Laid Off? Check Your Severance Pay Stub!

[Anonymous]

They've continued to deduct the company car commute fee, even though the car is gone! They've also continued to deduct for the healthcare reimbursement account and the 401k, even though we can't participate in either one any more. (And they didn't put the money in the 401k, I checked). Check your severance pay stub and call to get your money back, let's make sure they stop this nonsense! There is power in numbers!

 

[Anonymous]

They've continued to deduct the company car commute fee, even though the car is gone! They've also continued to deduct for the healthcare reimbursement account and the 401k, even though we can't participate in either one any more. (And they didn't put the money in the 401k, I checked). Check your severance pay stub and call to get your money back, let's make sure they stop this nonsense! There is power in numbers!

Have you called HR about this? How long has it been since you left the company? I imagine if you left in the middle of a pay period, they will pro rate the car commute fee for your actual termination date.

As to the 401k, you can certainly keep your 401k, and if they are holding anything out of your severance check, it is going into your 401k, so what is the problem?

I was on severance for over a year, and the health insurance worked just fine.

 

[Anonymous]

They've continued to deduct the company car commute fee, even though the car is gone! They've also continued to deduct for the healthcare reimbursement account and the 401k, even though we can't participate in either one any more. (And they didn't put the money in the 401k, I checked). Check your severance pay stub and call to get your money back, let's make sure they stop this nonsense! There is power in numbers!

Because you were paid for years for doing nothing, you owe the company 100x this much, stop complaining.

 

[Anonymous]

Because you were paid for years for doing nothing, you owe the company 100x this much, stop complaining.

Please stop with the nasty attitude. It gets you no where. I feel bad for the people around you. These people just went through times and you find enjoyment in kicking them when they're down. Poor soul you are.

Now to all others, please keep the informative posts coming.

 

[Anonymous]

Please stop with the nasty attitude. It gets you no where. I feel bad for the people around you. These people just went through times and you find enjoyment in kicking them when they're down. Poor soul you are.

Now to all others, please keep the informative posts coming.

So the truth is kicking people when they are down? Maybe in your world.

 

[Anonymous]

So the truth is kicking people when they are down? Maybe in your world.

Here's the real Truth: So if you are such a valuable asset to the company what are you doing HERE on C.P. in the middle of the day? And how do YOU know that someone deserves getting laid off?
The fact is over 700 NSS people were laid off including top people from home office, RBDs, down to managers and reps. This resulted from a multimillion dollar deal with Otsuka. The NSS force was originally chosen out of the best of the primary care team when it was established with many multiple pinnacle winners in it's ranks. These people built Abilify into a multibillion dollar drug far exceeding original projections. The fact of the matter is that it is people like these who carried people like you who now sit here on C.P. dealing out insults in the middle of your work day. You have probably been passed up for promotions to a specialty force and left where you can do the least damage. The real shame is that THEY were the ones let go.

 

[Anonymous]

Same thing happened in Oncology. People let go who were legends in this division. Then - check out the BMS website for career postings for these same territories! What a joke this company is.

 

[Anonymous]

Here's the real Truth: So if you are such a valuable asset to the company what are you doing HERE on C.P. in the middle of the day? It's MLK Jr day, were off!

And how do YOU know that someone deserves getting laid off? Really in pharma? Most need laying off, as a shareholder I say get rid of waste.


The fact is over 700 NSS people were laid off including top people from home office, RBDs, down to managers and reps. This resulted from a multimillion dollar deal with Otsuka. The NSS force was originally chosen out of the best of the primary care team when it was established with many multiple pinnacle winners in it's ranks. You're DREAMING! the NSS were NOT the best.

These people built Abilify into a multibillion dollar drug far exceeding original projections. The Boston settlement was a large degree due to off label promotion of Abilify. also the drug is OUTRAGEOUSLY OVERPRICED.

The fact of the matter is that it is people like these who carried people like you who now sit here on C.P. dealing out insults in the middle of your work day. PLAVIX CARRIED THIS COMPANY FOR OVER A DECADE NOT ABILIFY.

You have probably been passed up for promotions to a specialty force and left where you can do the least damage. I'm a DBM, SO IVE BEEN PROMOTED ABOVE YOU.

The real shame is that THEY were the ones let go. It was a business decision, get used to it. Go cry to your mother, but your "facts" are total myth.

Dumbshit

 

[Anonymous]

Have you called HR about this? How long has it been since you left the company? I imagine if you left in the middle of a pay period, they will pro rate the car commute fee for your actual termination date.

As to the 401k, you can certainly keep your 401k, and if they are holding anything out of your severance check, it is going into your 401k, so what is the problem?

I was on severance for over a year, and the health insurance worked just fine.

Thanks for this reply. I was NSS and the pay period listed was in January, so car commute fee is an error.
Regarding 401k, I thlnk it's illegal for non-active employees to continue to contribute to it and, therefore, for BMS to continue to deduct money for it. I rolled mine into an IRA with more investment flexibility. When I saw they had continued to deduct 401K contributions, I checked my Fidelity account and nothing was put into it by BMS. I did call HR and they said I have to open a ticket in order to pursue.
This is so typical - I have to do all the work for their mistake!

 

[Anonymous]

Here's the real Truth: So if you are such a valuable asset to the company what are you doing HERE on C.P. in the middle of the day? And how do YOU know that someone deserves getting laid off?
The fact is over 700 NSS people were laid off including top people from home office, RBDs, down to managers and reps. This resulted from a multimillion dollar deal with Otsuka. The NSS force was originally chosen out of the best of the primary care team when it was established with many multiple pinnacle winners in it's ranks. These people built Abilify into a multibillion dollar drug far exceeding original projections. The fact of the matter is that it is people like these who carried people like you who now sit here on C.P. dealing out insults in the middle of your work day. You have probably been passed up for promotions to a specialty force and left where you can do the least damage. The real shame is that THEY were the ones let go.

Thanks for this post, nice comments about NSS. It was an extremely talented sales group, and BMS really blew it by letting go of the NSS team!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for this post, nice comments about NSS. It was an extremely talented sales group, and BMS really blew it by letting go of the NSS team!

I echo these comments.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for this reply. I was NSS and the pay period listed was in January, so car commute fee is an error.
Regarding 401k, I thlnk it's illegal for non-active employees to continue to contribute to it and, therefore, for BMS to continue to deduct money for it. I rolled mine into an IRA with more investment flexibility. When I saw they had continued to deduct 401K contributions, I checked my Fidelity account and nothing was put into it by BMS. I did call HR and they said I have to open a ticket in order to pursue.
This is so typical - I have to do all the work for their mistake!

If this was your check 1/2013 the deductions are likely accurate and proper as that check covered 6 days from 2012. If it was your 2/2013 then an error has occured. Your last statement that you "have to do all the work for their mistake" is fair in some areas but I just haven't seen them make a payroll mistake.

As far as rolling your 401K into an IRA, depending upon your age you may have gained investment flexibility but at the same time lost significant flexibility on withdrawals depending on your age.

 

[Anonymous]

If this was your check 1/2013 the deductions are likely accurate and proper as that check covered 6 days from 2012. If it was your 2/2013 then an error has occured. Your last statement that you "have to do all the work for their mistake" is fair in some areas but I just haven't seen them make a payroll mistake.

As far as rolling your 401K into an IRA, depending upon your age you may have gained investment flexibility but at the same time lost significant flexibility on withdrawals depending on your age.

Concerning rolling your 401 K over: The laws regulating deferred tax investments apply the same to your 401-K as they do IRAs. If you take the money out before age fifty nine and one half there is a 10% penalty. Another factor you must know is that you will have to report this money as income when you withdraw it as you never paid taxes on either the prinicipal or the intrest. The same is true of any pretax contributions ( & growth) you made to your 401K. So they are essentially the same. The exception to this is any post tax money you put in may be withdrawn without penalty.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, if you leave the company after age 55, you may NOT have to pay the 10% early withdrawal fee, depending on certain other factors. In my case I do not have to pay the 10% fee. That is at least one good thing about keeping the 401K.

 

[Anonymous]

Concerning rolling your 401 K over: The laws regulating deferred tax investments apply the same to your 401-K as they do IRAs. If you take the money out before age fifty nine and one half there is a 10% penalty. Another factor you must know is that you will have to report this money as income when you withdraw it as you never paid taxes on either the prinicipal or the intrest. The same is true of any pretax contributions ( & growth) you made to your 401K. So they are essentially the same. The exception to this is any post tax money you put in may be withdrawn without penalty.

Actually this is not true. If you leave after turning age 55, withdrawals are NOT subject to the 10% penalty if left in the 401K as they would be if rolled over to an IRA until the year you turn 59 1/2. Withdrawals are subject to income tax as you state. Of course this is the same as for the IRA vehicle, unless the IRA is a Roth, in which case you'd pay the taxes on the front end.

So the trade off for increased investment flexibility for those over 55 gained by rolling it over is knowing you'll have to pay a 10% penalty on withdrawals if they are needed before 59 1/2.

 

[Anonymous]

A little bit of information is dangerous:
The rule for taking money out at 55 states that If you leave your job or get laid off in the year you turn 55 then you can take it out without penalty. Otherwise it stands at 59 and a half. Yes there are other exceptions. But if you are 55 or over and stay at the company and try to pull money out your going to get wacked with a penalty. additionally Note: There is one fine point that many people miss in taking penalty-free withdrawals from a 401k at age 55. To do so, you must terminate your employment no earlier that the year in which you turn age 55. (See IRS Notice 87-13) If you leave the company at 55 or later then yes you can pull it out without penalty.

 

[Anonymous]

A little bit of information is dangerous:
The rule for taking money out at 55 states that If you leave your job or get laid off in the year you turn 55 then you can take it out without penalty. Otherwise it stands at 59 and a half. Yes there are other exceptions. But if you are 55 or over and stay at the company and try to pull money out your going to get wacked with a penalty. additionally Note: There is one fine point that many people miss in taking penalty-free withdrawals from a 401k at age 55. To do so, you must terminate your employment no earlier that the year in which you turn age 55. (See IRS Notice 87-13) If you leave the company at 55 or later then yes you can pull it out without penalty.

I'm assuming you reference post #13 as being dangerous as you've done nothing more than confirm my #15 post

 

[Anonymous]

They've continued to deduct the company car commute fee, even though the car is gone! They've also continued to deduct for the healthcare reimbursement account and the 401k, even though we can't participate in either one any more. (And they didn't put the money in the 401k, I checked). Check your severance pay stub and call to get your money back, let's make sure they stop this nonsense! There is power in numbers!

You are incorrect about the healthcare reimbursement account. You can continue to participate (have money deducted) and in fact will continue to participate if you signed up for it during FLEX enrollment. The tax advantaged status no longer exists however and you'll just be accumulating after tax dollars to handle medical expense.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm assuming you reference post #13 as being dangerous as you've done nothing more than confirm my #15 post

Your post implied that someone could pull their 401 K money out at age 55 without penalty and this is a partial truth. The majority of people in the 401 K program are no longer working for the company and if they left the company prior to age 55 then they cannot do this without paying a penalty.

 

[Anonymous]

Your post implied that someone could pull their 401 K money out at age 55 without penalty and this is a partial truth. The majority of people in the 401 K program are no longer working for the company and if they left the company prior to age 55 then they cannot do this without paying a penalty.

It appears reading comprehension may not be a strong suit for you. All my comments were relative to employees who have left the company as stated in my post where it begins "if you leave after turning 55" copied below.

"Actually this is not true. If you leave after turning age 55, withdrawals are NOT subject to the 10% penalty if left in the 401K as they would be if rolled over to an IRA until the year you turn 59 1/2. Withdrawals are subject to income tax as you state. Of course this is the same as for the IRA vehicle, unless the IRA is a Roth, in which case you'd pay the taxes on the front end.

So the trade off for increased investment flexibility for those over 55 gained by rolling it over is knowing you'll have to pay a 10% penalty on withdrawals if they are needed before 59 1/2."