So, times are tough in the tech world and my company decided that in addition to no bonuses/ stocks for the foreseeable future, they also want to stop matching our 401k contributions.
They say this is temporary, but it’s already been 6 months. I’m in my early 30s, so I still have quite some time before retiring. These small differences now will compound in the long run, and I’m starting to think I should look for a new job.
Does my view of these small missed contributions actually being a big deal make sense, or is it something I should wait out?
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Your employer says they can’t afford to keep up their end of the compensation bargain. There is a fair chance that layoffs will be coming down the road. There is never a bad time to test the market for your skills. This sounds like a very good time to do so.
Times aren’t as though as your employer makes it out to be, so there’s definitely no harm in looking elsewhere.
I’d start looking just to see what options are out there even if you don’t end up deciding to leave. You could start investing the amount that you’re missing from the match so that you don’t miss out on compounding growth, but it’s certainly a pay cut however you look at it and if it’s already been 6 months I don’t trust that it’ll be temporary.
Bonuses are discretionary. Stock is questionable, especially if it is not immediately 100 percent vested, 401k tells me they are completely out of money and can’t / won’t source additional funding.
In tech, you should always be looking at the next job, even if you are comfortable where you are. Loving what you do, who you work with, work life balance can all offset certain amounts of money, but knowledge and experience is either always growing or growing stale. I’m guessing at early 30s, you are not in an exec position and changing companies with lead to faster career growth than sticking around for the company to turn around it’s books and promote you.
Just my 2 cents here, but no more bonus + stocks + 401K matching?? That seems like a pretty huge hit for you. If it were me, I’d probably be looking for other offers… you can’t simply wait for your company to get its shit together.
Also regarding 401K, every bit of contribution matching helps especially since you are still young and in your 30s. So those small missed contributions definitely add up 30 years down the road.
Thank you; You’re right. I will start looking more aggressively
Did they give you a pay raise? If not, I would look for another job. Things aren’t so tough in the tech world that opportunities don’t exist, so shop around. You don’t lose anything by shopping around, and you could get a much better deal.
This in and of itself may be small, but one thing to also consider is how long you have been there and how many raises you gave gotten. As you stay in the same job for some time, employers tend to only increase your pay by an amount that is close to inflation. So you end up being paid the same as when you started, inflation adjusted. But you now have more experience and are thus worth more. That difference increases over time and may have already become bigger in dollar amounts than your missed 401k matchs.
It doesn’t hurt to look around for another job. It will tell you how much you are actually leaving out, and even if you are not looking to change, it is good practice to be regularly interviewing, in case you ‘involuntarily’ need those skills in the future
I’d say at the very least, start looking for something else. If you get a job offer with the pay and benefits you are looking for, you can approach your current employer to see if they’ll match it. Six months seems a bit extreme for a benefits hiatus, and if they are considering this move as a cost cutting measure on top of removing other benefits, then it’s probably a clear indication the company is struggling, and likely only a matter of time before layoffs start happening.
Yeah, we had layoffs last week (and in Feb). We also had an forced unpaid week off in March. I guess I should probably start looking. Technical interviews are just the worst though -_-
Yeah, those are some major red flags. Good luck on the search.
At the very least that is a sign to dust off your resume and get it ready to post up the second they lay you off. And if you want to be proactive, look around and I bet you’ll find something out there that matches or exceeds your current salary. I know certain sectors of the economy are booming right now. It’s ridiculously hard to find programmers. (We’ve been trying to fill a slot in Tucson for a Microsoft full stack dev for like 6 months now. Although that is partly because corporate has posted an absolutely terrible job description with no salaray, and can’t be bothered to fix it.)
Thank you for the suggestion. Yeah, I’m a systems engineer in the storage space. Things were booming the last few years, but now we’re in a slump. I know the market is cyclical, but I’ve never worked somewhere where they decided touching the 401k’s was a viable option. I’ll look at some other sectors :)
Not getting a raise for a while and losing matching 401k contributions is a big deal IMHO. Inflation is dealing you at least a 5% annual pay cut right now unless you get a decent raise. Nothing wrong with shopping around your resume.
I got promoted last year, but it only came with a 7% raise. It lined up with our annual raises where people normally get 5%, so I basically got a 2% raise with extra responsibility
Definitely red flags, best thing is to start looking. Honestly should always be on the ready to make a change, even when things are going well a buy out or any number of things can quickly change the situation. I’d definitely but upset about missing the match especially with that much time to grow, it will be a very large difference at retirement.
You weren’t fired, but you got a sizable paycut. I would begin seeking out other opportunities, without telling anyone. Test the waters before making an announcement of your intentions.
