Could being made redundant help with my debts??

nowornever25

Hi
Posting as a panicked newbie here... We have been offered the opportunity to apply for or voluntary leavers scheme and I have submitted a request to be considered (I don't have to sign it but after a bad day finally pressed the submit button!). The background is that I have been there 16 years, I am good at my job (I think) and have a fairly autonomous role, however I am so over the systems and processes that I have been working within for so long and feel like I need a change.  

I will try and set out the financial aspects of it all below:

Redundancy is enhanced - so would get £67k (first £30k tax free)
My pension - they give a great deal - 11% match into it - I can potentially put some of the payout into my pension pot to enhance this and i believe this is tax free (it is a USS pension if there are any USS experts here?) I currently have £48k in my USS investment builder pot (which I think I can take in cash when I retire) and my retirement builder provides £3,473.46 per annum and a £10k one-off payment.

current outgoings: £5.5k because we are in a lot of debt
My current income: £55k
Partners current income: £26k plus commission (approx £20k per annum)
My debt: £9k on car and £17k on credit cards
Partners debt: £28k on credit cards

I have no real intention of taking time off work and would ideally head straight into another role, even if this was on a temporary basis, I would like to make the most of the payout rather than use it to take time off, but if I was unable to work this would effectively cover my salary for 14 months I think.

I would just be really interested to get peoples thoughts on how to make the best use of the redundancy payment, or alternatively given our financial situation, whether I should withdraw the application and carry on in this role.  I would love to be able to leave and find something new that excites me for the rest of my workign life, however I also know I need to be pragmatic!

Any help much appreciated!
Thanks
NowOrNever25

londoner2019

Hi! Just jumping in here. Whatever redundancy you get, put that somewhere earning interest until you're back in work. Then I'd try to clear as much/all of the debt. But don't do it until you are earning again - the redundancy package is there to support you while looking for work.

Good luck!

RAS

How happy is your partner with you decision? Can they self-fund minimum payments on their own debt or do they require your salary? Are they happy to reduce their living costs whilst you are not working/on reduced income?

Renting or mortgage?

Go over to the pensions sub-forum to talk about your scheme, at least search there as well.

Start with a Statement of Affairs using your existing details, to identify priorities.

EssexHebridean

Yes  - as RAS says on the SOA. I would also start a second one as well with a worst case scenario with adjusted income.

If you do take redundancy then you simply stop paying any unsecured debts while you have no income - they just aren't a priority at that stage. 

Regardless of what happens, I would take this as a good wakeup call to start reassessing your finances and ensure that you are living within your incomes in the future. There is nothing like a bit of panic to make the debt-busting lightbulb flicker well and truly into life!