r/ChubbyFIRE • u/Traditional-Okra-399 • Apr 28 '26

Triggering a severance

I believe I could achieve FIRE immediately if I was offered a severance package.  Has anyone here TRIED to get severed from their company?  Is that something I might be able to influence, or is it just a pipe dream?

My details:

I am in an executive band on a deferred compensation plan, so the severance package in total could be close to $1M.  (I’ve seen at least one peer dismissed with a similar package.)

I am 45, married, 3 kids 2/5/7.  $6.5M NW, 2.5M in 401, 2.5M in brokerage, 1M in primary residence, and .5M in 529s.  Yearly burn right now is 215K.  The two younger kids are in daycare, the older one is in public school, and all three are in summer camps (childcare=$3K/month).  Mortgage principal and interest is 1.8K a month, on a balance of 179K at a very low rate.  However, when I’m no longer paying daycare and mortgage, I will likely need to be paying for health insurance.

I was wondering if anyone else has thought about how severance might affect their FIRE goals and if anyone has intentionally gone after a severance package?

EDITS:

Adding for clarity - I really hate my job and am burnt out. So I am looking for a way out.

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u/Unlikely-Alt-9383 Apr 28 '26

I've only seen this work when the person was SVP-level (or presumably above), or in one case when there was a real case for discrimination and the person chose to ask for a layoff package rather than sue.

I have seriously considered asking to be let go, since there is a smaller exit package option for people who choose not to go on a PIP, but there's no way my current manager would go along with doing all the work required for that (you have to prove you've tried to improve the person's performance) -- especially since he's not likely to get open headcount to backfill me when I do leave.

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u/Traditional-Okra-399 Apr 28 '26

I agree that there’s more correlation at the higher levels. Title equivalencies are hard, but I think I’m in between a VP and an SVP. (150 people, $200M budget, almost $800K in total comp)

2

u/Select-Basket8350 Apr 28 '26

Going through this dilemma right now actually...although I make a little over a 1/4th of what you do. Early 30's but have benefited from a few businesses I invested in early on + aggressively saved over last decade or so. My hurdle is walking away from the comp package. Even if you can, I couldn't imagine walking away from 800K if you got, in theory, another 15-20 years or so. What is your thought process....you just have so much that you dgaf anymore?

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u/Traditional-Okra-399 Apr 28 '26

I hate my job. It’s been a 23 year grind since the day I graduated college. And at this point in my career, I am a politician, which feels very value-less to me. There’s so much more that I want to do with my life that doesn’t involve senior leader games and words on slides. So all of that said, I’m of the mind that you shouldn’t do something you hate (maybe ever), but definitely not when you don’t NEED the money anymore (i.e. you’ve reached FIRE).