How does quitting work? Do they escort you out or actually let you ride out the 2 weeks?
6 replies (most recent on top)
@zz you can leave it as is with Empower or roll it into IRA at a different institution such as Schwab or Fidelity. Don't rely on money managers to decide your investment (for a hefty annual fee), just ask ChatGPT or similar AI agent for best mix of investments for you (based on your age and risk tolerance). AI charges nothing for the same advice.
Bump- wondering what to do with my 401k if I leave. Why is it separated into “money source”?
Some colleague would say wait for a severance package. But its not always the case if available. So just hang on while able
You’re an at-will employee and you can exercise it in either direction. Ensure you have your ducks in order, as pointed above. I resigned and preferred to leave early but was asked to stay longer for my own good (getting ducks in order). I appreciated that and helped me leave on somewhat better terms.
You are not required to give 2 weeks notice. If you can't afford to lose 2 weeks pay if management chooses to terminate you sooner, then don't give 2 weeks notice. That used to be a courtesy that worked both ways, but now companies are laying people off by sending emails notifying employees that today or tomorrow is their last day.
If you like the people in your workgroup, have a decent boss, and want to help transition your role to whoever will be doing it after you're gone then you might give 2 weeks notice as a courtesy to them. But there's always the risk that someone higher up will decide you should be shown the door sooner.
If you have a toxic boss/workgroup, then quietly pack up any personal property you might have at work a few days prior to your last day. Then send an email on your last day informing your boss that today is/was your last day. Ten years ago, I would have never considered quitting by email without first notifying my boss in person, face to face, and letting him/her know why I was leaving. But HR has decided that email is the best way to communicate a change in status. So when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
I once worked with a woman who called in saying she wasn't coming in to work. She was asked if she was going to use vacation or a sick day. She said, "You don't understand. I'm not coming in to work ever again. I quit." Back then that was considered inappropriate, but times have changed.
P.S. - Make sure you are able to log in to your 401k and other accounts from a home computer, since you will no longer be able to do it from your work computer. Print or email yourself copies of any files you might want/need (performance reviews, pay stubs/record of earned/unused vacation, summary plan descriptions for 401k/pension/benefit plans, and so forth. Anything you copy from a work computer to a flash drive will be encrypted and you won't be able to open it on a home computer, so email it to yourself using a burner email address (g-mail, Hotmail, etc.). Delete any personal emails and files from your work computer. You shouldn't be using a work email for personal communication or doing your taxes and personal business on a work computer, but if you did anything stupid like that get rid of it.
If you've been harassed or received inappropriate emails at work, keep documentation of that in case you need it later. If you're worried about retaliation or being accused of something later, keep documentation to cover your a-s. Hopefully you're not in a situation like that, but now is the time to collect things you won't have access to later.
Make sure you delete all the work data. Including those that you contributed for many years