Expecting to be let go in Q2
For those that have recently experienced the layoff, what did you do (or wish you had done) before being let go by WF?
For example:
- updated empower with personal email
- claimed rally rewards for HSA $
Thanks in advance.
16 replies (most recent on top)
Take the personal holidays ASAP. They won't pay those out or claw them back
If you have any of those recognition points spend them now. Also, not sure if true but I do not believe the personal holidays are paid out as part of pto so use those now as well.
Understand your money sources if unemployment goes longer than your severance timeline:
- 6+ months emergency fun
*55+ -read up on 401k “rule of 55” to avoid 10% penalty on any distribution.
- read up on IRS 72t rules to avoid 10% penalty on IRA, if access to that money
- understand the hardship withdrawal changes enacted under the Secure Act 2.0
Since you should still have limited access to the Directory while on notice and severance, you may want to identify contacts you can connect with on LinkedIn.
You can still earn HSA health and wealthness dollars or redeem coins in Rally while you're on severance or enrolled in Cobra.
Though personal email should be updated in Workday before you lose network access, for sites like Rally, consult Teamworks at Home or your displacement packet for number to call if you need to update contact info later.
Same boat for April and this is a great post! Making notes of these ideas.
Didn’t have that initial realization about maxing the 401k to help with taxes since we can’t contribute during severance so that was a great takeaway.
I'm being axed in late Q1 - print out your years of annual reviews, any deferred comp or stock grant agreements, and the displacement section of the benefits handbook. Cash in any rewards and recognition. Make 401k decisions (could be better to go higher for tax shielding or lower given the need for cash flow and the lack of match), make W4 updates (could go higher to max cash flow or lower due to planned double dipping), cancel paid parking, make sure your personal email is in workday, apply for any and all interesting internal jobs - particularly right before the layoff tuesday since on-leave workday doesnt work immediately after your layoff - and the clock for applying as an internal candidate runs out in 60d, make sure you have your favorite/admired people's personal contact information and/or work emails so you can stay in touch, ensure no critical personal information is trapped on your work computer - don't email it to yourself - just be aware that the computer access vanishes immediately, take home any personally owned items from the office, spend the time to inventory your notable achievements and generate resume ideas by talking to your team/peers about how things are different from when you joined and what your contributions to those changes were
Check your cash balance plan if you’ve been here for a while.
if you have an FSA and haven't claimed your total 2025 election amount for the year, you can claim and get reimbursed for the total years election, even if in the beginning of the year, and you won't owe the remainder if you leave and stop contributing. unlike day care flex spending account which you will only get reimbursed for what you have contributed each paycheck for the year, the health FSA gives you access to the entirety of your election amount, even as you pay into it each paycheck. they can't claw it back if you use it all before paying into it all by end of year.
Excellent post and suggestions. Ditto on maxing out the 401k especially if using pretax dollars to lower taxable income next year before severance starts since we can’t contribute at that point being no longer as an employee. Opt to get US mail and electronic delivery in workday so you have a backup in case you have an online issue. Ditto on reading the severance section F in the benefits book and make sure to jot down contact numbers, emails, address info, etc.
Depending on your salary and if you expect to work post Wells take a look and see if you need to adjust tax withholdings. You might even need to add tax withholdings to avoid or soften a surprise tax bill next year.
Check out lifecare which you can search on teamworks and see if you want to shop for anything you may need while you can get an employee discount. I’m in the same boat, good luck everyone!
Please consider:
- Start mailing laptops and office supplies home from the mailroom.
- Flirt with the hot intern. Or at least locate the 5 hottest women in your building and sniff their chair whenever they get up.
- Start a bookmaking (sports gambling, oddsmaking) business in the office.
- Retreat to the restroom at least twice a day to rub one out (kudos to Wolf of Wall Street for this tip).
Reward points what is this all about? Just got laid off so I wanna know.
Understand the employee handbook in regarfs to displacement. Make sure to read the section on what happens to pto used before accrual and if you have to pay it back. Make sure to use your personal holidays and community service days
make sure you have external access to 401k, long term incentive, workday, and wage works (hsa). I also bumped up my 401k contribution to ensure I max out in the next couple months.
Use your reward points, but if you don’t they give you a year.
in workday make sure you have a personal email address