Put your money into an HSA rather than an FSA. It's a free extra retirement account.
You don't need to worry about being locked out of your 401K after being sacked. It's still your money and they have to give you access to it, even after you're sacked. Transfer the money out to a separate 401K account that only you control after you've left the company. (Or don't, because I'm pretty sure they have to keep your account open indefinitely, but IANAL so ask a professional)
You should practice interviewing well before your last day. Interview somewhere you'd like to work at least every 6 months. Tell them you're not looking to move right away but you're curious about their company and team an open to hearing about new opportunities. Keep in contact afterward.
Not mentioned there, but commuter benefits cards have an expiration after which you can't spend the money, so make sure if you have a balance that you spend it before it expires. I once built up $250 on a card and forgot about it.
HSAs and FSAs are not entirely swappable. HSAs require a qualifying health plan, and are a pain in the ass to move around in my experience. FSAs are actually better for those that are laid off--you can use the full balance of the FSA before you pay it. Say you commit 3k to a FSA, you can use 3k of it on day one (or the day you are laid off...). Your company is on the hook for the remainder of the balance if you aren't there to pay it back.
I would be annoyed as hell if someone kept asking to be interviewed but never accepted the position. Interviews aren't free, don't waste peoples time doing them if you aren't serious/need to practice. Pay for an interview coach.
> Interviews aren't free, don't waste peoples time doing them if you aren't serious/need to practice. Pay for an interview coach.
1. While I understand this, its really hard for me to sympathize after seeing companies ghost me after multiple rounds of interviews, worst of which is when I spends hours working nights/weekends on their take home assignments (happens a lot more when you are less experienced). What I have learned as I grown older is, everyone (companies / people) always do what's best for them, you do what's best for you (this could be different for different people). I don't make any judgements.
2. Has anyone here actually used an interview coach? Is it really useful/effective?
> While I understand this, its really hard for me to sympathize after seeing companies ghost me after multiple rounds of interviews, worst of which is when I spends hours working nights/weekends on their take home assignments (happens a lot more when you are less experienced). What I have learned as I grown older is, everyone (companies / people) always do what's best for them, you do what's best for you (this could be different for different people). I don't make any judgements.
Exactly. And if you go in not really intending to take the job, the company still has the opportunity to sell you on it. Who knows, they might even succeed, it’s been known to happen.
I'll always use the real thing (applying for companies I have no actual interest in working for) and get the interview practice for free. Coaching is very much a mixed bag.
It's my way of getting my wasted time back from incompetent recruiters.
> Interviews aren't free, don't waste peoples time doing them if you aren't serious/need to practice.
Poor companies, being exploited by all those impudent workers! Thoughts and prayers.
Seriously, though, people are still gonna do that and there's not much you can do to detect or prevent that. Might be easier on your nerves to just accept it as a fact of life.
If you are up front about your intentions to the interviewer, it's up to them whether they want to interview you or not. Any hiring manager worth their salt would not turn down an offer to interview a good candidate, even if they're not hiring right now. Having one or two great candidates in your back pocket is always handy. Even if that candidate isn't available when you need them, if they had a good experience with you, they'll likely refer someone to you. And, as the hiring manager, maybe you want to move somewhere else, and now you have relationships with good people at other companies. Networking is a long game; don't get annoyed, play to win!
And it goes both ways ... sometimes there isn't a fit, or there is a skills mismatch, or (list goes on).
I would agree that every 6 months - year you should interview for job(s) you are interested in. Once it gets to an offer, maybe it's a big increase in pay or title or whatnot, and it might make sense to move. Or, maybe it's not as enticing, and you can negotiate a bit.
Hiring and interviewing is a two way street, and in the end there are many candidates and usually just one position. Just because the one you are interviewing for isn't a fit doesn't mean you don't love the place if they have a different opening. Just let them know!
HSA is deferred for future. I (in 30% tax bracket and pretty healthy) can defer that to future as I only average about two doctor visits per year last 2 years. So, if I put it in FSA, I loose the money since my number of visits to doctor are few and far between. HSA, I can use after I retire also or when I grow older. So for my situation, it is better.
Lately, I haven't been seeing the HSA math make sense, at least for a family. The monthly difference between a high deductible plan with a HSA is not cheap enough to cover the deductible gap, and care has gotten a lot more expensive.
Either choice will most likely result in medical bankruptcy without some sort of independent wealth. Best to have socialized healthcare and not have to worry about any of this.
I’ve seen at least two companies where if you sign up for the high deductible plan, the employer will contribute the full deductible amount to an HSA. I suspect this might become an increasingly common option in the benefits menu.
I disagree, but upvoted as I do not think you should be downvoted for your opinion. My objections:
First, all employers are different; some provide a big portion of the funding.
Even if not, HSAs can bring huge benefits if executed right. They are a triple tax-free account: pre-tax deposits, tax-free growth, non-taxable distributions. So a healthy high earner who maxes his HSA contributions for several early-career years can come out far ahead. Or a well-off family that can treat it as yet-another tax-advantaged savings vehicle.
But to reap big benefits HSAs have to be planned and executed over many years and impose some limitations, such as on using FSAs. For someone who is not sure they can diligently follow the strategy over many years, HSAs can be a big headache with limited utility. My 2c.
The only time an HSA worked for me was when it was the plan that had a max on out of pocket payments of 10k. I have a diabetic child and that runs to $1200 per month in out of pocket expenses. When I did the math for deductible, copays, etc it worked in my favor.
You can save receipts for medical care forever and claim them against the HSA years later. The money grows tax free so you basically use it as another 401k. After age 65 or if you become disabled you can start pulling money out of a HSA without a medical cost.
>I would be annoyed as hell if someone kept asking to be interviewed but never accepted the position. Interviews aren't free, don't waste peoples time doing them if you aren't serious/need to practice. Pay for an interview coach.
Not my problem, sorry. The system is already rigged against interviewees.
HSA is great for self employed, esp. if you think you'll remain so for a long time (and don't require better insurance). Tax free contributions, tax free gains, and tax free withdrawals. I have 10 years worth of maximum contributions in one and have never taken a penny out. You can save healthcare related receipts (which includes things like lasik to cold/flu OTC meds) to pay yourself back as well. Use Fidelity, pick boring index fund with low admin costs (FZROX), and thats it.
Very big fan of these investment vehicles and wish there were more. They work best if you're healthy but still good if you use the doctor sometimes, you'll save money. HSAs, however, prob don't have a place in our system long-term, I predict future universal healthcare/phasing out of private insurance. Funding your own healthcare, with tax benefits, is blasphemy among certain schools of thought and would not funnel money into the bigger pool required for universal, which I disagree with.
> Or don't, because I'm pretty sure they have to keep your account open indefinitely, but IANAL so ask a professional
Definitely a life best practice to periodically consolidate these kinds of accounts. Imagine trying to track down your 401k from your time at GE 20 years ago. It definitely exists somewhere, but it would not be fun finding it.
The Australian Tax Office portal lists all of your active superannuation (or ‘super’, which is basically 401k) accounts, and offers a link to kick off the transfer process.
Despite having one of the most contradictory and complex taxation systems in the world, they do make some things very easy.
>You don't need to worry about being locked out of your 401K after being sacked. It's still your money and they have to give you access to it, even after you're sacked. Transfer the money out to a separate 401K account that only you control after you've left the company. (Or don't, because I'm pretty sure they have to keep your account open indefinitely, but IANAL so ask a professional)
You will not be locked out of 401k when you quit but they will charge about $25 per quarter ($100 per year) to maintain your account. I feel it is still a good deal and I left my 401k with my previous employers. so far I have $300k in 401k, so $300/year to maintain the portfolio (across three previous employers) and not messing it up by moving it around seems like a safe deal to me.
Moving it around wouldn't mess it up. You can move a 401k from a previous employer to a Rollover IRA at any major custodian. This is not a taxable event (you just move pre-tax money to pre-tax money), so it doesn't matter if you sell whatever it's holding and buy the equivalent at a new custodian. The only reason to need to keep a 401k where it is is if that custodian has some unique investment option that you want there that you can't get elsewhere, but that's pretty rare.
You should be able to transfer a rollover IRA to your latest employer's 401k (and I think a regular, non-Roth, non-rollover IRA as well). One could probably enjoy unrestricted security choice of the traditional brokerage, then move funds back to the 401k before doing a backdoor Roth.
That said, I would talk to a financial advisor before moving large sums of money between account types. My 2c.
>but they will charge about $25 per quarter ($100 per year) to maintain your account.
This is entirely dependant on your plan and plan administrator. Some charge nothing some charge much more than $100/year (I was paying over $250/quarter with one 401k).
> Put your money into an HSA rather than an FSA. It's a free extra retirement account.
You often can't really pick. To contribute to an HSA, you need to have a high deductible health plan (there have been some pushes in Congress to change this). Whether or not an HDHP makes sense for you really depends on your personal circumstances. Furthermore, you can not contribute to an HSA if you also have a healthcare FSA at the same time (there are other things called "Limited Purpose FSAs", which only cover dental and vision, that can work with an HSA).
That said, if you can contribute to an HSA, they are absolutely the best tax deal around, as they are one of the only vehicles where (a) you can put money into the account tax free, (b) any growth is tax free, and most HSAs allow you to invest, and (c) if you spend the money on an exempt purpose (something healthcare related), then that's also tax free.
> Transfer the money out to a separate 401K account that only you control after you've left the company.
Normally you move the money to a "rollover IRA" account. Every financial institution that offers IRA accounts will have a way to do this. Nowadays, most are automated. The largest players in this space are Fidelity and Vanguard. Your 401k is probably with them already.
To put money in an HSA, then you are required (by law) to have a certain type of insurance plan (one with a massive deductible - usually like $5k). FSAs are a totally different type of plan, and it is really common for the money leftover at the end of the year to be donated to the executive bonus program.
Every year you elect to set aside a certain amount of money. (ie $2000 per benefit year). This money is deducted over the course of the year, but you are eligible to access the entire amount once the benefit year starts. But here is the rub, if you don't spend it you lose the money to whomever is managing the spending account.
MSA/HSA = Medical Savings Account/ Health Savings Account
You elect to set aside a certain amount of money per paycheck into a tax advantaged account. The Money is deducted per pay period. The Amount accessible is whatever the account balance is. You do not have to spend all of the money in a calendar year. You maintain access to that money forever.
Things to consider if you have an FSA account:
1) Are you ahead or behind in your reimbursements vs. payroll contributions.
Behind = You have paid more into the account than you have received in reimbursements
Ahead = You have paid less into the account than you received in reimbursements.
2) Do you have any expenses that you have not submitted? -- Do that NOW
3) Can you generate new expenses that you can submit for reimbursement before your window closes? Do that NOW.
The goal is to be ahead on the curve. Ideally you want to submit expenses that will bring your account balance to $0. Remember when I said if you don't spend it someone else gets to keep it? Well, the flipside is also true. You are able to access the entire balance on Day 1 of the benefit year. If you have valid expenses, you can be reimbursed for the entire balance on Day 2. If the company lays you off on Day3 before you contributed a dime, sucks to be them. The same entity that gets to keep the excess, is the same entity that must make up the difference.
So, if your benefits end at the end of the month, now is the time to get new glasses or dental work to draw down that balance - either to $0 or to where you are Ahead.
Things to consider if you have an MSA/HSA account:
You can use this money for medical-related expenses. It may allow you to maintain your prescriptions and minor health issues long enough for your new job benefits to kick in and avoid the expense of COBRA. You have a certain window after termination to elect for COBRA so its something to consider.
FSA contributions are pre-tax, so there's a benefit to the employee for all the rigamarole. Personally, my predictable eligible expenses were not usually at a level where it made sense, and then the one time I thought it did, the billing didn't match, so I had to find extra things to expense, and it was a giant pain. Especially when the rules changed and over the counter medication was no longer eligible.
Clearly, the financial companies behind this have an actuarial interest. And the employers have something to check off; not sure if they also get to save on some payroll tax on the elected amount?
I don't mean "why would people use it", I can see benefits for sure, it's just so... contrived... that it really seems like a terrible implementation of whatever the government/companies actually meant to incentivize.
It's better than nothing at all, but it definitely seems worse than a lot of other ways this could have been implemented.
The alternative is probably just deducting medical costs, but that's worse: can't do it unless your costs are significant (there's a % of income required and it needs to get over the standard deduction too). But yeah. Pretty terrible.
corruption and anti worker sentiment on all levels.
other answer is already underneath the framing that it exists and will try to justify it within the system.
all benefits, specially the few one code in law, serve to create the illusion of belonging to a different class while oppressing so you keep that class engaged in production.
so, existis for the same reason a complicated tax code does.
I’ve had a quarterly updated resume and longer form career document for over a decade. I don’t think I’ve ever had to update my resume specifically for a job opportunity. It’s constantly updated.
> While you still have access to Slack, ask your manager, previous managers, and/or colleagues you worked closely with if they would be willing to give a reference check for you for your next role.
You should already have them as contacts on LinkedIn
> Potentially also ask for endorsements on LinkedIn
On the other hand LinkedIn is merely a place to keep my contacts. I find it to be more of a self aggrandizing cesspool than Facebook.
> On the other hand LinkedIn is merely a place to keep my contacts. I find it to be more of a self aggrandizing cesspool than Facebook.
People who post on there with bullshit accomplishments are hilarious. One person in particular who I used to work with had a problem with being “humbled”. As in “I am humbled that the presidential honors society recognized that I am one of the top 12 cyber warriors in my apartment building.”
Many of my former colleagues gravitate towards security stuff because there’s a lot of hiring going on and pay is high. So LinkedIn is now littered with would be cyber-commandos clucking about kill chains, ooda loops, and spouting ridiculous military jargon.
I think this is really smart. I made a runbook for a previously-announced layoff including contacts I'd reach out to, companies I'm interested in, etc. I had a full checklist of activities to help me feel productive if I was laid off. Making that checklist was a really helpful exercise to help calm my mind while I was waiting to find out if I was laid off or not.
Thankfully I wasn't laid off this time, but I plan on keeping this list updated over time.
> If you are receiving severance, sign the necessary paperwork as soon as possible so that your first payment is not delayed.
> NB: after reading the paperwork to make sure none of the clauses are non-starters for you.
PLEASE PLEASE consult with a lawyer to make sure you are getting what is fairly owed to you, and don't sign until you do.
In many places you have to be given time to do such a consult; if not then the document isn't binding.
If you've consulted and things are okay, then don't delay, I fully agree.
Put your money into an HSA rather than an FSA. It's a free extra retirement account.
You don't need to worry about being locked out of your 401K after being sacked. It's still your money and they have to give you access to it, even after you're sacked. Transfer the money out to a separate 401K account that only you control after you've left the company. (Or don't, because I'm pretty sure they have to keep your account open indefinitely, but IANAL so ask a professional)
You should practice interviewing well before your last day. Interview somewhere you'd like to work at least every 6 months. Tell them you're not looking to move right away but you're curious about their company and team an open to hearing about new opportunities. Keep in contact afterward.
Not mentioned there, but commuter benefits cards have an expiration after which you can't spend the money, so make sure if you have a balance that you spend it before it expires. I once built up $250 on a card and forgot about it.