What's in a good buyout?

I have an inkling that buyout offers are on the way at my paper.

What should I look for in deciding whether to take it?

 

Buyout sex. [crossthread]

 

If they'll pay you the money in a bulk payment.

If they will, it won't count against unemployment and you'll be able to start getting that earlier than if they pay you your regular salary for several weeks/months.

The length of your benefits is also usually negotiable.

 

Depending on your family situation, at least COBRA insurance is probably a must. One place I know, their company insurance was extended for the lifetime. That was a huge factor.

 

Folks who got bought out at my joint all got paid in lump sums. But state law said that the severance amount had to be spread across the number of weeks it represented. In other words, if they got 26 weeks of pay in a lump, they still had to wait 26 weeks before they were eligible for unemployment.

They were supposed to file for it right away, but then were required to wait until the money, in theory, ran out.

 

I got my buyout in three lump sums. One was my buyout. One was my comp time. One was my vacation time.

For what it's worth, I went over this with the unemployment people over and over and was told that as long as I logged the payments when they came in, that I could file and receive unemployment. So there would be a few periods where I would report the payment and then receive nothing from unemployment and then the next period I would get the unemployment check.

I kind of lucked into that because I told them I wanted my vacation and comp time in a bulk payment. All things considered, it worked out nicely.

 

Wouldn't you take a bigger tax hit with a bulk payment?

 

Actually, it could be beneficial if you like larger refunds.
They have to withhold 28% federal tax out of a lump sum payment, so you'll probably end up getting a bigger refund.
If you're paid according to normal pay schedule, they'll continue withholding at whatever your normal rate was (and it is never 28% for federal tax).

 

I've heard of people getting benefits for five years, but not lifetime... That is crazy. I'd love to know what place offered that deal.

 

My perfect buyout would be in the form of overnight stays at Marriott Hotels, where I could spend my weeks and months looking for a new job while racking up Marriott points.

Surely we could arrive at a decent salary/hotel deal that would work for both parties. I'll start the bidding at 10 weeks pay and five weeks of Marriott stays. Not sure about your situation, but that works for me.

 

General Motors, maybe, courtesy of the UAW. Pre-2008 bailout request, at least.