ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Retirement pay-outs can be a financial make-it or break-it. A report by the center for effective government and the institute for policy studies found the 100 largest CEO retirement accounts combined are worth four point nine billion dollars.
You’ve worked your whole life, and now it’s time to kick back and enjoy the next stage. But do you know what mistakes to avoid when negotiating a retirement package?
Mistake number one: focusing on big numbers. Your company might offer you a lump sum of 300,000 dollars, but if you divide that by 30 years it’s just 10,000 a year. Consider how much you need to earn on your assets, and don’t forget to take inflation into account.
When negotiating, don’t go in blindly. Contact previous retired employees and research other companies’ policies to find out what benefits they received.
Another mistake: focusing on cash when you may be able to negotiate health and life insurance, disability, and stock options.
And don’t make the first offer. You might come in too low, there’s no going up later, or too high, which is unrealistic.
Instead of retiring in December, ask if you can retire in January and have an extra stock grant. Also, try asking for a consulting contract where you offer advice to new executives, it could be an extra year’s pay. And you may want to consult a team of advisors, a CPA, an estates and trusts attorney, and a certified financial planner practitioner to guide you through the process. Having this support could pay for itself and then some.
Contributors to this news report include: Julie Marks, producer; and Jesse Draus, editor and videographer.
