Thread regarding Wells Fargo & Co. layoffs

@hs they don’t know what tax bracket you are in. I have gotten a large payout before and they upped the withholding.

@a2 The "tax hit" is applied at whatever your Federal tax bracket is - simple as that. Severance is income - plain and simple. So if you're in the 24% tax bracket - your lump will be taxed as such.

If you take lump sum you will immediately lose all benefits. And I promise you that you will not find market-obtained insurance anywhere near as cheap as WF. Especially if the credits are truly ki-led.

@c5 it's a hit if you're paycheck to paycheck. However, if your severance period crosses over years, you could have a bigger impact. Especially if you get another job in the same year. I'd recommend nobody take a lump sum if they can help it.

There is no slack in paychecks. In fact, like in my example my final date of notice was on a Saturday. WF has XX hours to have your final paycheck to you after termination. I ended-up paid on Monday, both regular pay AND PTO payout AND my YE bonus. I went back to regular paydays with the next check.

One thing about the 'immediate' check is that you may end-up billed for benefits on it AND the one that was prior. Just a goofy thing way dates and such fall. Subsequently, my first (severance) check after the 'final' regular and bonus check had NO benefits taken. Made it look like I had lost them. Called the 'misplaced' employee line and they explained the timing issue and assured me I had no loss in coverage.

Re: PTO payout, I was cut on Dec. 10 and I had about 9 days scheduled in Dec. In my final paycheck for 2024 they paid out all of my PTO, scheduled or not. I received 2025's (6 weeks of) earned PTO in my final regular check, as noted above. (the monday check)

@a2 harping on "tax hit", there is no hit. Taxes are fungible and you get it back in your return or, for the smart ones, you adjust your withholdings early.

for some of us the amount taken out in taxes for lump sum isn't enough because we are in a higher tax bracket.

When my 60 days ended and I received my PTO pay, there was a 3 week wait until my bi-weekly severance kicked in.

OP: You have to e-sign/wet sign severance agreement and it be accepted by WF by the deadline. You can choose to keep regular two week payment schedule (which includes medical/dental/benefits coverage you had before displaced) or choose Lump Sum. If you choose Lump Sum, you will be taxed at a higher rate and no longer covered by medical/health insurance coverage. There may be a one week or so delay switch from non-working payment to severance leave payment. In my experience, I got payment for all unused PTO first in one check. Then I got severance payments every two weeks until the end of my period as I did not want Lump Sum. If you don't need health bennies thru WF and want more cash now (with a higher tax hit), then Lump Sum may be a better deal.