At 45, Should I Choose Early Retirement or Continue My Stressful Medical Career for Financial Security?

A 45-year-old Reddit user is the sole breadwinner in his household, which includes two children. He has $3 million in invested assets, 90% of which is in stock and 10% of which is in bonds. He also has a home mortgage, which he said will be fully paid off within two years, and his family spends $100K  per year, which will be reduced to $75K once the mortgage is paid off. 

The problem right now is, his job is very stressful. He’s worried about his income declining if the economy does poorly, and he feels like he can’t slow down at all at work or he won’t make enough. While he wants to leave work and get out of the bad situation he is in, he’s also very worried about trying to live off investment income with two dependent children and thinks the anxiety of doing so would be worse than the stress of continuing to work.

So, should the poster stick it out for two more years to pay his mortgage off early and grow his nest egg? Or should he stop working now to remove the stress from his life?

Is $3 million enough to retire and support a family on?

The first key question that the poster needs to ask himself is whether $3 million would be enough for him and his family to live comfortably on. If he followed a safe withdrawal rate of 3.7%, his $3 million could generate around $111k in income.

While this might be enough to cover the $100K in costs that he and his family have, it is cutting it very close, especially once taxes are taken into account. The Redditor would also need to account for the costs of health insurance for a family of four, which would likely be very high when he loses employer-sponsored health insurance and must start paying for medical insurance on the individual marketplace. 

There’s also the fact that as his kids grow, the family’s expenses could increase as well if they participate in different activities or as they attend college. With such a small financial cushion and with the Redditor being so young and needing to rely on his money for so long, he very likely should keep working for a while to give himself and his loved ones more financial security. 

What are the Redditor’s options if he doesn’t like his job? 

Coping with a few more years of stress isn’t ideal, but since the Redditor would be in a better position if his mortgage is paid off — and could also see his savings grow if he sticks it out for two more years — it may be worth just biting the bullet and continuing with his job for a while longer. 

As some commentators pointed out, two years isn’t a long time. If the Redditor wants to set himself up for less stress for many years of retirement, it’s worth the tradeoff to keep dealing with the bad work situation to get more long-term stability.

However, there may also be another option that commentators pointed out. Specifically, the Reddit user may need to keep working, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be at the current job he has. He should consider looking for another position in the medical field that he enjoys more. Finding a new job may make him the happiest now and in the future, as he can shore up his nest egg without spending another two years of his life in a job he no longer likes.

It’s likely also a good idea to talk to a financial advisor to get personalized advice on what he needs to do to be ready for retirement. That way, he can ensure he is in a position to leave work without financial anxiety that would ruin his later years. 

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