I was PIP'd last July, passed, and then became part of the layoff Dec. 1 with over 20 years of service and not retirement age. Getting laid off has been the best thing that could have happened to me. I have a great 401K balance because I put the max in. On top of that, today I completed the paperwork to have my lumpsum pension payment rolled over to an IRA. And I was blown away by the amount I got coming even with the discounted rate. Also, I got the severance payment which was damn near one year salary, plus all my 2020 vacation and 2021 vacation paid out. I made out like a bandit. Exxon paid me a helluva chunk of money to let me go, the joke is on them. They did me a favor and set me up with cha-ching. Plus I've got a new job making more money at a company that actually values their people with a great culture and environment. Thank you so much Exxon for letting me go.
20 replies (most recent on top)
Op
Thank you for the information. I'm 50 and just crossed the 15 year service mark late last year. Probably not going to be NSI'd this year. I'm planning on resigning next year so would the lump sum option be offered or just have to wait on the pension later? Thank you and good luck on your new career.
@nla+1b1yx2Rn..... It seems you don't have a clue as to what you're talking about. The severance was just about 2 weeks pay per year of service up to 52 weeks. My severance payment calculated to 1.91 weeks for every year. I got 48 weeks pay. Also my discounted pension lumpsum was 500K at 48 years old, which was great to me. That money will be invested for another 12+ years to well over a million. Not to mention my 401K, so I'm set. Plus I've still got 12 years of work left. So you can call BS all you want, you're clueless. And if you didn't retire from Exxon a multi millionaire then you are absolutely a complete mo--n.
nla+1b1yx2Rn - Not OP but how can you call BS when the data is right in front of us 😂 Visit the USProgram site from last November and scroll down to the faq sheet where it says 20 years = 36 weeks of pay. Not everything is fake news y’know.
Yeah - like others, I'm calling BS on the OP. There's no way that he got 40-week's salary as severance ... and claiming that he was blown away by the lump sum amount "despite the discount" (when he wasn't even old enough to be retirement eligible). I was retirement eligible and only had 3 years worth of discounts and couldn't afford to take the lump sum amount, because it looked pretty damn poor with a 15% reduction.
I couldn't speak to that inverse scenario. Hopefully I would think Exxon has updated their benefits site explaining these new changes, but then again we are talking Exxon. If you're worried about getting laid off, you are safe to reach the minimum age/years for retirement as long as you show up for work. Or maybe you're just ready to get out. I would talk with a local wealth management company that is familiar with the Exxon plan about specifics and guidance. I use Rhame and Gorrell, never a charge, never pressure, and I've met with them several times during my time at Exxon to rebalance my 401K and other stuff. Never paid a penny because I was not a retiree, but they met with me anytime I needed for guidance. I think most others are similar. So reach out and have these talks about your situation and plans.
OP - What type of skills did you have from EMIT that were transferable? Developer? Project manager? SDM?
Thanks again OP. Do you know if the inverse is true in regard to pension ? Example: 60 plus years old with nearly 14 years service. Is lump sum pension a possibility in that scenario? Once again CONGRATULATIONS
Yes, by my calculations it was roughly 2 weeks per year, about 1.91 is what I calculate.
Another interesting point was the lumpsum pension payment available for those of less than age 55, which of course is discounted. I thought this option was only for this particular official layoff. However, my financial folks told me that Exxon started this in 2019. So if you leave the company before 55 and are vested with the pension, then you have the option to take a lumpsum rather than wait for annuity payments. Which is great for me because my discounted sum was roughly 500K and I'm now gonna invest that for 12+ years in an IRA. So I was ecstatic about the option.
Congratulations OP and thanks for sharing. Was the severance 2 weeks per year of service ?
OP here, I had well over 20 years of service. I got laid off as part of the official Dec. 1 layoff (only one Exxon has announced thus far since the 80s). I remained on regular payroll until my official layoff day, Feb. 1, 2021. And because I was part of EMIT and had special IT access I was told I no longer had to work after I was notified Dec 1 @ 7:30am (they immediately disabled my access). So I got regular paychecks for two months without working. Yes, there was a severance payment that came with the layoff and like I stated mine was damn near one year salary because of my years, it had a 52 week max.
As far as now getting paid more at a new company, this is true for me and lots of others in IT. I was a rank and file worker, made good money at Exxon, but not as much as I could have along the way somewhere else. Exxon is not the top payer especially in IT, this has been a lie for a long time. So yes, with my IT skills, over 20 years experience, I am making considerably more at my new job.
Troll. Almost got me until the last part. New company paying more for a someone with 20yrs in Exxon? Pray tell which industry and what's your area of specialization?
Please share some of your numbers! Congrats on the new job.
If you would have told me how happy I would have been to have gotten laid off, I wouldn't have believed you, but my goodness how true that is
Troll
Severance is only three months period.
Thanks for the clarification.
@vma+1b1yx2Rn - 3 months is for PIP/PIL. OP was laid off. So generous severance for 20 year tenure.
Severance payment was damn near one year’s salary..... Please explain that one ! I thought severance was only3 months pay.
So what you are actually saying is you have spent all your severance money and are going to use your 401K? After spending twenty years at XOM I seriously doubt you have any real world skills that are transferable to another company. Spend some of your 401K on a data science course. Its unlikely to much for you but you never know!
Awesome, congrats- you are the lucky one.
Sincerely- the sinking ship
Awesome! PIP was EM's way of getting rid of you cheap. Glad that you persisted and now you may leave gracefully. Best of luck!