I am no longer with WS left prior to BK. How are they now matching the 401k?
They used to match with WS stock. They did this to save on cash. Pay with stock instead of actual dollars. Look where that went.
So are they matching in cash now?
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How much do managers or staff managers get for bonuses?
Anyone that left their stock match in Windstream stock for any significant time kinda did it to themselves. Like the previous poster noted, you could set your 401k to move the funds into other investments automatically. There was only one time that I recall it ever costing me much outside of the couple of dollar fee. The stock tanked the day after the once a year match hit our accounts. I recall Windstream actually making another deposit to offset the loss, which I was pretty shocked about.
Now they match in cash. They've also moved to matching in every paycheck instead of the once a year nonsense that they had done for a long time.
On a side note, there were a couple of years where the manager's bonuses (frontline, lower level, not executive) were done in Windstream stock. I happen to be a manager for some of that time, and I left mine in Windstream stock. It paid a heck of a dividend for a very long time, but then I lost it all. That's my fault. I learned a big lesson.
I feel sorry for all Windstreamers because of the corrupt nature of the leaders. Who has leadership helped other than themselves? Absolutely, nobody!
'I feel bad for all of the people that had to take their 401k in pure stocks. People got cleaned out and are left with nothing.'
They did have plenty of time to move their 'stocks' into something that was making more money than leave it in WE stock and watch it go to nothing. It wasn't like it happened in a week, the warning signs were there, the smart ones were able to move theirs out. Nobody forced them to keep it in WE stock. They made the decision to keep it in, and literally paid the price. You choose wrongly, and you get cleaned out.
I had a number of managers that started with paetec in the early 2000s. Their early compensation was taken as shares vs cash. When patec went public everything was great. Not all of those shares vested at that time. Over the years they lost value and then turned into WINDSTREAM shares in the 2011 merger. Those managers lots it all. Like 100k . Most of their retirement is gone and no way to recoup the loss this late in their careers.
WS Stock was mandatory for your 401k until a few years ago. You had the option of selling the minute it hit your account (for a price) but your 401k match was WS stock
Nobody ever had to take their 401k in pure stocks. There are a lot of complete mo--ns that put all of their 401k into windstream stock voluntarily though.
I feel bad for all of the people that had to take their 401k in pure stocks. People got cleaned out and are left with nothing.
The prior comment was wrong. It was during/through BK when they started to do it via cash because of being delisted, etc. Of course most I know would immediately take their WS stock match and sell it right away anyways when the match was being done like that.
They have been matching in cash for a long time now. Well prior to the BK.