I am married and 25 years old. My wife brings in about 55k/year, my salary is currently 80k/year plus benefits (assuming I get full time work.) I am currently in an on call as needed limited duration position.
I have worked at my work place for 6 months and my organization for 18 months. I had a permenant position at my last work place (6 months ago) but switched to my current on call as needed limited duration position because it cut my daily drive time by about 45 minutes. I have had enough work for full time hours for the last 6 months. I have had full time only because a colleague has been unable to work the last 4 months, we expect him to return fully functional but have no idea when (could be 1-18 months.) when he returns I will likely have to work inconsistent hours at both my old location and current location to maintain full time hours assuming these two work places continue to have staffing issues. (Days, nights, swing with inconsistent weekends.)
One of my colleagues was going to retire in December. She changed her mind and said she will likely retire in 18monthsish. I was counting on getting her position this December. So now I’m stuck in limbo unsure of if or when my hours will dry up, or if I’ll just be let go because of us being 25%over budget on salaries every month. This colleague is known to change her mind frequently.
After speaking with her she told me her biggest concern is healthcare, she has the money to retire but has to wait 18 months before being able to get medicaid. Well my work place allows for people to do what is known as a “job share.” Essentially both people work 20 hours a week and get half benefits including healthcare. She approached me last week and asked if I would job share with her. She qualifies for a pension and can draw on it while also working up to 20 hours a week. If I take the job share and she leaves, I then get to choose if I want to continue job sharing or take the whole position. If I don’t take it and someone else does, they would have that same option.
Pros of going to job share
-consistent predictable hours
-I would still occasionally get more then half time hours (meaning prorated salary, but benefits still stay at half-rate)
- I would be back in a permanent position and protected by the union
-It would be much easier to plan my life
- I have considered working part time forever in this type of position for healthcare benefits, it would be nice to see what it is like
-I could work on a bachelors degree then consider becoming a nurse practitioner
-when she leaves I can choose to take the full position
Cons
-Savings rate in worst case scenario would drop from 65% to 40%ish
-in my current position I can get up to 100% benefits, in a job share I’m locked into 50% benefits regardless of hours worked.
-She could change her mind and continue with OMY syndrome (although her husband is retired)
Other considerations- we plan on having children in 4-5 years, when that happens my wife wants to stop working. I will likely continue working until we hit FI or indefinately part time for healthcare benefits. Current net worth around 100k, current spending around 30k, projected FI spending 40-50k.
What would you do?