Tell us about your "Golden Handcuffs"

[Bikesy]

So I've got a pretty good job, I'll make 116k this year, 160k in 2017, and 180k in 2018 (assuming stock price doesn't move).  I don't make a super high salary, 86k, but I get stock bonuses regularly.  My vest schedule for the next couple of years would make it very difficult to walk away, and it will only get worse.  Here's what my vest schedule looks like for 2017/2018:

Jan '17:   $27,000
May '17:  $8,000
July '17:  $27,000
Nov '17:  $7,000

Jan '18:  $27,000
May '18: $17,000
July '18: $27,000
Nov '18: $17,000

I'm obviously not complaining, and these stock grants are small beans compared to some people's, but all the same, OMY syndrome can easily become OMM when you're wearing "Golden Handcuffs"

So who here is currently wearing GHs?  What do they look like?  Who's walked away from large stock grants/bonuses to FIRE?

[tobitonic]

I know you said you're not complaining, but do remember that compared to the vast majority of people in the US, you do make a super high salary; in 2014, 86k for an individual put you at the 89th percentile. Putting your 116k into a calculator puts you in the 94th percentile for 2014. There are very few people in the country who would consider your combined package small beans.

With that out of the way, I don't really have golden handcuffs, unless I count my family as one. However, I like having a family more than I like the idea of retiring super-early, so..

[big_slacker]

I know you said you're not complaining, but do remember that compared to the vast majority of people in the US, you do make a super high salary; in 2014, 86k for an individual put you at the 89th percentile. Putting your 116k into a calculator puts you in the 94th percentile for 2014. There are very few people in the country who would consider your combined package small beans.

With that out of the way, I don't really have golden handcuffs, unless I count my family as one. However, I like having a family more than I like the idea of retiring super-early, so..

OP was saying the $86k salary isn't super high compared to the size of those stock awards which is absolutely true. 5 figure vests are HUGE given the salary.

FWIW my base is just under $150k and we average 10% stock awards/yr that vest (quarterly) over 5 years. I also have $25k from my sign on bonus. We also get an end of year 10% (or more) cash bonus so even if someone wanted to quit they'd be well served to wait till after that drops. $800/yr for fitness/sports equipment as well, that's small compared to the rest but it'ls still awesome.

I think golden handcuffs isn't a fair term unless you absolutely hate your job and/or the awards are out of line with the salary. The latter seems to be the case with the OP.

[Rubic]

Though not at OP's level of compensation, I've walked away from golden handcuffs three times in my career.  Twice during/after the company was going public.  Working for a publicly traded company which reports quarterly earnings is just too much aggravation in your life.  It introduces you to a whole class of people I'd just as soon avoid.

Although I wasn't FI at the time, I had enough FU money to walk away with no regrets.

During the dot-com boom in the late 90's, I saw many people working 70-80 hour weeks in anticipation of becoming multi-millionaires.  It affected their health, both mental and physical, and burned out many folks when the bottom fell out.

Ironically, in my current situation as a business owner, I'm somewhat restrained in a pair of "silver handcuffs".  Now if I could just find the damn key ...

[Bikesy]

Maybe "small beans" wasn't the right term.  As I wrote the original post I was thinking of tech workers in Silicon Valley whose stock bonuses would dwarf mine.

[Financial Ascensionist]

I am currently wearing a set of golden handcuffs very comparable to Bikesy's.  My stock compensation is almost as much as my base salary, which is pretty comfortable to begin with.  Partly, I got there by working really hard, but I won't hide that there was a bit of luck involved since I was awarded a stock grant when my company was trading much lower than it is now.  With hard work alone, I think it would be much harder to get such a generous vesting plan and this motivates me to milk that particular cow for much longer than I would otherwise.  My job is not terrible, it's actually very rewarding, but it's also very demanding and it's not something that I want to do for the rest of my life.  At some point, I want to sit back and stop rev'ing my brain at 9000 RPM all the time.  I'm no doctor, but I'm sure this is key to a improving one's life expectancy in one way or another.

My golden handcuffs are keeping me working for longer that I would otherwise, but they won't keep me there forever and I am perfectly determined to walk away from them.  I have my FIRE date in mind and every month I record how much of a difference my current compensation made on my the safe withdrawal rate of my portfolio.  When this stops being a significant number, I have enough by any definition of the term and walking away from a large pile of cash becomes just as rational as walking away from the free samples stand at Costco after you've tasted the stuff and decided you were not going to by the new fancy flavour of crackers. 

[nereo]

My advice for anyone who feels they are wearing 'Golden handcuffs" is to sit down and objectively determine at what point they will have enough.

Once you've hit that point, extra money won't make you extra-happy, as you will be trading time (which you can't replace) for extra money (which you don't need).  Feel free to be conservative with this calculation... for example: a 3% WR plus a multi-year bond ladder.  But as soon as you start looking at how much extra you will have by staying OMY instead of considering whether you need anything additional you've fallen into the trap.

[Sailor Sam]

I'm an Active Duty military officer, with 10 years of service, and 10 years to go until I earn my 20-year cliff vest. If I make 20 years, my pension will be 50% of my final base pay. I estimate the pension to be around 50k/year. Plus free medical care for the remainder of my life.

I've done the calculations that will give me 'enough' savings, and it's going to take me ~8 years to accumulate the stash. Assuming I'm not miserable, there's an incredible payoff for sticking those last 2 years. Especially considering the current uncertainty over the American health care system.

[seattlecyclone]

"Handcuffs" are a state of mind. Sure, if you're still working there in June 2017 you might as well stay on until July to get an extra $27k, but what's keeping you there after that? $7k after four more months? Hardly seems like it should be enough to significantly influence your behavior.

If you're not FI yet and want to explore new jobs, you can use those upcoming stock grants to negotiate from a position of strength at the new place. So far in my career I've left behind unvested stock at two companies and it has all worked out. The first time I was moving from a publicly traded place to a late-stage startup, and the stock I got at the new place ended up being worth far more after the IPO than my unvested stock at the first place. Then when I wanted to leave the second company, I was able to use the remainder of my unvested pre-IPO options to negotiate for significantly higher equity compensation for the first two years in my current job.

At some point when you approach FI you just have to accept that at some point you'll have "enough" and that you'll always be leaving future earnings on the table to walk away. If you're still happy enough at your job you may decide to delay your retirement until the next big vesting cliff just to give your FIRE a little bit of a boost, but you should do that with the knowledge that you already have enough and whatever other money you're getting is really not necessary after all.

[BudgetSlasher]

A state pension plan that excludes me from paying into social security. While I can take my contributions (but not the state's and depending on position your amount varies from 1 to 7.5 percent of pay) out of the pension if I choose to move out of the government, as time goes on getting the necessary credit under SS becomes more and more difficult and at the same time there are pentacles (or calculations that favor other behaviors) for leaving the state before 25 years or taking payments before normal retirement age.

Of course knowing this I can and do plan around it, which makes it less of a handcuff and more of an annoyance.

I know several people who have been there long enough that they are stuck in a position they are unhappy with due to the SS/pension tension (not a large enough payment anticipated under the pension and not enough time to earn a decent SS check.

[Rural]

 I have some pension golden handcuffs as well, but without the Social Security dilemma. We pay into both, which means nearly 25% 20%  of gross income (which is under $50k) goes into pension-style funds.  I have 3 1/2 years before vesting in the state pension, so I'm definitely not going anywhere before that. That's the same period of time until public service student loan forgiveness, so I'm stuck for two different reasons. I like it, so it's not a major crisis, but it pretty well does mean my husband and I will live separately for  several years while he goes to grad school. He's looking close enough that we'll be able to spend weekends together, but there is no option within driving distance anymore. If I were vested, we might just go off together.


He was two years from vesting in the same state pension when he left state employment, but we've set aside the money to buy two military years for him if we need to - we have three more years to make the decision. I don't have the military years, unfortunately.


Edited the bold above because brain fart that day.

[Bikesy]

"Handcuffs" are a state of mind. Sure, if you're still working there in June 2017 you might as well stay on until July to get an extra $27k, but what's keeping you there after that? $7k after four more months? Hardly seems like it should be enough to significantly influence your behavior.

If you're not FI yet and want to explore new jobs, you can use those upcoming stock grants to negotiate from a position of strength at the new place.

I agree about it being a state of mind.  We're a ways out from FI right now, 5-6 years, but I would guess that as the bonuses become a smaller % of ones net worth they would become less relevant to the decision to walk away.  Our "number" is 950k.  I'm hoping to hit that and then consider my last vest as a "FIRE bonus". Maybe do a big trip with my family or something :).

[doggyfizzle]

As a FERS federal employee that only has a contribution rate of 0.8% towards my pension, I feel a bit of the golden handcuffs.  My minimum retirement age is 57, which would result in my having a nice pension, social security offset pension, and about $2 million in my TSP by that point.  The downside is that I'll have worked until I'm 57.  However, I've started looking into LWOP rules, and as long as an employee isn't absent for more than 30 straight days, there isn't much downside in terms of pension accrual etc. which might be something to look into when I really want to get away from work for a while.

[Cycling Stache]

I can answer this one (and sound like a whiny brat at the same time)!

My "golden handcuffs" is a (relatively) high paying job that is (1) (almost) guaranteed, (2) as good as a job can be for me in my field, (3) involves very regular hours unless I'm prepping for trial, (4) involves working with good people and the best boss I've ever had, (5) generally allows me to work as hard or not hard as I'm feeling on a particular day, and (6) one that I could not get back (or anything like it) if I left.  To give you an idea, I think they currently have about 1,000 applicants for my position each time it comes open.

But I want to retire early, so I still think about it all the time!  One thing I've been thinking about is that if I had a terrible job, I would retire today and be relatively confident that my numbers would work out (it still involves my wife working, and she insists that she will).  So it's weird that a really good job would be the reason I have a hard time making the decision.

I've got a few things to do for the rest of the year that are important for me to take care of, so it's not going to be a decision this year.  But my golden handcuffs are the "perfect" job, if I'm going to have a job at all.

Weird, right?  The "livingafi" guy had a really good post on his blog about the difficulty of leaving the cushy job, which I've read several times.

[BlueHouse]

My golden handcuff is really just a job where they pay me a lot. The handcuff part is because it is not likely that I could find another contract that is this highly paid with a long-term outlook.  I don't get any bump at the end of a quarter or a bonus at the end of a year. It's just an hourly commitment that over the long-term ends up looking very lucrative for me. 

[MMMdude]

Though not at OP's level of compensation, I've walked away from golden handcuffs three times in my career.  Twice during/after the company was going public.  Working for a publicly traded company which reports quarterly earnings is just too much aggravation in your life.  It introduces you to a whole class of people I'd just as soon avoid.

Although I wasn't FI at the time, I had enough FU money to walk away with no regrets.

During the dot-com boom in the late 90's, I saw many people working 70-80 hour weeks in anticipation of becoming multi-millionaires.  It affected their health, both mental and physical, and burned out many folks when the bottom fell out.

Ironically, in my current situation as a business owner, I'm somewhat restrained in a pair of "silver handcuffs".  Now if I could just find the damn key ...

Accountants?  lol I'm one and can't stand them either - especially at quarter end.

[aceyou]

I'm 33.  If I teach for 15 more years, I retire with a pension for the rest of my life...gotta make it to 48.  I'll likely be FI by age 41 give or take a year, so my golden handcuffs basically allow me to go from FI to triple FI if I work 7 more years. 

[felizcortez]

I typically receive about 30k of equity per year and then some larger injections that are worth upwards of 100k every few years.  I have one that vests in about 2 years worth over 100k.  I'm planning to stick around for the big one. 

[Rubic]

Though not at OP's level of compensation, I've walked away from golden handcuffs three times in my career.  Twice during/after the company was going public.  Working for a publicly traded company which reports quarterly earnings is just too much aggravation in your life.  It introduces you to a whole class of people I'd just as soon avoid.

Although I wasn't FI at the time, I had enough FU money to walk away with no regrets.

During the dot-com boom in the late 90's, I saw many people working 70-80 hour weeks in anticipation of becoming multi-millionaires.  It affected their health, both mental and physical, and burned out many folks when the bottom fell out.

Ironically, in my current situation as a business owner, I'm somewhat restrained in a pair of "silver handcuffs".  Now if I could just find the damn key ...

Accountants?  lol I'm one and can't stand them either - especially at quarter end.

Not accountants per se, but usually the CFO and all the upper level management who are attempting to make the numbers "look good".

[abhe8]

Right now my handcuffs are a five year student loan repayment guarantee plus PSLF a year after. But, maybe it's not really golden handcuffs as I'm not truly FI? I just want to work part time, which i can't do and still get the loan payments.

[PhysicianOnFIRE]

About $16,000 in profit sharing to my 401(k) every February. Must be present to win.

[hdatontodo]

Up to 10% bonus in Feb if present through Dec. Usually get close to full amount. 1% bonus added to 401k then too. They match 100% of 6% for 401k.

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[Kaminoge]

I don't know if I'd qualify mine as "handcuffs" but I do feel kind of stuck (luckily I like the job) because with this career (it's not one job in particular - I change every few years) comes a visa to live wherever I get a job. And without that there'd be no-way I could live long term in any country but Australia without a lot of hassle.

This lifestyle is kind of addictive.

But it's definitely not the money that keeps me in it!

[PhrugalPhan]

I have pension based golden handcuffs.  I'm vested but if I leave today I won't get anything for 13 years (and then ~25% of current salary).   If I work six more years I will be able to leave, get the pension started on day one (at approximately 43% of salary) *AND* get a pre-SSI supplement equal to about 50% of the pension for 7 years.   So work six more years and the monthly payout triples and I get it immediately.  As I have 600k in investments now, I will go from having not quite enough one day to having way too much money the next.  The GF isn't quitting her job until her pension kicks in 2.5 years from now, so I won't consider it before then, but after that its going to be tempting.

[dude]

As a FERS federal employee that only has a contribution rate of 0.8% towards my pension, I feel a bit of the golden handcuffs.  My minimum retirement age is 57, which would result in my having a nice pension, social security offset pension, and about $2 million in my TSP by that point.  The downside is that I'll have worked until I'm 57.  However, I've started looking into LWOP rules, and as long as an employee isn't absent for more than 30 straight days, there isn't much downside in terms of pension accrual etc. which might be something to look into when I really want to get away from work for a while.

Similar boat for me -- but I'm FERS LEO with less than 3 years to go (May 2019 -- I'll be almost 54). Pension will be 42% of High-3 base salary (6% higher than it would otherwise be on account of prior military service), which means it will wind up @ $58,200/year (that's a reduced figure accounting for a survivor annuity where my wife would get 50% of that after I die). But due to early retirement age as a LEO, I'll get another $12,000 or so in the form of the FERS Special Supplement. I get this free and clear until I'm 57; after that, it's reduced similar to SS starting @ $15,400 of income until age 62, at which point it goes away entirely.  As a FERS retiree, I'll have the same health care benefits as active FERS employees, paying the same rate as then-current FERS employees (currently I pay @ $348/mo.). Golden handcuffs, indeed.

[herbgeek]

My handcuffs are 100% working from home.  No commute, no packing up of the lunch, no makeup, heck I work in sweatpants most of the time.  Not a highly stressful job most weeks- since I'm home I go out to the garden for a break instead of engaging in chit chat with co-workers.    I'm making reasonable money- I know I could make 10-20K more easily, but given where I live, that would mean a minimum 2 hour daily commute, plus the additional time of prepping clothes,lunches, making sure dinner is easy to prepare.  Not worth the tradeoff to me. 

[boarder42]

i've got stock as well with my company and at my FIRE date i will be likely giving up over 200k a year in stock proceeds when i leave my company.  it doesnt get any better the longer you stay as that number quickly grows to 500k in just a few more years.  i'm sure i'll face this dliemma and trade 1-2 years of my life for a half million in financial insurance.

[BFGirl]

Four and a half years until I'm eligible to take my pension.  If healthcare premiums are out of control, I may stay longer for the healthcare so that I have fewer years to bridge until Medicare.

[GuitarStv]

They only come out a couple times a year, and it's a good idea to settle on a safe word before use.

[PhysicianOnFIRE]

They only come out a couple times a year, and it's a good idea to settle on a safe word before use.

I believe those are the furry handcuffs, not golden. You want to employ the Safe Word before the word Golden is associated with any type of shower.

[brute]

3 years to vest 10% employer 401k match of my salary. Once 3 years is up, all future matches are vested immediately.
2 years to freedom from being required to pay sign on bonus and moving expenses covered by the company

[ZiziPB]

Mine are restricted stock with a 3 year cliff vesting schedule.  I get a new award every year so when I FIRE in 2018 I will be walking away from 3 years worth of stock (likely ~$120K total if stock price doesn't change much).  I've been thinking about and planning my FIRE date for a couple of years of now so I've had sufficient time to accept this as the price I will pay for freedom :-)

[BTDretire]

They only come out a couple times a year, and it's a good idea to settle on a safe word before use.

I believe those are the furry handcuffs, not golden. You want to employ the Safe Word before the word Golden is associated with any type of shower.

 Yep, thought I clicked on the wrong link!

[markbike528CBX]

Retention bonus:  1/4th of year salary divvied up over 3 years (1st yr 5%, 2ndyr 7%, 3d yr 13%). 
2nd yr doesn't "vest" until end of 3d year.     0.8yrs to full vesting at <55yrs age.

Even more...
Other part, pension @55, 401(k) easy withdrawals @55.

Also, I have a likable job, boss, coworkers etc, and not much of a plan of what to retire TO, when (IF) I grow up.

Edit -added IF, as it is not a given that I'll grow up.

[Goldy]

The wife and I work for the same company and get:

5-10k company stock each
12% of salary to 401k each (22k total)
About 30k in bonuses

Once I hit my next band these cuffs tighten even more as the bonus doubles and the 401k increase with my income.

[PhysicianOnFIRE]

3 years to vest 10% employer 401k match of my salary. Once 3 years is up, all future matches are vested immediately.
2 years to freedom from being required to pay sign on bonus and moving expenses covered by the company

That reminds me - I'm not fully vested in the annual profit sharing until I've been with the Hospital for 5 years. I'm about halfway there!

[JoeBlow]

I don't have any huge future handcuffs, just the yearly mini handcuffs.  Bonus in March, grants vesting in July, raise in September and 5 weeks vacation on January first.

Based on this, I am going to have to time my RE (voluntarily) after the grants vest in July.

[dragoncar]

I don't have handcuffs, just a pretty OK job situation (I'm thinking I am currently in the sweet spot of compensation, flexibility, and coasting*) for the industry.

But I ran the numbers on my wife's pension.  It looks like the real benefit is a mere $12k/year (vs. if the pension didn't exist and she invested the difference herself).  However, the benefits skyrocket once she hits 52 years (still working).  If she works until 53, it adds $80k to the value.  If she works OMY at 66, it would add $150 to the value.  Then after 67 the benefit goes back to $12k/year.

[mak1277]

I have some fairly hefty equity compensation awards that vest over the next four years.  I'm projected to hit my "number" after the third of the four vesting periods, so it will be a tough decision to make whether I want to do OMY for another couple hundred thousand worth of options.

[boarder42]

I have some fairly hefty equity compensation awards that vest over the next four years.  I'm projected to hit my "number" after the third of the four vesting periods, so it will be a tough decision to make whether I want to do OMY for another couple hundred thousand worth of options.

i'd do it ... i'm probably going to do it when i get to that point in 6-7 years.

my problem is that couple hundred K keeps getting bigger and in 4 years after my projected FIRE date its pushing 500k annually.  going to be really hard to call it quits when its that much annually.  its basically an ROI on a Privately held company stock i work for that i have to sell when i leave and the ROI is not replicatable by any stretch of the imagination outside of working here or starting my own business. 

[mak1277]

I have some fairly hefty equity compensation awards that vest over the next four years.  I'm projected to hit my "number" after the third of the four vesting periods, so it will be a tough decision to make whether I want to do OMY for another couple hundred thousand worth of options.

i'd do it ... i'm probably going to do it when i get to that point in 6-7 years.

my problem is that couple hundred K keeps getting bigger and in 4 years after my projected FIRE date its pushing 500k annually.  going to be really hard to call it quits when its that much annually.  its basically an ROI on a Privately held company stock i work for that i have to sell when i leave and the ROI is not replicatable by any stretch of the imagination outside of working here or starting my own business.

It's all just mental gymnastics for me right now...who knows where our stock price will be in four years anyway.

[boarder42]

I have some fairly hefty equity compensation awards that vest over the next four years.  I'm projected to hit my "number" after the third of the four vesting periods, so it will be a tough decision to make whether I want to do OMY for another couple hundred thousand worth of options.

i'd do it ... i'm probably going to do it when i get to that point in 6-7 years.

my problem is that couple hundred K keeps getting bigger and in 4 years after my projected FIRE date its pushing 500k annually.  going to be really hard to call it quits when its that much annually.  its basically an ROI on a Privately held company stock i work for that i have to sell when i leave and the ROI is not replicatable by any stretch of the imagination outside of working here or starting my own business.

It's all just mental gymnastics for me right now...who knows where our stock price will be in four years anyway.

same here i'm trying to project out gains in 6-7 years using 30 years of data (thats been extremely consistent) so i'm pretty confident but it could all change.

[tonysemail]

I had an epiphany over thanksgiving holiday.
I decided to grind out another 4 months for the sake of golden handcuffs.
Recent stock appreciation has made the handcuffs much shinier and worth my while to stay.

PoF, I half blame you and MMM for your charitable contributions blog posts.
I already have enough to FIRE, but now I'm getting greedy.
The blog posts have nudged me to stash away more money in my DAF.
I'm enamored with the idea of a perpetual fund that spits out 4k/year for charity.
My ESPP due Sep is ~50k and that is ear marked for the DAF.

After that date, there are still some handcuffs, but they aren't nearly as shiny and vest over years.

[Much Fishing to Do]

Here's mine, little different, little the same ....  so we were trucking along making about 1.8x what we would spend per year...and then I started a business that had a few years making a little less..but then things took off and in the last 3 years I've averaged making about 3.5x what I spend/year after taxes...so now I'd be crazy to stop when the return is just getting good, right!?   ;-)  I think I've come to the conclusion that that does make me crazy to step away early with any plan to come back (which I had previously considered), but once there's enough then there's enough

[seanc0x0]

My golden handcuffs are the benefits. I could make more money elsewhere, but I enjoy my strict 37.5 hours per week and 5 weeks of vacation (not counting the week between Christmas and New Year's when the campus is closed). It would take a significant jump in income to make up for that. 

I almost moved a year or so ago when my job was full of suck and micromanagement, but I moved to a different department and it's vastly improved. Another 6 years and I get 6 weeks vacation, and I've just been moved from revolving yearly contracts (stressful leading up to renewal) to permanent, so I'll stay. 

[honeybbq]

My main handcuffs are my large salary and fairly generous matching/401.

[act0fgod]

I'm an Active Duty military officer, with 10 years of service, and 10 years to go until I earn my 20-year cliff vest. If I make 20 years, my pension will be 50% of my final base pay. I estimate the pension to be around 50k/year. Plus free medical care for the remainder of my life.

Same situation as Sailor Sam except my wife is active duty as well.  My wife will be eligible for her 50% of base pay pension (significantly less than total pay at retirement) in 2026.  I'll be eligible in 2030.  Thing is I'm literally handcuffed until 2019 which will put her only 7 years from a pension.  Also in 2019 I'll get a fairly enticing retention bonus.

The 50k at age 41 and 45 respectively is really a tough thing to pass up.

The medical care is the biggest concern for us, but realistically it's importance is probably overblown.  Who knows how it will change (with costs continuing to rise I figure it has to change).  Dental care used to be included but no longer is.  The Tricare retiree dental options aren't all that much better than other options.  Currently the free medical care isn't entirely free, its nearly free depending on which option, and is going to be location dependent.  Also as I understand it once 65, TRICARE essentially turns into medicare.  There is also the possibility a national healthcare system will continue to evolve into a decent option.

That being said when I stop working I'll likely volunteer or work a day a week in my profession because it's personally rewarding (that's kind of a golden handcuff as well).

[snogirl]

I retired military in 2007 at 46 took a year off and started working a state gov job thinking 2 retirements were better than one. WRONG! I'm divorced so not double earnings. I spent the last 3 years aligning myself so I could walk away. The idea of not working for anyone & doing what is important to me was more important than $$. I walked out of golden ball & chain in October 2016 & am following my dreams at 55 (family, outdoor adventure that's cheap, and doing odd side gigs that I love that give some pocket change & personal satisfaction). I am rich in so many ways & feel healthier & lighter in spirit than I have in years!  My health insurance is covered due to military with small cost,  my bills get paid and have no debt except a very small mortgage. My nest egg is enough.

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[Daisy]

My golden handcuffs are a potential voluntary severance package being offered. But I've been waiting for this for a couple of years and it still hasn't been offered to me...other departments yes, but not mine. After many years of service to my company, the amount might be in the range of $80k and extended health benefits for a year...I can live at least 2 years or more on that.

So even if I have enough to FIRE, I would feel like I am leaving $80k on the table if I quit without a package.

But I have chosen 2017 for my FIRE date and am itching to move on to other things in my life.

I think in early 2017 I will test the waters for getting offered a voluntary package, and if they don't bite be prepared to quit and just move on and leave that $80k on the table. It would really piss me off if I quit then a package is offered 6 months later. It's happened to people  I know.