You are ready to walk out of the corporate door, have the retirement party, say good-bye to your co-workers. Are you also ready to say good-bye to your benefits?

Over the next few blogs, I will give you tips on how to plan your exit. Today, we will look at squeezing out those last few dollars. It is all in the timing.

When does your company credit the employees with the 401k match? Most companies have a regular time table to matching 401k contributions. Look at your last few pay stubs to see when that deposit is made. This is “free money” that you don’t want to leave on the table. Another monetary perk to pay attention to is profit-sharing. Most companies make this contribution once a year, generally at the same time each year. If you do not know when your company doles out the profit sharing, ask your H.R. department.

Lastly, make sure you know the rules for cashing out your unused paid leave and sick time. Does your company have a “use it or lose it’ policy, or can you bank the unused time and have it paid out in a lump sum?

Check these things out before you plan the retirement party. Next, I will discuss your retirement insurance benefits.

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