Resigning and going to a lower walk of life? (8,4)

'resigning' is the definition.
(stepping down from a job)

'going to a lower walk of life?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'going' could be 'stepping' (stepping is a kind of going) and 'stepping' is present in the answer.
'lower' could be 'down' (synonyms) and 'down' is present in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'and' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?