Yes, but theObserver is asking about the CGT liability.
47, preparing for retirement.
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Yes, but theObserver is asking about the CGT liability.
This seems low for a US multinational. It is the statutory minimum of €600 x (19.5x2 +1)
It would be very unusual that a US multinational would only give this as redundancy. I would expect that the minimum would be 2 wks/yr of actual salary. Or more typically it would be 3-6wks/yr.
Do you know anyone in the most recent layoffs that could give you an indication of what it is likely to be?
Don't agree with this explanation, there was no real inflation in early 2020 at the start of the covid crises when the markets crashed. Inflation only became a factor in 2021 and 2022 and was largely sparked by the covid lockdowns cutting productive capacity but storing up demand.
The world's central banks cut interest rates in late March 2020 because the bond markets began crashing aswell. That was what really worried them , people were not rushing to the supposed safety of bonds like they did after the dot com and financial crashes of 2001 and 2008 .
Why was this no longer the case ?
That's not a simple issue but probably the era of negative interest rates and quantitative easing after the financial crash caused the size of the global bond markets to increase massively. So probably investors were not so happy to hold so much money in bonds due to the fact thst central banks were already large holders of government bonds themselves throughout the decade of quantitative easing so they would also need to sell those bonds back onto the markets which is what happened actually.
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theObserver
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They conducted RIFs for the last few years and paid out the legal minimum unfortunately. People in the States only received severance on the condition of signing a NDA. The new trick of these corporations is selling off entire business units, including the staff and contracting them back from the new company to avoid paying redundency. If you refuse the new contract, then its considered a resignation. The new company can then make you redundant without a large payout as you are a recent joiner, but most people I know in that situation left themsevles because their working conditions and benefits became worse in almost every way. I'm not sure how this is legal but it appearnly is providing your work location does not change.
That may work in the US but I'm not sure that it would necessarily cut the mustard with Irish/EU employment legislation. TUPE etc.
Transfer of business (TUPE)
Find out how your rights are protected if your employer's business is transferred to a new owner.
www.citizensinformation.ie
That's disappointing. One of the few "perks" of working for a multinational is the package is usually good when redundancies happen .
Knowing this, I wouldn't hang around for a €25k payout. If you were getting 4 weeks/yr and a >€100k payout then it might be worth hanging in there to see what happens.
Might be worth exploring your options while you are still in control of the situation even if it means taking a paycut
BIG-notorious
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With respect, €77k doesn't sound like a massive wage to be dealing with job insecurity and rapidly deteriorating terms and conditions and a 5% chance of getting sacked ever year which is probably adding up to a 50-50 chance of having a job in a few years time.
More stability for less money may be a better choice, especially as (according to what I've heard on the grapevine) ageism is sufficiently rampant in some sectors that getting dumped in your late 40s/early 50s may well mean that you can never get a job in that industry again.
theObserver
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That was my thinking too. I updated my CV, joined Linkedin, created a network, practiced for interviews ... and realized my heart just wasn't in it. The average modern interview process in my field is four to five rounds and resembles an entire university course exam covering generic material I havent thought about since the 90s.
But I hit a personal milestone of 200k in my investments a few weeks ago and my goal is 280k (after tax) or ten years of funding on a budget of 28k per year. If nothing changes, I might hit that goal in three more years. So I decided to roll the dice on surviving a little longer.
Sadly true. Most people I work with are in their 20's; there's very few people in their 50's and I can't think of one in their 60's aside from very senior level management.
As an aside, the media claim the current round of mass layoffs are due to AI, but I think it's because of Elon Musk. Musk opened a lot of CEOs eyes when he fired 75% of the Twitter staff and life went on as normal without them. I also think a number of corporations have seen their organic growth slowing so they are instead cutting to met their commitments to their shareholders.
theObserver
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Agreed. Until recently we could expect an above average package. I think they realized this only encourges people like me to stick around.
theObserver
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This is another ten-month update.
What has changed since July 2025?
(*) I am now 49.
(*) My personal investments increased from €194k in July 2025 to just over €250k today.
Of the €56k increase: €20k came from my wages; €36k was capital gain.
Allocation is 80/20, with the bonds being ten year national solidarity bonds from NTMA.
(*) My pension fund increased from €173k in July 2025 to €229k today.
Of the €55k increase: €20k came from my wages; €35k was capital gain over the last ten months.
Pension fund is 100% in a passive global index fund via New Ireland.
(*) No wage increase for 2026, so I effectively took another pay cut at the rate of inflation — around 3%.
(*) Employer share price collapsed over 70%. Thankfully I followed the advice of this board and sold most of my vested shares in 2023–24. The few shares I have left dropped in value from €12k to €3k.
(*) I'm still hanging on, but there are layoffs all around me and across the entire tech industry. We're expecting another 10%–20% RIF before Q4, probably September or October.
The main update is I have decided to sell my apartment in the next three to four years and rent for my remaining working life. I view the family home in Wexford as my acutal home; the apartment is just a shelter.
Renting - or renting then selling - has advantages if the apartment brings in over 13k net of all fees. But the household appliances - including a gas burner - are at their end of life so I would need to invest a non-trivial amount of money bringing it up to standard. Then I would need reserve funds for landlord duties and funds to cover bad tenants; money that would come from selling bonds or ETF shares. And ultimately I just do not want to be a landlord.
On the other hand, selling frees up over €300k. Roughly half of that money will fund my safe runway of five years outside the market while the rest would bolster my ETF investments. Any further personal investments outside my pension would then stop because of the high cost of Dublin rent.
So selling the apartment is the activation of my financial plan. It funds my safe runway of five years, bolsters my portfolio, and cuts the ties holding me in Dublin. If I do lose my job, it's a lot easier to move where the work is without worrying about an apartment in the suburbs with a long commute to the city center.
I have three scenarios mapped out for the next five years:
1) The happy path. I sell at age 53 and rent. Work becomes close to a lifestyle choice.
2) I am made redundant and receive a minimum of €26k severance with €15k state support paid over nine months.
2A) If this scenario activates after age 53, then it becomes a lifestyle decision like scenario 1. I would use the redundancy payment to fund the apartment sale while the welfare support would give me an income for a year.
2B) Before age 53, within the next three years, I would likely search for another job. Renting my apartment out for six years, using the redundancy for apartment repairs, then selling, could work out well in this scenario — but I'd rather not.
3) I am forced to leave work to care for elderly parents. I receive two years of state support.
My worst option is to do nothing with the apartment, as I'm paying maintenance fees. My preference is to sell using my bonds to finance the sale, as I wouldn't want the stress of being a landlord with the risk of bad tenants on top of caring duties. Financially this option becomes tight if it happens before age 53, but it's workable.
4) I burn out or am forced to become a carer without state support.
By far, the worst financial scenario to occur between ages 49–53, but I know plenty of people who were forced into caring without state support. I will receive six months of social welfare support, then nothing. Cashing in bonds to fund renting out the apartment for an income is likely the best option. The only real mitigation for this scenario is securing a work from home job - which are like gold dust at the moment.
So that's where I'm at. Any advice or comments are welcome !
What has changed since July 2025?
(*) I am now 49.
(*) My personal investments increased from €194k in July 2025 to just over €250k today.
Of the €56k increase: €20k came from my wages; €36k was capital gain.
Allocation is 80/20, with the bonds being ten year national solidarity bonds from NTMA.
(*) My pension fund increased from €173k in July 2025 to €229k today.
Of the €55k increase: €20k came from my wages; €35k was capital gain over the last ten months.
Pension fund is 100% in a passive global index fund via New Ireland.
(*) No wage increase for 2026, so I effectively took another pay cut at the rate of inflation — around 3%.
(*) Employer share price collapsed over 70%. Thankfully I followed the advice of this board and sold most of my vested shares in 2023–24. The few shares I have left dropped in value from €12k to €3k.
(*) I'm still hanging on, but there are layoffs all around me and across the entire tech industry. We're expecting another 10%–20% RIF before Q4, probably September or October.
The main update is I have decided to sell my apartment in the next three to four years and rent for my remaining working life. I view the family home in Wexford as my acutal home; the apartment is just a shelter.
Renting - or renting then selling - has advantages if the apartment brings in over 13k net of all fees. But the household appliances - including a gas burner - are at their end of life so I would need to invest a non-trivial amount of money bringing it up to standard. Then I would need reserve funds for landlord duties and funds to cover bad tenants; money that would come from selling bonds or ETF shares. And ultimately I just do not want to be a landlord.
On the other hand, selling frees up over €300k. Roughly half of that money will fund my safe runway of five years outside the market while the rest would bolster my ETF investments. Any further personal investments outside my pension would then stop because of the high cost of Dublin rent.
So selling the apartment is the activation of my financial plan. It funds my safe runway of five years, bolsters my portfolio, and cuts the ties holding me in Dublin. If I do lose my job, it's a lot easier to move where the work is without worrying about an apartment in the suburbs with a long commute to the city center.
I have three scenarios mapped out for the next five years:
1) The happy path. I sell at age 53 and rent. Work becomes close to a lifestyle choice.
2) I am made redundant and receive a minimum of €26k severance with €15k state support paid over nine months.
2A) If this scenario activates after age 53, then it becomes a lifestyle decision like scenario 1. I would use the redundancy payment to fund the apartment sale while the welfare support would give me an income for a year.
2B) Before age 53, within the next three years, I would likely search for another job. Renting my apartment out for six years, using the redundancy for apartment repairs, then selling, could work out well in this scenario — but I'd rather not.
3) I am forced to leave work to care for elderly parents. I receive two years of state support.
My worst option is to do nothing with the apartment, as I'm paying maintenance fees. My preference is to sell using my bonds to finance the sale, as I wouldn't want the stress of being a landlord with the risk of bad tenants on top of caring duties. Financially this option becomes tight if it happens before age 53, but it's workable.
4) I burn out or am forced to become a carer without state support.
By far, the worst financial scenario to occur between ages 49–53, but I know plenty of people who were forced into caring without state support. I will receive six months of social welfare support, then nothing. Cashing in bonds to fund renting out the apartment for an income is likely the best option. The only real mitigation for this scenario is securing a work from home job - which are like gold dust at the moment.
So that's where I'm at. Any advice or comments are welcome !
If you're referring to Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit then those are actually paid for up to 9 months.
Payments for unemployed people
www.citizensinformation.ie
If you leave the job voluntarily you lose the first 9 weeks of payment and have only the rest of the 9 months that is left that you are actually getting paid.
OP dont forget that your rental income is unearned income and will be taxed accordingly.
You seem to be planning the financial side of your life well. What about the personal side? You are single, lead a quiet life. If you move home to care for your parents, it's possible your parents will be your whole life. I'd venture to say that's not too healthy for a young person (yes, at 49 you are young, compared with me!). What will your lifestyle look like when they pass away and you are in your retirement years? If you do move home, take the opportunity to integrate to the local community (much easier when you can say "I'm new here") and develop friendships. It's easier than in the big city. I know you only asked for financial advice but reading through the thread this is what jumps out at me.
Unlikely to happen if the reason for leaving is something like stress, burnout etc.
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Wouldnt you need a doctor to sign that off for you. When most people say burnout they just mean they are sick of the job.
Not in my experience.
theObserver
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Plan for the worse and hope for the best !
And CGT tax for the rental period when the apartment is eventually sold.
That's wise advise. But like a lot of people, I was in college when I last made a friend !
givecredit
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When you do move home, your local town will have plenty of voluntary committees. Make sure to join one or two. Those Christmas lights, Cancer supports, meals on wheels etc don't happen without volunteers.