.

[George the original one]

So they're offering you 6 months salary for exiting now. Seems like you could do better by negotiating.

[IlliniDave]

The buyout to me doesn't seem to be enough of a windfall to drive the decision. I'm not sure what kind of $ you are talking about, but $200K/yr sounds like a lot. If you were looking for an out anyway (which doesn't seem likely because people who use the term "gravy train" usually aren't), then the package makes now a convenient time. If not, I wouldn't take it.

I've turned down similar in the past at my employer, but the "voluntary layoff" package is always identical to the standard layoff package, so there is no real risk in staying on for someone whose intent is to stay around for a good while yet. You hint that it is not the case for you, or at least that you don't know. If there not someone you can ask to find out, you probably should decide how likely you are to last at least 6 months if you decide to stay.

[BRUTE]

brute seconds the strategy of riding the gravy train. or negotiating and riding the gravy train until the negotiated package is good enough. who knows how high they're willing to go.

[numbersmom]

"My biggest expense in the next 4 years will be child-care."

Take the package and stay home. No child care costs, your expenses are covered and you can even save money.

Gives you plenty of time to see what else is out there and your family life will be much more relaxed.

My two cents anyway.

[Chris]

If you're not sure what you want to do once FI, this might be a good opportunity to try it out. As you said, your DW's income can cover all expenses, so you wouldn't be digging in to your cash stockpile anyway by not working.

Going that route, I would still look at negotiating. First, the time of your departure: pushing out your last day to 2017 would probably prevent you from getting whacked with a big tax bill in 2016. Second, if you are due an annual bonus, make sure that you get paid at least a prorated amount.

[George the original one]

If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that all things are negotiable to some extent. What will it cost you to try negotiating?

[Lucky C]

First, which do you want to do if the money did not matter at all?

Second, you provided some monetary details but if you're looking to retire from this line of work in the foreseeable future, it may help to convert to number of years of work remaining. What's your best guess at the amount of time you will have to keep working for scenario A vs. B? Of course there are big uncertainties either way, but if you crunch some numbers in a spreadsheet it's still better than just looking at it in terms of salary and expenses.

I find decisions to be easier if they are stated in terms like "I want X more than Y, but that will cost me an extra Z months of work." Some people would generally rather do something more challenging to reduce their number of working years, while others would rather work longer doing something they enjoy better. Which type are you?