BIL has one for defense work and he is very aware he needs to keep his nose clean so there are no problems. But he is ex EOD..

 

[fired_need_help]

I was definitely one of the clueless guys and paid for it.

 

[cathy63]

Sorry.. Yes, I need help.
Sorry, please correct me if I am wrong - what if I'd apply and put a reason, but then company will come back and claim a different reason? That what I was referring to by "having something to lose".
Do I have anything to lose in that situation? I don't know and that is what I am asking.

Keep in mind that my experience is in California. Your state may be slightly different, but in general, you apply for benefits and put down the information you have. The state notifies your former employer that you have put in a claim for unemployment benefits. The employer can decide to challenge your claim or let it go. If they challenge it, then they have a limited amount of time to do so. They respond to the state's questions just like you did. The state examiner reads both sets of answers and makes a decision based on whatever he thinks the facts are. If the decision goes against you, then you don't get any money but it doesn't hurt you in any other way.

 

[gayl]

Went to a job fair. Some recruiters got excited seeing clearance on my resume. But after further checking, it is not valid anymore.
So, now I am really f*ed up and need to sell a house and move to another city.

WHOA! Slow down. With the unemployment rate at 4.4% you will find something and she can too! Go on vacation, figure out what you need to make without putting additional into savings, and then go on

 

[mystang52]

Might be legit, with some facts omitted, but I'm also suspecting Troll.

 

[pb4uski]

Agree... perhaps it is a coincidence that he was fired/resigned yesterday and there just happened to be a job fair today.

 

[Spock]

Since you now have time on your hands, IMO you need to spend it doing the following:
1. job search. this can be a full time job. finding jobs that fit your skill set, customizing resumes to meet THAT job, followups, etc.
Part of this has to be networking. "Its not what you know, its who you know" is not a cliche, its real. Knowing somebody who can put your resume on the right hiring manager desk bypassing all the application robo-filters and HR is worth at least 100 blindly submitted applications.

Software dev over 45yo is going to start to be tough to find a new job... 50yo+ is going to be extremely hard. 55+ = next to impossible without becoming self-employed.

Since might have a (renewable) security clearance, I know places like Raytheon are hiring C++ jockeys. The key here is the MS thing... If the gov spotted it because you were using a corp/gov card, IMO game over. If you were using your own personal cards, then one could question why megacorp cared in the first place other than the fact you drew the attn of the gov to investigate and that makes you high maintenance.

2. You need to KNOW how much you're spending per month. I was in software making similar pay as you up until last year... I was known as Mr. Frugal and I spent 50% more than your 25K a year and that was without any kids.
Since you were doing MS, I suspect its going to be next to impossible for you to figure out your spending based on your credit card usage.
The reason you need to know what your burn rate is.... at $1.6M in savings and a 25K burn rate, you are close to having enough to retire now. Some real sloppy math says you could burn 60K per year for 40 years (thus the earlier suggestion to run a FireCalc analysis on your scenario). Hence the disbelief being expressed at your burn rate.

 

[gayl]

401K + Rollover IRA + wife's Trad IRA: 573k
Roth IRAs: 177k
Taxable Brokerage (Vanguard): 473k (100% stocks - Total Stock Market / Total International / VEA/VEU/VTI/...)
EE bonds (with maturity in 15-20 years) - 103k
I bonds - 172k
Taxable CDs/Mango/Insight/Netspend/2.5% checking accts - 87k

Total: ~1,585k (that includes unpaid taxes on brokerage & 401k). Stocks/bonds - ~54%/46% (all stocks are Vanguard funds/ETFs).
(in addition to that, we have 529s for kids with ~50k each).

House is paid off

835k + 177 Roth+ house paid off! SWEET! SWR @ 4% = 40k

SLOW DOWN! Knee jerk reaction not needed

 

[fired_need_help]

Agree... perhaps it is a coincidence that he was fired/resigned yesterday and there just happened to be a job fair today.

BTW, I did not know about job fair. Wife did, since she was looking for a job for the last several years and she took me there.
And yes, job fair has just happened today by pure chance.

 

[fired_need_help]

Might be legit, with some facts omitted, but I'm also suspecting Troll.

Feel free to ask any questions.
Anything that can be traced to geo location, I will answer via PM, like I've already done to some posters.

 

[pb4uski]

Have you considered retiring? With $1.5M, a paid off house and $25k a year of expenses you could easily do that.

 

[fired_need_help]

Have you considered retiring? With $1.5M, a paid off house and $25k a year of expenses you could easily do that.

$25k was without medical & dental.

I do agree that $25k might be incorrect over the long term, since I did not add cars depreciation. I was counting current expenses without taking into account big prior purchases (i.e. cars).

I wish I could retire, but I don't think that I have enough money, and like @Spock wrote above, it is easier for my age to find a job now than 10 years from now.

 

[gayl]

Have you considered retiring? With $1.5M, a paid off house and $25k a year of expenses you could easily do that.

+1!!

FIRE time

 

[daylatedollarshort]

$25k was without medical & dental.

I do agree that $25k might be incorrect over the long term, since I did not add cars depreciation. I was counting current expenses without taking into account big prior purchases (i.e. cars).

I wish I could retire, but I don't think that I have enough money, and like @Spock wrote above, it is easier for my age to find a job now than 10 years from now.

If you and your wife both had minimum wage jobs, combined with your portfolio income and low expenses it seems like you'd be more than fine even without moving. We had a fair bit of savings and I was willing to work more rather than move when DH's job was transferred to another state years back. I had a friend who was a financial planner help me convince him we were close to FI at the time and even with one of us getting a full-time job we would be fine, so he could be unemployed for awhile and we would be okay. I think you are in the same boat, maybe even better off for your age so no need to panic.

 

[pb4uski]

$25k was without medical & dental.

I do agree that $25k might be incorrect over the long term, since I did not add cars depreciation. I was counting current expenses without taking into account big prior purchases (i.e. cars).

I wish I could retire, but I don't think that I have enough money, and like @Spock wrote above, it is easier for my age to find a job now than 10 years from now.

Even adding $12k for medical, $1k a year for dental, $6k a year for car replacement, etc you are only at ~3% WR and that doesn't even consider any pensions or SS.

I guess my point is that there is no need to panic... just your taxable account would carry you for over a decade.

 

[retire2020]

OP: Do not know anything about clearance but you'll be just fine. I have been in IT for last thirty years. Nothing will happen overnight so relax... Update your resume and go for interview, if they offer you then tell them you've vaca pre-planned. Do not sell yourself cheap - Do not accept job for < 140K. For the reason to resign, tell them you wanted a change since you were there 10+ years. Company wont care nor would they dig any further if they need your skills.

I was fired once, laid off three times and resigned five times and every time I found a better position.

Ignore few who have decided to judge you and virtually kicking you. All the best! Yes, I would approach that UI claim - you have nothing to loose.

About HI: look into obamacare. With subsidy, it would be lot cheaper than cobra.

 

[fired_need_help]

About HI: look into obamacare. With subsidy, it would be lot cheaper than cobra.

I don't think I'd qualify for the subsidy this year. So, that is for the next year.
I've just looked at prices... Bronze is ~1100 / months, Silver is ~1400/month.
COBRA is ~1300 / month.

Bronze might be a better option. Need to look into details. Thanks.

 

[rayinpenn]

1. Start the job search immediately.
2. Economize
3. Develop a reasonable reason for leaving. If you were hiring what reason wouldn't raise your eyebrows? "I needed a change and asked for different work for some time. Since I did my job well they were not interested in changing the status quo." Figure one out.
4. Register with temp agencies that specialize in coders.

Good luck.

 

[retire2020]

I don't think I'd qualify for the subsidy this year. So, that is for the next year.
I've just looked at prices... Bronze is ~1100 / months, Silver is ~1400/month.
COBRA is ~1300 / month.

Bronze might be a better option. Need to look into details. Thanks.

You are family of 4 so 400% FPL will be around 97K. Your AGI(line 37 on 1040) + Any tax free bond interest has to be less than this no. to receive subsidy. Run a tax caster and see where this no will fall around for you. We are family of five and my expected MAGI will be around 111K. I am paying 875/Month for silver HSA plan and govt pays subsidy of around 650 per month. Cobra was 1600/Month for similar HSA plan.

 

[Spock]

I don't think I'd qualify for the subsidy this year. So, that is for the next year.
I've just looked at prices... Bronze is ~1100 / months, Silver is ~1400/month.
COBRA is ~1300 / month.

Bronze might be a better option. Need to look into details. Thanks.

Prices are very location specific... but my Obamacare is 73/month with a MAGI just above the minimum required to avoid medicaid. The numbers you're quoting sound like unsubsidized rates. COBRA will get you through the rest of 2017 and then 2018 you should qualify for the subsidy (assuming your income in 2018 is just above the minimum to qualify. Just remember to enroll in Nov (?) 2017 for a Jan 2018 start.

Dental insurance typically costs more than paying cash for dental cleanings and the occasional filling unless your family has a history of needing lots of dental work (not counting ortho).

 

[athena53]

I agree with finding ways to economize now but also taking the vacation.

It's not time to panic and sell the house- that time may never come. If you were in danger of losing it to foreclosure then you'd have to, but that's not the case at all.

Someone mentioned you and your wife getting minimum-wage jobs in the worst case, but I'm assuming that you'd have child care expenses, so if your wife becomes a barista at Starbucks it may be cash-flow negative.

When trading off COBRA vs. Obamacare consider the impact of deductibles and out-of-network charges. If your kids are the kind who incur soccer injuries and fall off their bikes a lot, your former employer's plan may be better even if the premiums are higher. Agree with Spock on dental insurance unless you get COBRA. In addition to sparse coverage, most plans exclude coverage for anything but cleaning in the first year. Hopefully you won't even have it that long.

This sucks and I know you're in shock, but don't do anything drastic and irreversible. You've got the resources to take your time and think things through.

 

[Johanson]

OP, how much were you MS/month? Did the CCC shut you down recently? Just curious. Anyhoo, I wouldn't worry too much about the future. I'm sure you'll be just fine.

 

[fired_need_help]

OP, how much were you MS/month?

PM sent. For others - average by Flyertalk standards.

Did the CCC shut you down recently?

No.

 

[fired_need_help]

When trading off COBRA vs. Obamacare consider the impact of deductibles and out-of-network charges.

The positive of this comparison is that my megacorp Health Plan was an HSA plan (and COBRA should be a continuation of that, I assume) and its coverage is so bad (i.e. no coverage until several thousands that we've never reached) that Obamacare Bronze might be a better plan.

 

[pb4uski]

They are probably pretty similar... my corporate high deductible plan was very similar to my Obamacare bronze plan.