Planning Ahead. HP/HPE Alumni

Finance Menu: Stock W‑2/Payroll Pension/401k Social Security Forum Site Map

Operated by volunteers. Not officially endorsed or supported. Join us!

Planning ahead. For current employees of HP or HPE (or any company.)

Information and advice for current employees from HP alumni. (Updated Jul 6, 2021.)

Join HPAlumni If you were formerly a regular, direct employee of HP or HPE -- or are in the process of leaving. Benefits and Finance Forums, Job Posts, Alumni News. No charge, thanks to HPAA members.

Questions or comments to: info@hpalumni.org

Actions you can take

Evaluate your career situation. Use the HPAA's Career Checkup -- hard-earned advice from members on evaluating your career situation -- wherever you work.

Diversify. Don't let the company make you an expert in just one thing (unless it is what you really want, you are really sure it is something that will always be in demand, and you are willing to change companies to follow it.)

Establish your personal network. Powerful while at your current company -- and you may need it later:

- Connect -- inside your current company and outside. Maintain your relationships and track the career changes of your former co-workers. "I became an internal-only resource." Participate in a professional association, an open-source project, a church, or a community activity. "I realized that I only knew HP people." "My friends and acquaintances were about my age and worked in similar jobs. When things changed for me, most of my friends were in no position to help, because they were in the same boat."

- Even if not currently looking for a job, you need to be on LinkedIn. LinkedIn helps you reconnect with people who know you and your work. Join "HP Connections" on Linkedin For current and former employees of Hewlett-Packard and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. (HPAA membership not required.) LinkedIn works differently than you might think: LinkedIn Tips and Traps

- Check your LinkedIn profile! You may be surprised. LinkedIn has changed how employers are identified -- dropping employers and modifying profiles without notice. In addition, HP positions were changed to HPE. You want recruiters to believe your profile -- and former co-workers to find you. You can use LinkedIn to reconnect with former co-workers who know you and your work. Many HPAA members report that LinkedIn helped them find a new job. Use HPAA's LinkedIn Tips and Traps

- Professional and social networking. HPAA's directory of 190 Professional and social groups for alumni and current employees of HPInc, HPE, predecessor companies, and successor companies: https://www.hpalumni.org/network

Move from company to personal PC and email. For privacy reasons now -- and impossible to do quickly if you retire or leave.

- Quietly untangle your personal business from your employer's systems. No matter where you work, what your job situation, or how innocent your activities -- there are legal and privacy issues with using your employer's IT facilities for your personal business. How and why based on personal experiences reported by HPAA members.

- How to set up professional email. Advice from HPAA members on getting a private email account on Yahoo Mail, Google Gmail, or Microsoft Outlook.com -- and choosing a professional email username.

Plan for transition when you retire, get WFRed, or leave:

- ASAP Checklist. What you need to do before losing access to internal systems and in the following few weeks.

- Questions to ask if you are offered the "Golden Boot" Pragmatic advice from Jane Bryant Quinn.

- "What I wish I had known before I left"

- Advice from HPAA members on job hunting -- inside or outside HP.

- How much notice to give on retirement -- at any company. Advice from HPAA members.

- Advice and info on returning to HPInc, HPE, DXC, or Micro Focus -- including informal and formal restrictions.

- Time to untangle your stock! No one but you really cares about your employment-related stock. You may have had stock in up to seven HP-related companies. Your stock may not all be in the same place or be registered to your current postal address. You may need to retrieve lost stock, dividends, or cash payouts, find stray accounts, or estimate your cost basis. An HP Alumni team has developed a step-by-step process to find and protect your stock. Employee Stock

- How to Choose a Financial Advisor. Member advice on sorting out the different types of financial salespeople and advisors.

References recommended by HP alumni:

- "Think you might lose your income? Four money moves to make now" by Michelle Singletary. Washington Post (Several free articles per month.)

- "Making the Most of Your Money Now" by Jane Bryant Quinn. Explains how financial things really work -- especially good for analytic folks. ISBN-10: 0743269969

- "Get a Life" by Ralph Warner. "How to beat the anxiety surrounding retirement, and to develop a plan to make your golden years the best of your life." ISBN-10: 1413300847

- Social Security. Slides from the August 2016 HPAA Social Security presentation and webinar. Member advice from an ex-HP/HPE perspective.

- "You're no longer nailed to your job in order to get health insurance" [AARP membership not required.]

- If not 65 yet: A “qualifying life event” gives you a limited “special enrollment period” to purchase health insurance under the ACA: www.healthcare.gov

- If approaching 65: "Medicare and You" Download a searchable pdf copy from the official Medicare site. Especially see the very helpful flowchart on page 16 and the table on page 69.

Information and links specifically for people from... Agilent Autonomy Compaq Digital DXC EDS HP HPE Keysight Micro Focus Perspecta Tandem

Operated by volunteers. Not officially endorsed or supported.

If you were formerly a regular, direct employee of HP or HPE -- or are in the process of leaving -- join the HP Alumni Association. Membership is also open to heirs with HP-related stock and to those receiving company benefits -- spouses, partners, dependents, DEC and EDS retirees. No charge, thanks to HPAA members.

As financial, legal, and personal advice must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case, and finances and laws are constantly changing, nothing provided here should be used as a substitute for the personalized advice of competent financial, legal, and personal advisors.