If the VBO comes around, how many people will take it just to show them up?
Many people, like me, do all the work. VBO me, and it comes down around their ears. They'll be begging for me to come back. I'll get the VBO plus a raise and promotion when I come back. As a hero.
If you take the VBO, you cannot return to Fidelity as an employee. (If there is a business need, you can return as a contractor but not full time.)
@dgkt+1qoxE0BC, you asked "If you meet the age, # of service years = 70, but in your 10th year as of 6/30/24…will you qualify for the VBO?"
Good question. I think you're saying that you are currently in your 10th year so it's not a full 10 years yet, right? Maybe this is where hours worked comes into play, if that actually is a sticking point for the calculation. I'm no longer there, but I recall you can check your years on Workday and if you've worked overtime it adds up. But who knows if there would be a new twist on the qualifications. Some say they've been told it will be staggered dates over different years. If that's the case it sounds like you would qualify for a later date most assuredly. Based on the pattern of the past 2 offers which both happened on Tuesdays, look for an email early morning on either Feb 27 or Mar 5.
And to the person that said they know people who "came back" after they took a VBO, so do I, but they came back as CONTRACTORS, not full time employees with benefits. Big difference and not quite as glamorous, but it was nice extra income.
I know a number of folks who took the last VBO and came back later. It happens.
If you meet the age, # of service years = 70, but in your 10th year as of 6/30/24…will you qualify for the VBO?
You aren't coming back dude. That's part of the VBO agreement- cannot be rehired.
Managers don't know the age of the associates they manage.
@3efn+1qoxE0BC, please expound on how a manager wouldn't know if their employee is eligible. The criteria will be made known to them on the day that the offer emails are sent, if not beforehand. It's not like a secret list, it's everyone who meets the criteria. Are you saying managers have no idea about the ages of their employees or how many years they have been with the company? Really? You are right that managers won't know if an employee has opted in unless the employee tells them, but once the deadline has passed to opt in, the manager is informed whether the employee tells them or not.
Your manager does not know who is eligible or if you opt - in until much later.
@3pxo+1qoxE0BC, I don't know if your manager knows ahead of time. The first VBO caught everyone by surprise, and I think the second one did as well. My manager and I both met the criteria on the 2021 VBO as well as a couple others in our group. My manager didn't seem to know about it in advance, but from what I read on this forum, it sounds like a badly kept secret this time. If you meet the criteria (age, years of service), your manager will know who has been sent an offer just from that information. You would have a few weeks to "opt in", and you should tell your manager upon that deadline if you turned it down or not. If you opt in, you have another deadline a couple of months later to either rescind the offer or move forward and commit to leaving. If you opt in and take the VBO, you will be told to be on your best behavior, as your manager can recommend the offer be rescinded if your work suffers or if you don't follow protocol.
Does your manager know you’re on the VBO list before you’re given notice?
I do not want the VBO, making too much money now.
It is a really generous program. Plus with your RHRP ($48K in 2021) you can get reimbursed for medical, vision, dental procedures and premiums every month. VBO bonuses +++, Full pay was over a year, my Fido employee medical ($178) ended December 2023, now 2 months on Fido COBRA till medicare. Timing was perfect for me. Many of us worked until December 2021. They tied the 2021 VBO exit: June, September, December. I personally thought it was a nice Thank you for putting in over 20 years of service with Fidelity and did not feel I was pushed out at all. A VP said in 2021 there will be another VBO in the future. Eligible employees for 2021 had an email I believe in early March with 30 days to accept. Unless things have changed early 2025 looks like the next possible VBO offering. Good luck everyone!
I wonder if the original poster would actually qualify for a VBO? The 2017 qualifications were employees age 55 and older with at least 10 years of service. The 2021 qualifications were employees with a combined age and tenure of at least 70 with a minimum of 10 years of service as of June 30, 2021 (not sure, but one or both may have been limited to US employees only). People are not hired back as Fidelity full time employees once they take the VBO. A couple of people I knew that took the 2017 VBO came back as contractors. To be a contractor required a high level signoff (I seem to recall my manager telling me Abby had to sign off on it). They could only work a certain number of hours per year, which equated to approximately 9 months. If they went over the number of hours, their VBO benefits would be terminated. They didn't get benefits from the contract work (no PTO, no profit sharing or 401K, etc.) Of course the health insurance is an ongoing benefit in taking the VBO until age 65. There are plenty of articles online where you can find general details of the package offers. As to the question if rumors are an "HR ploy to get people to hang around" ... a woman in my department retired at the end of 2016, and she was given a package since it was very close to when it was offered at the end of February 2017. Pretty sweet, huh?
What was the previous VBO package offer and qualifications?
Ever wonder if the recent VBO rumors are just an HR ploy to get people to hang around a bit longer instead of leaving now?
Don't take it for spite and FYI everyone is replaceable. This is a major decision and you should not make an emotional decision. It is highly doubtful they will hire any VBO back full time. It is more common that they bring people back for a short time.
@OP+1qoxE0BC From previous VBOs, if you accept the offer you won’t be going back. If you do, you’ll be paying back what they paid you out. Hardly worth accepting to begin with. Ask any previous VBOer.
Going to be a lot of good hardwood going when the Fidelity tree falls over.
They’re building a new house of cards in tech. Time will tell. You think they have more sev 1 issues now, just wait and watch them grow in number.
The deadwood needs to go, can’t wait for the VBO this March.
Sh-t show? Record growth and record revenue? Things are going fine and don’t let the door hit you on way out.
Same here.
Problem is they are too ignorant to realize this.
Just look at the sh-t show going on now after the first 2 VBOs.
Soooo glad I’ll be out of it soon.