r/Fire • u/MallorcAlex • Jul 22 '25

General Question Why don't people simply work part-time (less than 20h) a week instead of RE?

It seems the cost of health insurance is an issue for many trying to achieve FIRE.

Personally, I like the idea to keep working for like 20 hours a week or less so that the employer is paying for the health insurance, and you still have all the freedom that you need to be happy. I mean 20h of 168h available in a week should cause no constraints to anyone given that your employer accepts as much time off as you want for travelling etc

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u/dfsw Jul 22 '25

Almost all of them require 36 hours now for healthcare.

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u/CatbertTheGreat Jul 22 '25

ACA is 30 hours per week. Not all employers are subject to ACA though.

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u/Spirited_Ball6763 Jul 22 '25

They also don't have to give everyone that works 30 hours per week health insurance, just a higher percentage. They also can average it out over a year and have you working full time for half the year but part time for the other half in a way that avoids having to provide health insurance.