bows00 Posted December 17, 2011 Posted December 17, 2011 I just got out of jail and was tagged with my second DUI last night. In addition to losing my driving privileges for the next three years, I think my government job, which I was working for the past 25 years is in jeopardy due to my required security clearance. I am not sure how my pension will also be affected - I was hoping to start collecting in 6 years. I am making drastic financial plans at the moment. I just turned 50, no kids or family. I have about $60K in the bank and my 401K is at about $650K. If I rent out my apartment, it would bring in about $1300/month.I am thinking about bugging out to the Philippines to leave all this behind me. Any good advice from all the experience on this board would be greatly appreciated… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garpo Posted December 17, 2011 Posted December 17, 2011 I would wait until I knew the answers to the questions you have about knowing if you still have a job or not. What are the chances of obtaining another job if you do lose the one you have? What type of life style do you want to live if you do decide to quit and relocate to the Philippines?It is very difficult to find any type of income source if you are a foreigner and living in the Philippines. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted December 17, 2011 Posted December 17, 2011 Sorry to hear, hopefully the 2nd will be the last. One thing that I would not do is make a rash financial decision based on wanting to leave it all behind. If your assets are in the US you will not be able to leave the IRS behind. The $1300 a month is not enough to live comfortably (although that is hotly debated) and you have to have an emergency fund on top of that. The $60k will be gone pretty fast unless you are disciplined. You can't touch the 401k until 59 1/2 without the 10% penalty (the 55 rule only applies if you quit after reaching 55 or more), it would be a shame to blow through that after saving for many years. If managed properly, you could live off that for the rest of your life.As Gary said, wait until you know all the answers, it's probably not as bad as you think and be very grateful that someone was not killed or seriously injured as a result of your drinking and driving. If you do move here that's one bad habit to leave behind, the jails here are not quite the same. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Old55 Posted December 17, 2011 Forum Support Posted December 17, 2011 I am truly sorry to hear of your problem.Talk to an attorney ASAP this is not the end of the world even though from your perspective right now things must look grim. If you blow off the arrest and move to Philippines you will have warrants that will affect your status.I am fairly sure you will not lose your clearance because of DWI's. We have had guys with several DWI's and even with drug problems who did treatment and kept their clearance. I have a TS (black hole) security clearance as a civilian working for a large defense contractor although the past few years I've been doing commercial work. I think our pensions are similar in that the pension can be collected starting at 55 reduced payout and at age 59 1/2 at 100%. it may not be revoked for any reason it is your money. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJReyes Posted December 18, 2011 Posted December 18, 2011 Penalty free withdrawal from your 401k starts at 59.5 years. Earlier than that, the IRS penalty is 10%. Any withdrawals from a 401k account is taxed as ordinary income. You can also start collecting Social Security at 62 years, but your lifetime benefits will be only 80% compared to 100% if you wait until 67 years. (Computation for full time benefits at the present time starts at 66 years, but it will change to 67 by the time you reach 62 years.) If you are fired, I believe you can collect unemployment even if there is a justifiable reason (DUI) for terminating your employment. Best to consult a lawyer. Best to wait until at least 62 years before you retire. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art2ro Posted December 18, 2011 Posted December 18, 2011 Bows00,Yeah, you better hold on tight for awhile until you know what is going to happen to you and find out all about your options before making any final decisions! Your 25 years of service will always be on the books no matter what until your reach 55 and only then can you collect your pension via your 401k or othe pension plans you may have, which looks pretty substantial at this point or they may offer you a lump sum early retirement, but with penalties which you won't receive a monthly pension other than your Social Security benefits at age 62 and maybe at a reduced rate due to the U.S. government offset computation! I myself took a voluntary early retirement from the U.S. Civil Service Commision with 30 yrs service regaurdless of age which I was only 49 then and took their early retirement offer which only comes around once in a "blue moon". I started collecting my govenment pension at age 49, but at a reduced rate, but recouped all of it after 10 yrs time via the annual COLAs while living in the Philippines the past 13 years since 1998. Having a DUI record isn't suffient cause to lose or get fired from your govenment job, if in doubt get with your union steward to help you of whatever may come up affecting your employment and or security clearance status! They just may reassign you to a temporary position elsewhere not requiring a (TS) security clearance! Just keep us posted and don't do anything rash that you may regret later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted December 18, 2011 Posted December 18, 2011 Penalty free withdrawal from your 401k starts at 59.5 years. Earlier than that, the IRS penalty is 10%. Any withdrawals from a 401k account is taxed as ordinary income.You can also start collecting Social Security at 62 years, but your lifetime benefits will be only 80% compared to 100% if you wait until 67 years. (Computation for full time benefits at the present time starts at 66 years, but it will change to 67 by the time you reach 62 years.)If you are fired, I believe you can collect unemployment even if there is a justifiable reason (DUI) for terminating your employment.Best to consult a lawyer. Best to wait until at least 62 years before you retire.There's an exception to the 59 1/2 requirement. If you are 55 or older in the current job that has the funds and you voluntarily or involuntarily leave you may withdraw any or all without the penalty.Unemployment rules vary by state but, in general, unless you are terminated for "gross misconduct" you are eligible for unemployment benefits, also taxed as ordinary income. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lee Posted December 18, 2011 Posted December 18, 2011 I just got out of jail and was tagged with my second DUI last night. In addition to losing my driving privileges for the next three years, I think my government job, which I was working for the past 25 years is in jeopardy due to my required security clearance. I am not sure how my pension will also be affected - I was hoping to start collecting in 6 years. I am making drastic financial plans at the moment. I just turned 50, no kids or family. I have about $60K in the bank and my 401K is at about $650K. If I rent out my apartment, it would bring in about $1300/month. I am thinking about bugging out to the Philippines to leave all this behind me. Any good advice from all the experience on this board would be greatly appreciated… I am very sorry to hear about this and I hope you can get it all worked out.I am not an expert but first slow down and do not jump to any conclusions, then you need to talk to a good lawyer and a good accountant. In the US you are innocent until proven guilty. I would advise you to not leave no matter what until you case is cleared up.As for your 401K I believe there was something passed about emergency withdrawals for those who lost their jobs, I am not sure if it is still in effect so an accountant would know about that. Also I believe you can take some of your 401K money and have it invested into preferred dividend paying stocks or an immediate annuity within your 401k and then only take the monthly income from that. You will need to talk to your accountant as to what penalties if any you would then have on the money drawn since the principal would still be there in the 401k but in the form of an annuity.Anyway before all else, again speak to an attorney and accountant because only they can tell you if what I am writing here might be possible.I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art2ro Posted December 18, 2011 Posted December 18, 2011 If I were in your shoes at age 50, no wife, no family and not happy working anymore. Well, my last resort would to get out of Dodge and liquidate all your assets and just live on the interest from your principle in the Philippines or where ever you want to live that the cost of living is low! Only you know if that would be feasible, that's me and just a thought, since that was what I did with what little retirement pension and no assets/cash I started with at the time at age 49 and now we're pretty much stable financially somewhat ever since I started collecting all of my other pensions after age 60! Good things comes to those who are patient! Your choice! You can do as I did or you can work until you turn 62, 65 or 67 and have a huge monthly pension! Me personally, no thanks! I never regretted retiring at age 49, but those were my circumstances back then in the late 90s and may not be feasible for others in this day and age of a global recession! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Sibbick Posted December 18, 2011 Posted December 18, 2011 I just got out of jail and was tagged with my second DUI last night. In addition to losing my driving privileges for the next three years, I think my government job, which I was working for the past 25 years is in jeopardy due to my required security clearance. I am not sure how my pension will also be affected - I was hoping to start collecting in 6 years. I am making drastic financial plans at the moment. I just turned 50, no kids or family. I have about $60K in the bank and my 401K is at about $650K. If I rent out my apartment, it would bring in about $1300/month.I am thinking about bugging out to the Philippines to leave all this behind me. Any good advice from all the experience on this board would be greatly appreciated… Up to $1300 per month income with $70,000 to fall back is more than enough for me to live a relaxed life by the sea in the provinces.Regards: Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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