Wondering where to go from here.....

[Flieger]

Well, the old adage of "best laid plans....", or maybe "don't jump from the pan to the fire" may hold true for me here.

BACKGROUND
Been in Operations Management/Leadership in a very demanding (24/7) industry for 25 years or so. Almost all of those in 2 companies, so not a frequent "job hopper" with last company 14 years). In January of this year I had a chance to move to a "less stressful" industry (1 shift operation, normally) which involved relocation and start-up of a factory from West Coast to East Coast. I know/knew the start-up would have stress, have done this (relocating production) many times, but my thinking was that after this initial period it would be much easier for my last 2-3 years of working. A lot to get into, but in a nutshell, I was brought in late, and the planning for this effort was extremely poor, resulting in A LOT of issues and problems outside of my control. In addition, executive leadership did poor due diligence, thinking they would be able to significantly reduce labor costs, and this resulted in major turnover issues at the worst time (training of new personnel on (somewhat) complex manufacturing processes. Making this story even shorter, the pressure was significantly higher, and my dissatisfaction with the situation I was in was more than I had planned. After discussions, decision was made for me and this new company to part ways. Before getting lectures, I definitely should have done more investigation of the situation, but this company is not a small one so I "assumed" competence in the planning....

SITUATION
So, not I am unemployed earlier than planned. We did agree on a small severance (3 months pay, 3 months active employee cost to COBRA, still get my 1/2 Year bonus (unsure what that will be considering the companies "issues", but....). My biggest quandary now is health insurance. Almost all of my savings a pre-tax so will show as income taking me out of ACA subsidy levels. I might could get one year of subsidy using almost all of my after tax brokerage... Oh, 62 early next year so 3 years to medicare.

I have decided I no longer want to be in Operations Management (leadership and responsibility for direct production operations), but this has been my life. Now trying to figure out if I can parlay my experience in to something else (consulting? recruiting?, etc). Even if I were to make 70-75% of what I was making before but have access to insurance, I think that would relieve what is now a different, but very significant stress!

Not really looking for an answer to my situation here, but it just feels good to type it out! I'm thinking and trying to work out next steps and anyone who cares to see how this goes, just follow along. Thanks for reading. Words of encouragement appreciated.

Flieger

 

[street]

I'll be following your navigating through the process.

One question, do you feel you have enough to stop working at this point?

 

[Flieger]

I'll be following your navigating through the process.

One question, do you feel you have enough to stop working at this point?

Probably could, but would definitely make a dent. I have checked Health Insurance, very costly for DW and I for 3 years. More than I have available in HSA. Can mitigate this with "some" kind of income.

 

[Midpack]

DW bought temporary health insurance from UHC between the end of COBRA and start of Medicare. Those policies are limited to 2 years max, her stint was just over a year, and the premiums weren’t that awful (presumably because it’s short term) - less than COBRA but more than Medicare.

Sorry your last career move didn’t pan out.

 

[MBAustin]

Sounds like you are dealing with a bad hand about as well as can be expected.

FWIW, I tried some consulting after my ER and, while I enjoyed the two small engagements I landed, prospecting for more business was stressful and not much fun. My network in this area was just not well established enough for the work I wanted to do. If you have a good network from your career, it might be easier.

If you just want a tide-over position to help with healthcare expenses for a few years, DS's girlfriend's father went from a high-pressure executive position to working the floor at Home Depot for several years and loved it. So you may have more options than you realize. Good luck!

 

[Flieger]

Sounds like you are dealing with a bad hand about as well as can be expected.

FWIW, I tried some consulting after my ER and, while I enjoyed the two small engagements I landed, prospecting for more business was stressful and not much fun. My network in this area was just not well established enough for the work I wanted to do. If you have a good network from your career, it might be easier.

If you just want a tide-over position to help with healthcare expenses for a few years, DS's girlfriend's father went from a high-pressure executive position to working the floor at Home Depot for several years and loved it. So you may have more options than you realize. Good luck!

Funny you mention that MBAustin, that was one of the things I have thought about! I also have a pretty good (long) relationship with Temp/Contract providers utilized during my time on Ops and have reached out to them about recruiting opportunity (professional). I have hired many engineers and managers over the years and think that would help me in the "review" process for submittals. Had a meeting for this past Monday, but then Helene.... Will follow up with them as soon as things calm down here in the SE.

Flieger

 

[cathy63]

Are you committed to staying in the area you relocated to for the job that just ended? The cost of insurance through the marketplace varies a lot by state and county, though of course relocating is also expensive. I'm just throwing this out in case you haven't already thought about it.

 

[Exchme]

You should at evaluate whether you can retire. If you are financially secure, then you can be a lot more selective in thinking about job opportunities or may choose to either take a break or just retire. FireCalc is a good starting point that is quick to use. Since your money is mostly in tax-deferred, be aware that FireCalc doesn't know that, so you should probably make an estimate of your tax rate and reduce the balance you use in the calculation accordingly.

You said healthcare is your biggest quandary, but that is a level of detail below whether you can retire or not. Even if you can't get any premium credits, paying full price for ACA for three years is unlikely to be the difference between retiring and not if you are truly financially ready to retire.

Depending on the balance in your IRA, limiting income to get ACA premium credits might not even be the right move for you. Instead, next year might be the best time to do a good size Roth Conversion before the current tax law expires and before you turn 63 and potentially get affected by IRMAA.

Good luck, it's too bad this job went sideways, but it sounds like it was a lot of stress and this might be a good time to downshift and enjoy life.

 

[Rickt]

Flieger: sorry to know things didn't work out for you as expected. You have a lot of experience in Operations management. Have you thought of teaching at the local university/engineering school/business school. Salary may be a little less but it will more than make up in lower stress and good health insurance.

Good luck to you!!

Rickt

 

[Koolau]

Since you're "close" to Financial Independence, all you really need is a j*b to tide you over to MC (as long as it has HC as a benefit.) Who cares about the salary, really?

 

[Sunset]

Seems like you need a job for health ins. Hopefully you didn't burn bridges as may need references.

Of course now you see, you should have been saving some money outside of retirement accnt's to last a few years over the past decade (I'm writing this for other readers who are still working, to think about).

Don't you have any Roth savings ?

If you do withdraw some from retirement and rest from non-retirement accnt, will you still get ACA subsidy and could it stretch the non-retirement money to 2 years ?

Otherwise, run numbers on pull 2x yearly need from retirement , pay full health care for 1 year and next year use the pulled money to have full ACA subsidy.

 

[Sunset]

Since you're "close" to Financial Independence, all you really need is a j*b to tide you over to MC (as long as it has HC as a benefit.) Who cares about the salary, really?

I recall thinking I'd do another year or two at work, while getting good pay, rather than quit and take a Walmart greeter job for a few years for healthcare.

I think Walmart has gotten rid of those jobs now.

 

[aja8888]

I got out of operations after many years, last job as Plant Manager of a 1,000 person plant. Went into consulting. Much harder as you have to SELL and DO the work. Did that for 20 years and had enough, so much, in fact, as I never want to set foot in another airport.

 

[Flieger]

Seems like you need a job for health ins. Hopefully you didn't burn bridges as may need references.

Of course now you see, you should have been saving some money outside of retirement accnt's to last a few years over the past decade (I'm writing this for other readers who are still working, to think about).

Don't you have any Roth savings ?

If you do withdraw some from retirement and rest from non-retirement accnt, will you still get ACA subsidy and could it stretch the non-retirement money to 2 years ?

Otherwise, run numbers on pull 2x yearly need from retirement , pay full health care for 1 year and next year use the pulled money to have full ACA subsidy.

No bridges burnt, just not the right fit. Certainly I can find another job in my "field", but as someone further down states, being at this level of Ops Management is no picnic. I am contemplating options.

Yes, of course, now I see. If only we all could be omnipotent and know the future.

Early, there was no Roth. Later, I was in higher tax bracket than I will be in retirement so it didn't make sense.

Flieger

 

[Flieger]

Since you're "close" to Financial Independence, all you really need is a j*b to tide you over to MC (as long as it has HC as a benefit.) Who cares about the salary, really?

Yes, this is what I am contemplating. I have to "value" my time and my mental health. It's getting much more valuable as I get older!

Flieger

 

[Koolau]

What about a HELOC to "live" on for a while but keep "income" low for ACA? Is that possible?

 

[mrfeh]

Probably could, but would definitely make a dent. I have checked Health Insurance, very costly for DW and I for 3 years. More than I have available in HSA. Can mitigate this with "some" kind of income.

Just so you know - you can't use an HSA for health insurance premiums.

 

[njhowie]

I know you said you weren't looking for answers, but, if it were me in the same situation, I would just go out and find some mindless stress free job locally that I could do in my sleep to cover the health insurance until age 65. I'm thinking post office, supermarket, Walmart, etc. Clearly something I was overqualified for, but humble enough to just take it, do my 40 hours a week and have the health insurance covered. Who knows, I might even like it and continue part-time after 65 for pocket change.

Anyhow, don't think of it as a quandry, but rather an opportunity for the next 3 years to coast.

 

[Flieger]

Just so you know - you can't use an HSA for health insurance premiums.

Sorry, meant to say to cover the high deductibles to make the premiums more reasonable. Thanks for pointing that out to me though!

Flieger

 

[Flieger]

I know you said you weren't looking for answers, but, if it were me in the same situation, I would just go out and find some mindless stress free job locally that I could do in my sleep to cover the health insurance until age 65. I'm thinking post office, supermarket, Walmart, etc. Clearly something I was overqualified for, but humble enough to just take it, do my 40 hours a week and have the health insurance covered. Who knows, I might even like it and continue part-time after 65 for pocket change.

Anyhow, don't think of it as a quandry, but rather an opportunity for the next 3 years to coast.

I appreciate the suggestion. I did get a call from a company that wants to discuss another leadership role (although smaller at ~400 people), but just really not sure I want back in....

Flieger

 

[Flieger]

What about a HELOC to "live" on for a while but keep "income" low for ACA? Is that possible?

Interesting thought. I actually do have a HELOC already. I'll have to think on that one.

Flieger

 

[jim584672]

Pull a year or two of money from your pre tax account, then the next month apply for Medicaid. Since Medicaid is monthly based you should qualify. I'm assuming your state expanded Medicaid.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I think you may be incorrect about not having access to ACA subsidies.

Insurance through the ACA lost the "cliff" until 2026 due to the Inflation Reduction Act. The most you would have to pay is roughly 8.5% of your MAGI (depends on the actual plan). The current premium tax credit disappears in 2026 and the cliff returns, unless Congress makes a change. Unless a single person's income is over $200K or a couple's income is over $400K, you have a premium tax credit. I plugged in $100K income for a single 64 year old person and got a premium tax credit of $737 per month.

Until the Inflation Reduction Act was passed, my plan was to pull enough from my account to give us cash to live on for two years. I had planned to pay the full amount every other year, essentially cutting our premiums by about 1/3 to 1/2. Since you are currently 62 and the IRA doesn't expire until 2026, you can pull enough out of your pre-tax account in 2025 to get through most of 2026. I second the idea of getting a HELOC, especially before you no longer have a job. That will give you access to cash to get you through that final year until you hit Medicare age. You are close enough to Medicare age that you should be able to avoid paying the full premium most of the time between now and age 65.

You'll have a couple of decades to pay off that HELOC, so that will be easy.

 

[RetiredHappy]

The subsidy depends on your state. I input into the system each year and it always comes back with I don't get a premium subsidy.

So if I input $185K household income, at 8.5%, it is $15,725. Spouse is on Medicare and ACA does not count that. Silver plan is about $1,200 per month, total for the year is $14,400. No subsidies.

 

[jim584672]

The subsidy depends on your state. I input into the system each year and it always comes back with I don't get a premium subsidy.

The formula is the same in all states since that is set by Federal law.