Middle-aged woman who just lost her high-income job wonders when it's 'safe' to retire

financialpost.com:

Alberta-based Jennifer* is 47, divorced, has two adult children and recently lost her job. A successful professional, she was well on her way to an early retirement at age 52 or 53, but now she’s wondering if that will still be possible, and how much she’ll have to scale back her original plans.

A high earner, Jennifer’s annual income of between $500,000 and $600,000 before tax has afforded her a comfortable lifestyle. Prior to losing her job, she was saving $250,000 a year and planning to purchase a $1-million home in British Columbia, but that vision of retirement has shifted. What hasn’t changed is her desire to maintain her interests — golf, skiing and annual trips to warm locales — that currently cost her about $18,000 a year combined.

Jennifer describes her risk profile as “aggressive” and has built a diversified portfolio of equities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). She has $843,000 in non-registered investments with $200,000 in unrealized capital gains; $194,000 in a tax-free savings account (TFSA); and $1.04 million in a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP). She hasn’t accessed any of these funds to date, but her income protection is only in place for another month or so.

During the market downturn in 2020, Jennifer took out a $100,000 home equity line of credit on her primary residence (valued at $750,000) to invest. That was fine at the time, but the tax-deductible 7.2 per cent interest rate is now a concern. She has a mortgage of $260,000 at 2.09 per cent and makes biweekly payments of $532. The mortgage matures in September 2026.

Jennifer also has a rental property she purchased to help fund her retirement. Valued at $180,000, she took out a home equity line of credit of $42,000 (also attached to her