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From the independent association for former employees of HP and HPE -- and those in the process of leaving. Helping each other with life after HP/HPE. Join at no charge.

ASAP Checklist for people leaving HP or HPE -- layoff, retirement, or otherwise.

Before losing access to company systems -- and in the following weeks.

Some recent updates are highlighted. (Updated Feb 21, 2023.)

The HP Alumni Association is operated by volunteers. Not officially endorsed or supported.

Wish I Had Known  HPAA members were asked: "What do you wish you had known before you left?"

Job Hunting  Members recommend spending most of your job-hunting time searching outside the company -- you are a stronger candidate while still employed. Very few members report landing during a "redeployment period." Many report losing critical time and wasting valuable energy on discussions about internal jobs that ended abruptly without explanation.

Advice and info on returning to HPInc or HPE -- including informal and formal restrictions.

Which company will I be a former employee or retiree of? Given HP's history of acquisitions and spinoffs, this may not be obvious.

Sections in the ASAP checklist:

A. Urgent action items before you lose internal access

B. Additional action items before your last day

C. Urgent tasks if you are not leaving the workforce

D. Your last days

E. Following weeks -- including the Waiver and Release

F. Additional reference info  

 

A. Urgent action items before you lose internal access -- advice from HPAA members:   Questions or comments? info@hpalumni.org

  1. Audit your details. How the company's systems view your job history may not match your understanding. You need to resolve any ambiguities:
    - You may be a retiree or former employee of more that one HP-related company. Which Company
    - Years-of-service may be calculated differently for severance or retiree healthcare vs. how vacation and other benefits were calculated while employed. Which Company
    - Depending on age, years of service, and other factors, you may qualify for the "Pre-2003 HP Retiree Medical Program" -- as opposed to the current "HP Retiree Medical Program." ("2003" refers to the year when HP implemented the program, not necessarily your year of retirement.) Details: Pre2003

  2. Documents. We hear regularly from members attempting to reconstruct their employment-related records. Due to policy changes, country-to-country variations, reorganizations, acquisitions, divestitures, and spinoffs, it may be extremely difficult or impossible for your former employer to produce this information. (For example, HP-related companies have used at least 13 U.S. stock administrators.)
    Only you have the documents that applied to your specific situation at the time:
    - Locate your offer-of-employment letter, documents covering any bonus or incentive plan, and other material covering the contractual terms of your employment.
    - Gather the documents that detail each batch of employee stock you have acquired, your retirement plan, 401(k), etc.
    - Collect documents that prove your employer and pay -- for example, W-2's that give each employer's legal name, such as "EDS, an HP company" vs "HP Enterprise Services" -- and the amounts of any commission or bonus pay. Keep copies of paychecks for your last year.
    - Print out anything provided by the company via web or email regarding the terms of your termination, retirement, or severance program.
    Make a separate set of copies to study and mark up.
    Keep these employment-related documents in a safe place with your other permanent documents -- plus an off-site backup in case of fire or other disaster. Don't depend on your work email account or company-issued computer.
    You may need this information for employment verification, unemployment insurance, security clearance, claiming a class-action settlement, divorce or child-support, or other legal issue. And your heirs will need to locate your assets.

  3. Be sure to use the very helpful official "leaving" site for your company -- both accessible outside company firewalls:
    Official "Leaving HP" site  [Note: Depending on age, years of service, and other factors, you may qualify for the Pre-2003 HP Retiree Medical Program]
    Official "Leaving HPE" site  [Note: Depending on age, years of service, and other factors, you may qualify for the Pre-2003 HP Retiree Medical Program]

  4. Unused vacation/FTO time and Floating Holiday.
    HPInc follows the same policy as HPE: "Any unused credited vacation hours are not eligible for payout, unless required by state law at your primary work location (currently limited to California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Rhode Island)." HPE 2020 Voluntary Career Transition FAQ.
    Check the current wording in the materials you received from your employer.
    - Don't confuse "earned" or "credited" with "available" time.
    - For those in the field, or stationed on customer premises, or otherwise working remotely, "Primary work location" may be an issue. One member reports: "A remote worker's primary work location is where they actually work (and where state taxes are paid)."
    - One member who changed address with the company because they temporarily moved discovered that their unused-FTO situation changed.
    - In some states, you should let the unused vacation/FTO flow to your final paycheck. In other states, the company has decided that they don't need you anymore -- so use up your vacation time!
    - Non-exempt employees must download a paper timecard and fax it to the company to not delay processing.
    - You may not be paid for your annual Floating Holiday. Take it.

  5. Cashflow and tax withholding.
    - Prepare for cashflow impact due to the unpredictability of your last paycheck and other checks sent after your last day -- and how quickly you get a new job. It is nearly impossible to predict the amounts and timing of the last checks -- due to tax withholding and monthly payroll cycles. Some members report receiving a "mop-up" check many weeks later. 
    - Cashflow is also affected by tax withholding from final checks. (One member had a grand total of 46% withheld form their final check for federal and state income tax, Social Security, and Medicare.) You will get credit for any excess withholding when you do your taxes -- but this hits your cashflow at a critical time.
    - For salary and vacation/FTO payout -- which may be on the same check -- withholding assumes that you make that much every month.
    - However, severance, commissions, and option exercises are taxed at a flat 25% federal "supplemental wages" rate. Your state may also have a flat supplemental rate (CA: 10.2% for stock bonuses and 6.6% for other bonuses.)
    - The withholding rate may be too low if dual-income couple, highly paid, other income, large severance, or large stock option exercise. Use your tax software to simulate your next annual tax filing to determine if you should make an estimated tax payment or hold onto funds to pay with your next tax return. Just copy last year's file to a new filename and modify the input data for different scenarios -- retirement, new job timing and salary, etc..
    - Consider filing a revised W-4 online with the company as soon as you know you are leaving or being laid off -- well before your last day. (Cannot change after last day.) Use the  Official IRS Tax Withholding Estimator -- you no longer have to pretend that you have 14 kids.
    - Re-run your taxes several weeks after your last day -- you may need to make quarterly federal and state estimated tax payments to avoid penalties.
    - See IRS Publication 505 -- "Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax"

  6. 401(k) issues.
    - If you won't have a 401(k) plan after termination, consider immediately increasing your 401(k) contribution setting to reduce taxes and -- if your last day is after the next match payout -- to get a bigger match from the company. Check the current matching rules for your company. For example, at both HP and HPE. the match is mentioned in each Earnings Statement but is only credited annually -- and only if you are on the payroll through December 31. For those being spun off to DXC or Micro Focus, members report that the next 401(k) match payout will be on the date of their transition.
    - If your new employer has a more generous 401(k) match, consider dropping your 401(k) setting to 0%.
    - The 401(k) contribution deducted from your final paycheck will be a percentage of the total gross on that paycheck, which is hard to predict.
    - If you have a loan against your 401(k), you may be required to pay off the loan to avoid a penalty. Check your documents.
    - When reviewing old financial records, note that HPInc originally gave its 401(k) program the confusing name "TAXCAP" -- "Tax Savings Capital Accumulation Plan."  1984 HP Annual Report   1998 Measure Article (pages 8-10)   2004 SEC filing

  7. Stock options or other incentives.
    - You need to determine immediately if you have unexercised options that will expire upon termination. Read that section in your WFR or Retirement document, print out your stock option history, read the legal document you received with each option grant, and refer to the stock-related sections on the official "Leaving HP" or "Leaving HPE" site (item 3 above.) On that site, there is a link to a Merrill Lynch brochure on "Equity Awards," disclosing the transaction cost to sell your shares. Since the company eventually stops paying ML to administer your account, the brochure also discloses annual "inactive account" and "low balance" fees.
    - You need to get your options report twice -- before your termination date and again after your termination date. The report you get before you leave doesn't tell you what will happen to your options after you leave -- for example, the expiration date may be pulled forward.
    - The key: Options are not compensation that you have earned -- they are designed to retain you as an employee. Once you leave, unexercised options are only relevant to the company as a potential expense.
    - To receive “retirement treatment” on equity awards, you must be age 55 with 15 years of qualifying service or age 55 with at least 70 age-plus-service "points."
    - If transitioned to DXC or Micro Focus, stock and options issues: https://www.hpalumni.org/stock

  8. Earnings statements and future W‑2s. Log into your account at the company's payroll service. Print out the most recent earnings statements and any other online-only statements you want to keep. Members report that having W‑2 copies for every year helps in legal situations such as tax audit, divorce, or child support. Set up password recovery questions and check that the email address on the account will reach you in the future -- otherwise, you will not be able to recover account access for future W‑2s such as a severance or retirement payment, stock incentives, or the inevitable miscellaneous cleanup payment. Instead of online statements, you may wish to change your account to paper statements. Advice from members: https://www.hpalumni.org/Contacts-Payroll

  9. Flexible Spending Account. Check on the amount you have available and the rules for using it. You many have to use up the balance before your last day.

  10. Credit card. Move out any company credit card points before your card is cancelled. Ensure that all charges have been approved by the company -- and print out proof of the approval. Members report that AMEX is trying to collect from former employees several months after they left.

  11. Share Ownership Plan. If you participate in the Share Ownership Plan, study the terms and print the full history information that you'll need later for selling shares and doing taxes.

  12. Email and phone:
    - Access to company systems and your company email account may stop well before your last hour. Cases have been reported where access stopped -- without warning -- on the day before the last day... or even weeks earlier. Assurances from managers have proven to be irrelevant -- your manager has no control over the automated HR and IT processes. Any autoreply that you set up will be immediately disabled. Moving your personal business
    - If you have personal calls coming to a company landline number, notify your contacts to change the number they have for you. Your greeting will be deleted.
    - If you have a company-paid cell phone account, you need to either set up a new cell phone account (with a new number) and notify your callers -- or use the form on the company site to have the cell phone number reassigned to your personal cell phone account. Your company cell phone number may vanish quickly.
    - If you don't have one, you can get a free or low-cost personal email account in a few minutes (Member advice: How to set up a professional email account.)
    - If you have personal email directed to your company address (such as Amazon) change the email address on each account. Notify your correspondents. Messages will not reach you. Senders may not be notified -- or may receive a reply that looks like phishing or is ambiguously-worded (for example, "User unknown in virtual alias table.") This may be interpreted unfavorably by the sender. 
    - If you have any personal data in an online address book or similar, copy it out.

  13. Company-owned computer. Start the transition and cleanup early -- this can take considerable time. If you don't have a personally-owned computer, buy one ASAP. Your computer may be collected before your last day -- or possibly wiped remotely while still in your possession. Be sure to find the company's instructions in your WFR or other termination documents. Returned computers have been lost. Ship with signature-required. If returning in person, insist on a receipt. Member advice: Moving your personal business.

  14. Patents. For status of your patent incentives and patent plaques:
    HPInc -- ip.incentives@hp.com  
    HPE -- hpe.ip.incentives@hpe.com

  15. Recognition Rewards or eAwards. Check any incentive or reward account you have -- you may be surprised. Spend the points before your last day. Get a debit card or search for "Amazon" to get a $25 card for 101 points. Charitable Donations for as little as 1 point.  

  16. Health coverage.
    - Your benefits terminate at midnight on your last day.
    - Print out anything provided by the company via web or email regarding the terms of your termination, retirement, or severance program. Find and study the references to health coverage.
    - You will generally qualify as a retiree if you leave HP or HPE at age 55 or older with at least 10 years of qualifying service. To receive “retirement treatment” for retiree health benefits, you can also qualify as a retiree if you have at least 80 age-plus-service “points.”
    - You will be instructed to view your health options online. However, to fully understand your COBRA or retirement health plan, download the most recent HP or HPE Enrollment Guide  
    - COBRA health benefits continuation -- including premium assistance under the American Rescue Plan. COBRA discussion and links
    - Whether or not you are continuing on an HPInc/HPE health plan, call the Benefits Center to go over your specific situation in detail -- which may include COBRA, reimbursement accounts, Medicare, coverage for dependents, etc. You need to understand the actions you need to take before and after your last day. Benefits Centers
    - Technically, you have 31 days to change if you lose coverage from an employer or other plan -- or have a status change such as marriage, divorce, or transition to Medicare. This is not unique to HPInc/HPE. A fundamental principle of health insurance is that everyone continuously pays into the overall health insurance system pool when they are healthy.
    - Nail down your health coverage as soon as you can: "They couldn't do the surgery because his insurance had been terminated. It took a very long three-way phone call with the Benefits Center and [the carrier] to get his new coverage entered into the system."

  17. HPShopping. Change your email address at hpshopping.com to a personal email address. Difficult and slow to change after you lose access. (You may need to buy a new system somewhere to replace your company-owned equipment.)

  18. Evaluations. Print out copies of your past performance evaluations. Many report that the rating they received before WFR was suddenly and inexplicably much lower than the ratings on previous evaluations. How to obtain a copy of your personnel file to assist in developing your résumé: HPInc  HPE.

  19. Training and certifications.
    - Print out the list of courses that you have taken through the company -- including courses taken through third parties such as SkillSoft -- for your files and to help with your résumé.
    - Use the company's online training facilities to complete courses and renew certifications -- for example, clocking training hours to renew your PMP certification.

  20. Corporate travel sites. If you have an account on a corporate travel site -- such as Carlson Wagonlit -- remove your personal membership information -- i.e. frequent flyer numbers, hotel loyalty account, driver's license, etc.

  21. Postal address. Ensure that the company has your current home postal address. Even if you have direct deposit, you may receive a paper check in the flood of postal mail from the company. Make sure that the legal successor to every company you ever worked for has your current postal address. Even if not classified by the company as a "Retiree" or if long gone -- in case of pension plan changes, employment lawsuits, settlements, or other issues. (HP Inc. is the legal successor to the companies acquired by Hewlett-Packard before the company was split into HP Inc and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, including DEC, EDS, etc.) Update address at former company

  22. Additional Issues specific to: DXC EDS Micro Focus

  23. Join the independent HP Alumni Association. If you are in the process of leaving HP or HPE, join the HP Alumni Association -- operator of this website -- to participate in our Benefits and Finance Forums. No charge, thanks to HPAA's Supporting Members. Join the HP Alumni Association  

B. Additional action items before your last day  Questions or comments? info@hpalumni.org

While it's still convenient to do so, members recommend that you consider taking these actions before your last day:

  1. Credit. You may want to take a loan, refinance your house, get a cash-back rewards credit card, or set up a home equity line of credit while still employed.

  2. Share Ownership Plan. Consider dropping out of the Share Ownership Plan early to quickly receive a refund of contributions that won't be used to buy shares.

  3. Retirement Plan. Print the statements for your applicable retirement plans.

  4. Retirement Medical Savings Account. Print the account statement. Note that if you are retiring before age 55, check your eligibility to retain the accumulated employer matching contributions.

  5. Reimbursements. Check the status of your reimbursement accounts while you're still on the payroll.

  6. Stock options are covered in the "Urgent action items before you lose internal access" section, above. Untangling the stock you own is in the "Following Weeks" section, below.

  7. Insurance. For a limited time, you may have the option to continue certain "portable" company-subsidized insurance plans -- typically Life and Accident -- at your own expense -- after you leave the company.  In addition, you may have purchased insurance discount programs -- such as Auto, Home, Long-Term Care, and Legal plans -- that were marketed by third parties to employees using company facilities and employee-benefits communication channels. HPAA's Insurance page 

  8. Classification as "retired."
    - I    f an employee left at 55 or older with at least 10 years of service, or left after 2010 with age-plus-years-of-service of at least 80, or left under an early retirement program -- HP and HPE generally classify the employee as "retired" -- regardless of how they left and whether or not they have any retiree benefits. This is reported to outside payroll and employment verification services, but doesn't seem to have any negative consequences. Inquiries from state Unemployment Dept. claims examiners go to a specific group in HR, which replies via letter. Over the years, members have reported that HP did not block their UI claims. 
    -     If you are classified by HP or HPE as a "Retiree" you should receive a "Gold Badge" and a retirement gift. Members report that some managers and department admins are not aware of this.

  9. Medical/dental/vision. Depending on your situation, it may make financial sense to pull forward some pending medical, dental, or vision work.

  10. Prescriptions. Work with your doctor and pharmacist to order ahead during any transition in prescription coverage. While transitions usually work, members have reported harrowing experiences that required emergency intervention by the Benefits Center.

  11. Microsoft Software. In order to work on your résumé and financial spreadsheet, use Microsoft's Home Use promo offer while you still have a company email address. When you install the promo on your home system, set up the email features of Office to work with your personal email address.

C. Urgent tasks if you are not leaving the workforce  Questions or comments? info@hpalumni.org

Members recommend spending most of your job-hunting time searching outside the company -- you are a stronger candidate while still employed. Very few members report landing during a "redeployment period." Many report losing critical time and wasting valuable energy on discussions about internal jobs that ended abruptly without explanation.

While in the company, you may not have even needed a résumé or a LinkedIn profile. Now you do...

  1. Update and strengthen your LinkedIn profile. People check you out before working with you. Recruiters run searches for particular skills and background. In addition, LinkedIn helps you reconnect with people who know you and your work. Check your LinkedIn profile. (Click your photo and select "View Profile.") LinkedIn has been standardizing company names, with odd results. Recruiters view illogical entries -- such as HPE positions before 2015 -- as fake. (HPE changed many decades-old HP positions to display the HPE name and logo.) Watch for typos. You may wish to emphasize (or de-emphasize) some of your experience and background. LinkedIn tricks and traps: hpalumni.org/LinkedIn

  2. Modernize the format and update the content of your résumé. Because résumés are now optically scanned into systems -- and automatically searched for key words -- older résumés must be not only be Updated in content but also Updated in format. Pick up a modern book on résumés.

  3. Job searching has changed. Hard-won advice from HPAA members: Job Searching and Career -- especially the pragmatic, actionable HPAA video "Job Searching for the Mature Worker."

  4. Employment Verification. Learn how it works before you need it: https://www.hpalumni.org/verif

  5. Experience Letter. A good idea get a letter from your former employer documenting your dates of employment, last job title, and -- if requested -- salary. Especially if on a visa or expecting to emigrate. https://www.hpalumni.org/verif-letter 

  6. You may qualify for Trade Adjustment Assistance or Trade Readjustment Allowances. Government programs for people whose jobs were affected by foreign trade.  https://www.hpalumni.org/TradeAdj

D. Your last days  Questions or comments? info@hpalumni.org

Tips from HPAA members on how to handle your last days:

  1. Don't resign unless you are willing to give up your severance payment and unemployment benefits. You may be required to train your replacement in order to get severance. (BTW, it is possible to be fired for cause before your last day.)

  2. Don't wait until the last day to straighten up your personal computer files and pack your stuff -- this takes time. Don't be out of town your last days. Members report that personal possessions, books, and your email address directory easily get lost as the company prepares to move on without you. Don't forget your plaques and certificates.

  3. Have your new email address set up to give to people. Your company email account, autoreply, phone number, and cell number will vanish quickly -- sometimes a couple of days before your last day.

  4. Take the time to talk to people, say goodbye, and trade personal email addresses and phone numbers before you lose easy access. If you can't reach someone, send an individual, personalized email. (For legal reasons, many companies forbid managers from giving references for former employees while the manager is still with the company: Verifying employment )

  5. Be professional. If you send a farewell email, don't spam the entire business unit. Remember that these are people who may become your employers, co-workers, or business partners in the future.

  6. Do your own simple lunch the week after even if there is an official lunch. You can even invite people who are already gone. A bona fide celebration is an important part of the emotional transition process. Leaving a job -- even if eagerly and happily -- has an impact of almost the same magnitude as a death in the family. Don't skip this part of working through the emotional steps.

  7. This is a beginning as well as an end.

E. Following weeks  Questions or comments? info@hpalumni.org

Tips from HPAA members on issues in the following weeks:

  1. Waiver and Release.
    - Sample Waiver agreements and related issues: Waivers, SPDs, Rehire Restrictions
    - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has a helpful guide: "Understanding Employee Severance Agreements"
    - The company very much wants to have your signed Waiver and Release Agreement, which typically has wording similar to this: "Both Employee and HP are entering into this Agreement as a way of concluding the employment relationship between them and settling voluntarily any dispute or potential dispute that Employee has or might have with HP, whether known or unknown at this time. ... In return for the Cash Severance Payment and other benefits associated with the Plan, Employee... forever releases, discharges, and agrees to hold harmless HP... from any and all claims, actions and causes of action arising at any time through the Effective Date of this Agreement... Employee and HP fully understand that if the facts with respect to this Agreement are later found to be different from the facts now believed to be true, Employee and HP expressly accept and assume the risk of such possible differences of fact, and agree that this Agreement shall be and remain effective notwithstanding such differences."
    -  Typical additional wording in recent Waivers: "The parties further agree that this Agreement is intended to be strictly construed to provide for arbitration as the sole and exclusive means for resolution of all disputes... The parties expressly waive any entitlement to have such controversies decided by a court or a jury." Details: Why employers prefer arbitration   HP and HPE Employment Lawsuits
    - You cannot submit the Waiver until after your last day as an employee -- it will not be accepted. 
    - Be sure to provide a personal email address on the Waiver form.
    - Send your Waiver as soon as possible. Easier to troubleshoot if something goes wrong. Forms have been lost after they have been signed for by the company.
    - Get direct confirmation of receipt with a signature. The most secure U.S. Mail method is to fill out the forms in a post office lobby, then go to a window and get "Certified Mail" combined with "Return Receipt." Details on U.S. Postal Service website: https://www.usps.com > Mail & Ship > Insurance & Extra Services  Be sure that the person at the post office window stamps your copy of the mailing forms with the mailing date.
    - You have a limited time to sign and return it in order to receive your severance payment. Details in WFR materials.
    - There is a legally-required seven-day "rescission period" during which you can revoke the agreement.
    - The Waiver says: “You will not receive a confirmation that HPE has received your Release Agreement... HR Operations Organization and Payroll will not respond to phone calls to confirm your Release Agreement was received.”
     - Members report that you should send an email inquiring about receipt of your Waiver. (Include employee number in all correspondence.) You will get a reply that acknowledges receipt of the Waiver, gives the scheduled payment date, and also says: "Severance payments are processed on the 15th and last day of each month provided your waiver has been submitted within the 60 days." The email warns that payments are subject to withholding, but does not predict the payment amount.
       . HPInc address:   hrgs_ams_fwfm_dm@hp.com     [note underscores in the address]
       . HPE address:  hr_global_services_usa_wfm@hpe.com   [note underscores in the address]    
    [From past cycles: Even if you have direct deposit, watch both your postal mail and your bank account.]    

  2. Severance.
    Severance policies vary between HPInc, HPE, DXC, and Micro Focus. DXC severance policy
    Getting your severance payment is a slow process:
    - After the company receives the Waiver and the seven-day rescission period has passed, the payment goes out on a subsequent regular payroll cycle.
    - You will get several payments -- the number depends on your situation and the laws of the state you live in. One California member reported receiving five small payments between their last day and the actual severance payment.
    - Watch both your postal mail and your bank account. Some who had direct deposit discovered a paper check in the flood of postal mail from the company.

  3. Payout amount.
    - Check your final earnings statement very carefully against what you printed out before you left. Especially an issue with HPE because of HPE's change in payroll outsourcers. Contact Payroll
    - Check that you actually received the gross (pre-tax-withholding) severance payment or PRP bonus that you are supposed to get. Check or dispute https://www.hpalumni.org/payout.

  4. Health insurance and other benefits. Your benefits terminated at midnight on your last day.
    You may have been charged via payroll deduction for the entire month of benefits. Contact the Benefits Center to prorate the premiums and get reimbursement.
    If you are continuing health coverage via COBRA or retirement benefits, check with the Benefits Center to be sure the system has been updated. "They couldn't do the surgery because his insurance had been terminated. It took a very long three-way phone call with the Benefits Center and [the carrier] to get his new coverage entered into the system."

  5. Transition services. Be sure to take advantage of any transition services provided by the company. Members consistently report that the Lee Hecht Harrison classes are excellent. Typical comment: "LHH was crucial in coaching me in how to find a job in today's market."  LHH is helpful even if actually retiring from the workforce: " Some really interesting self-reflection sessions about what to do in retirement." Find out how soon you must start the program after your last day at the company -- there are expiration dates for the different services. Members report that DXC does not offer transition services.

  6. Fleet vehicle upgrade. If you paid an upgrade charge for a company car but were WFRed before the lease ended, you are entitled to a prorated reimbursement. Fleet Issues

  7. Equifax Work Number employee account. Even if you are leaving the workforce, set an account up now -- before an identity thief uses your readily-available birthdate and SSN to do it. Your information is in the database regardless of whether you have set up an account. An identity thief can gain further information for use impersonating you elsewhere -- for example, to file for a tax refund or to get credit (HELOCs and mortgages have been reported.) You can then check the information that the company will report to potential employers, financial institutions, and government agencies. Employment Verification

  8. Retirement Plans -- pensions, 401(k). See HPAA's Retirement Plan Menu. Includes a thorough discussion of the key question: Should you take a lump-sum or a monthly pension?

  9. Time to untangle your stock! Depending on when and how you acquired HP or HPE stock, you may now have stock in up to five (formerly seven) completely separate HP-related companies -- usually in multiple accounts -- and may have missed cash payouts. How many shares of which companies should I have? How much cash should I have received? hpalumni.org/stock

  10. Financial benefits accounts. The company will stop paying for accounts at the firms that administer the 401(k), stock, option, etc. benefits plans. You need to either move to another firm (paying a transfer fee) or convert to a "retail" account. Members report being hit with surprise "administrative" fees. You must make direct contact with each broker and administrator at least once a year. Otherwise, depending on state laws and the broker or administrator's policies, members report that your stock may be turned over to a state as unclaimed property -- which can be very difficult to retrieve. Members report that checking your brokerage statement online doesn't count.

  11. If you are classified as "retired" (discussed above) -- that is reported to outside payroll and employment verification services.

  12. More in the "What I Wish I had known before layoff, retirement, or leaving" section of this site.

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

  14. Finances. Two practical items recommended by members:
    - "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

  15. Company-matched charitable donations. Limited to current employees. Get a tax receipt for your last year.

  16. Additional Issues specific to: DXC  EDS  Micro Focus

F. Additional reference info

Links to reference info on this site:

  1. The key document for a US employee retirement or health plan is the legal Summary Plan Description (SPD). The current SPD takes precedence over any other written, online, or verbal information you may have been given -- but is still subject to change. The employer's plan administrator is required by law to provide the SPD upon request. Log into the plan administrator's website or call.  How to decode an SPD

  2. Flexible Spending Account "Your Spending Account" -- including the Dependent Care Claim Form and the Health Care Claim Form.

Please help us keep this information up to date -- email: info@hpalumni.org

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If formerly a regular, direct U.S. employee of HP or HPE -- or are in the process of leaving -- join the HP Alumni Association. No charge, thanks to HPAA's Supporting Members.

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