Ask yourself these questions …
- Do I love what I do? Am I showing up to work for something more than the money or am I mostly interested in a paycheck? If the answer is the latter, you might want to take the buyout and retire early.
- Could I find additional work fast enough so that the buyout can be added to my existing retirement accounts? The cash can be a nice added boost that can actually get you closer to your financial goals if invested wisely.
- How certain am I that if I do not take the buyout offer, I’ll be laid off anyway? Often, workers that do not take early retirement buyout offers and are laid off leave with a fraction of what they would have otherwise received had they elected to leave voluntarily. Unfortunately, this is merely a game of odds – do you have what the company is looking for by bringing specific skill sets that are not widely held by other staff? Would it be cheaper to eliminate your job and replace you with a lower paid employee? Are you in a financial position to take that risk? If not, you might want to consider the buyout offer and retire early.
