I've had enough. I asked for a raise in February when I was making about 20k less than the average for my position in my city (according to glassdoor). I was told that there's not enough money in payroll, maybe June or July we can circle back.
Last week I decided to revisit the topic, and learned that I'm not even on the salary chart anymore. I make less than the bottom 5% in my career. There are numerous local postings advertising much higher salaries than I need… let alone the fact that many are over twice my current pay. I no longer feel respected/valued in the least by my employer.
In light of financial needs, and prompted by being denied one day of vacation to fix a rotten wall in my house, I decided to finalize my resignation. I do not want to replace my income right now, as securing shelter is more important; and will be financing my home repairs with my retirement fund. I'll look for work after I have four intact walls around me.
My 401k is in one of those investment services who doesn't allow distributions, but they do allow no-questions-asked loans overnight with an online application. So my dilemma is, do I quit and then spend who knows how long trying to negotiate the release of my money, or do I just “ask for forgiveness instead” and take a loan as if I don't intend to quit, then quit?
It's my understanding that by the IRS rules, the situation is identical either way. If I don't redeposit it in a qualifying investment within some time frame, it is taxed as an early distribution, which is what I wanted all along.
The worst I can imagine is that the company will pay my 10% penalty out of the remaining funds in my 401k, and next year I'll be on the hook for both the income tax and the capital gains.
The money will be coming from my 401k; that isn't negotiable. I am aware of the ramifications of depleting retirement income, but I will not have any retirement at all if I allow my only home to collapse for lack of maintenance. I have already contacted banks, and interest rates are absurd and on top of that, I will need an appraiser's approval (yes the house is falling apart, it's my only house, and yet, serious problems with the house will bar my access to repair funds), not to mention qualify for the loan. My credit is OK but I don't plan on working full-time to make loan payments while working full-time to fix the damage.
tl;dr: should I get my remodeling finances right now with a couple easy clicks, or do it “like you're supposed to” and request an early distribution following my resignation?
And if you're reading this SM: I've been dropping subtle cues to try to get you to fire me for six months now. Please just do it. I'm at the end of my rope here.