To-do list before last day

[catotx]

I am about to give notice, and could potentially be shown out the door. So I wanted to make sure I have done all the useful things before that happens.

I am thinking of:

1) use up FSA to yearly max
2) visit the dentist
3) do eye exams, make glasses for kids
4) max out the 401(k)
5) make last day early in the month if possible since the health insurance is paid by the employer to the end of the month (at least this is the case for me)

Anything else? Thank you!

 

[akck]

Start bringing home personal items.
Purge any personal data from computer.
Copy any business contacts you want to keep in touch with.
Clean up emails. (I had emails with a co-worker about our supervisor. I deleted them to protect him even though he didn't care. Sure, they can bring them back, but why make it easy for them.)
Keep records of vacation/personal leave that are due to you.




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[rayinpenn]

Hopefully your good with leaving...


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[Newventurer]

Refinance mortgage if desired, while you have an employer of record

 

[travelover]

Steal enough office supplies to last you the rest of your life, especially pencils and paper.

 

[DrRoy]

Start bringing home personal items.
Purge any personal data from computer.
Copy any business contacts you want to keep in touch with.
Clean up emails. (I had emails with a co-worker about our supervisor. I deleted them to protect him even though he didn't care. Sure, they can bring them back, but why make it easy for them.)
Keep records of vacation/personal leave that are due to you.

Your list plus the above look good to me.

 

[athena53]

Print out any copies of Employee Handbook web site that may apply to you.


If you use your business e-mail to access any Web sites (LinkedIn? Company 401(k)? ), change over your contact e-mail NOW. I've always been careful about not doing this; even when changing personal e-mail addresses, I've been very surprised at how many sites needed to have it changed.


Find out how to get COBRA if you'll need it. When I left my last company, it turned out that they farmed that out to a third party that took a couple of weeks to send me the sign-up paperwork. Don't worry, they said. If you need medical care, just tell them you'll sign up for COBRA when the papers arrive. Uh-huh. And I had to do a sprint triathlon before then. Luckily I didn't need medical care.


Print out statements for the company savings plan, just in case; it will make it easier to roll it over to a brokerage account.


Be aware of the provisions of any bonus program payouts. An obscure example: my company had a Wellness program and I'd racked up a ton of brownie points through regular workouts. Just before I quit, I got on the site and converted all the points to $400 worth of Amazon.com credits. Two days after I left, my access to the site was cut off. Funny how HR forgot to tell me that would happen!

 

[steelyman]

It sounds like you've already done this, but triple-check whatever formal notice you'll be providing. It's going to be with you for a long time!

And look forward to it!

 

[Whisper66]

Make copies of past performance reviews - keep for maybe a year.
Update resume in case you want to work again someday....much easier to pull it together with current files around you to use as data.

Review your employment contract to ensure you are meeting its requirements in terms of notice given and any non-compete clauses for example.

If you have any possible concern about your health or someone in your family, get a check up before leaving your current insurance.

Make sure you have enough easily available cash to hold you over until your retirement income stream is fully functional.

Think through if there are any really major expenses about to hit you right after you retire (house roof leaking, car is making funny sounds in engine, etc...). Make sure you can handle whatever reasonably may come up.

Pull together a goodbye email to send to friends at work with your future contact information if you wish. Easier to send out on company email just before you leave than from home.

Relax and enjoy your change in life!

 

[catotx]

Thanks for all the suggestions. All very helpful.

I posted my ER plan in this thread:

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/joining-the-2016-class-81368.html#post1714459

 

[Ronstar]

Steal enough office supplies to last you the rest of your life, especially pencils and paper.

Very important. I wish I had done that.

I went back to my office a few days ago and my desk still sits as I left it 2 years ago. No new occupant. And a plastic tub full of pens and pencils in the drawer. I wanted to take them, but it would have looked bad taking them 2 years later. Best to take them before retirement.

 

[W2R]

Very important. I wish I had done that.

I went back to my office a few days ago and my desk still sits as I left it 2 years ago. No new occupant. And a plastic tub full of pens and pencils in the drawer. I wanted to take them, but it would have looked bad taking them 2 years later. Best to take them before retirement.

I didn't do that either before or after retiring, because after all those years of not taking pens and pencils, why break down and start?

So, right after I retired I bought a package of nice ballpoint pens and another package of automatic pencils. These are much higher in quality than the ones Uncle Sam provided for us to use at work. In my 7th year of retirement, I still haven't used even half of the pens and pencils that I bought.

To me it was more than worth the (nearly negligible) cost of those pens and pencils in order to maintain my good opinion of myself.


...


...

OK, OK, I admit it . Take me away in chains. Scoundrel that I am, I did take my desk top nameplate and holder. But nobody else has my name, so....

 

[timo2]

regarding the pens and paper, that's so last century. I'm cleaning my house to sell in preparation for retiring, and I've been finding all kinds of office supplies from past jobs that I now have to recycle or throw out. Everything is so digital now, the demand at home for that stuff just isn't what it used to be. BTW, I even found my old slide rule ;-)

 

[akck]

Darn, I wish I had gotten a box of paper clips.

 

[fh2000]

Company issued cellphone. In my case, I had the same number for years. Many personal contact and doctor's offices have that number. I will need to remember to switch to my personal one when I leave.

Company issued credit card. Make sure balance is 0.

 

[CRLLS]

Be careful with taking office supplies. Depending on you boss, your company policy, laws, , state, etc ....... you could be fired and lose any DB pension or company match funds that you are not fully vested in. Not worth intentionally taking things home in the last few weeks IMO. Nobody's going to question a few pens or pencils that end up in your pocket at the end of the day. But a few reams of paper, empty folders etc. may not be so easy to explain.

Company issued credit card. Make sure balance is 0.

in my case there was atually a small credit left on my account. I tried to get my company to initiate a refund but they weren't interested. Go figure!

 

[kgtest]

in my case there was atually a small credit left on my account. I tried to get my company to initiate a refund but they weren't interested. Go figure!

This still bothers you...I can tell

 

[travelover]

..........

OK, OK, I admit it . Take me away in chains. Scoundrel that I am, I did take my desk top nameplate and holder. But nobody else has my name, so....

Ha! I knew it!

I just pitched all my name plates and MegaMotors issued awards into the trash. Why did I even bring them home?

 

[rdy2go]

I'd like to find a way to remove logos from company shirts so I'm not a walking billboard for my soon-to-be-ex-employer!

 

[W2R]

Ha! I knew it!

I just pitched all my name plates and MegaMotors issued awards into the trash. Why did I even bring them home?

Agh, caught!!!

I should do that too. Or maybe I did when I moved last summer? I can't remember.

 

[Senator]

I am about to give notice, and could potentially be shown out the door. So I wanted to make sure I have done all the useful things before that happens.

I am thinking of:

1) use up FSA to yearly max
2) visit the dentist
3) do eye exams, make glasses for kids
4) max out the 401(k)
5) make last day early in the month if possible since the health insurance is paid by the employer to the end of the month (at least this is the case for me)

Anything else? Thank you!

If you are doing that much, get a colonoscopy, dermatology check, and any prescriptions filled if you can. If they find something, stay on the clock.

 

[athena53]

I'd like to find a way to remove logos from company shirts so I'm not a walking billboard for my soon-to-be-ex-employer!

Donate them. Maybe they'll show up on the security camera video in a holdup or end up in Haiti.

Funny memories from the days of company phone calling cards- my Ex was canned but it took them over a year to cut off his phone card. He made tons of long-distance calls on it. Then after I lost my job I found months later that he was using the card I'd gotten from my previous employer.

I was afraid that if I confessed to the wrong person we'd get a very large bill. I finally just called the phone company and told them I'd left the employer that was paying the bill.

 

[youbet]

Complete any unfinished tasks, return any favors, repair any broken relationships, etc., so that you leave as a class act and highly thought of. Avoid looking like "it's all about you." You never know what life will deal you and it's always possible you'll need a recommendation or just a simple favor from a professional relationship after you leave.

 

[rayinpenn]

There was a time when I thought if I were fired or the victim of a layoff I was prepared to throw myself on the floor wrap my arms around the legs of the provider of the bad news and scream "OH NO MY GOD NO!!!. I felt if there was a dry eye in the house I hadn't done a good job with my act. It wasn't that my job wasn't particularly wonderful or irreplaceable; more I was not prepared to go "quietly into that good night". I was determined to make it as unpleasant as possible.. Dignity you say Naah I don't give a rats whatever about that.... In truth I'd probably just smile take my severance and run...

I've seen so many good people lose their jobs over the years. A portion of my corporate experience has been duck and cover every few years. My buddy Kenny was there to help a colleague faint dead away when he got the news. Kenny lasted a few more years before he too was booted after 38 years of service. I still think of Bob.. He was in his fifties and very diligent worker when they forced him to retire (he lost a size able portion of his pension as a result) I went to his retirement dinner and sat next to his wife. She told me he only missed 2 days of work in over thirty years... Bob had been an accident and try as he might he couldn't lift his leg high enough to get on the bus. From that day on I knew the deal the relationship starts new with each paycheck. Mega Corp and I owe each other nothing.

Fast forward to today I'll be 62 in July and I'm coming off a big project. I was asked what I want to do next; I am waiting for an offer and if none comes I suppose I would get about a years severance. I think if I was approached by some unknown to me HR person who called me into an office after I noticed one of those cardboard knockdown boxes near my desk (they are not at all subtle) "Ray we just can't find a good fit... So we will have to part company?"

I would cry with joy and think: God is good thanks for the help pulling the pin.
Even though that tap on the shoulder never came I can't help but wonder if I wouldn't be a better person having lived through it.


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[Doribe]

I am about to give notice, and could potentially be shown out the door. So I wanted to make sure I have done all the useful things before that happens.

I am thinking of:

1) use up FSA to yearly max
2) visit the dentist
3) do eye exams, make glasses for kids
4) max out the 401(k)
5) make last day early in the month if possible since the health insurance is paid by the employer to the end of the month (at least this is the case for me)

Anything else? Thank you!

I scanned and emailed myself many years worth of continuing education certificates.