So if you opt into the ESPP plan and you look at your pay stub they treat the 5% discount as additional income. Then I guess you have to pay capital gains on the stock if you sell it immediately, then Fidelity charges $15 plus 2 cents a share to sell. Am I missing something or is this not even a benefit?
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What's the law, grandpaw?
Well it’s kind of the law children.
Breaking millennial news.
Free money on the books creates basis tracking and tax filing hassles. And you just voted for Biden who multiplied IRS agents over 100%. They’ll be coming after your eBay, your Facebook Marketplace and even your Craigslist transactions.
Certainly that’s true for our innumerate and largely illiterate hires. Sad but true…
A millennial’s heartfelt primal scream in regard to the difficulties of free money.
@schd, it's not that basic. I bet fewer than 1% of the population knows within 5% how much they pay in income tax. And even fewer know that federal income tax is 0.0% on capital gains for low the lower middle class on down. Heck, 99% of you think you can't take out of a 401(k) without penalty before 59 1/2.
Funny how we don’t appear to be hiring people with even 2 year business degrees. This is all such basic stuff.
The 5% discount is not just “treated as” income, it IS income and will be taxed
And no, you don’t have to pay capital gains when you sell unless the stock has gone up… and isn’t that a good problem to have?
Continually amazed at how little people know about finance despite working for a bank. I seriously question our hiring choices.
This is exactly why Robin gave us the RSUs Jackwagon. It’s more than the money, it’s a start to financial literacy. Amazing how the lower the financial illiteracy, the more likely the employees resist learning about them.
These people should be flipping burgers at BK, not working for BK.
Funny how so many people think that knowing how income taxes work for stock transactions has anything to do with 49,000 our of 50,000 BK employees.
But the truth is, BK doesn't pay many of enough to have ANY of our capital gains taxed by the IRS.
In reading this thread I’m convinced that the Bank is not hiring workers with the correct skillsets to work in Financial Services. I don’t know if it’s because of the push for completely non-qualified D.E.I. candidates, poor HR processes in reviewing resumes and/or interviewing candidates or simply that everybody knows how poorly we’re run and strong talented candidates have done research and skip the Bank entirely.
Factor this in the constant pay, health, 401K and other cuts and tricks and it’s difficult to see why anybody would join the Bank.
Financially Illiterate and proud of it. Not a good outlook for you. In 40 years you’ll regret not taking an interest in your own affairs. I know so many people who made so much money who are now living hand to mouth.
As always people trying to make an ESPP Plan, which is a good thing, into a bad thing. I can see why layoffs need to start up again. We’re surrounded by toxic coworkers.
What happened to make you so jaded?
Who expects asset managers and bankers to understand to understand financial assets?
Come on, man…
Something tells me that our H-1B workers would understand and appreciate this benefit. They’re better educated, less entitled and would certainly understand the value.
It’s unlikely that you’ll have to pay capital gains. Our stock flatlines on a good day & normally drifts slowly lower.
This is just a one time 5% payment. sell it today if not sooner.
Duh… the 5% raise is coming from Robin. Read your email.
I’ve never yet seen more people fight so bitterly to avoid learning a vital life lesson.
Our hiring process is clearly broken.
Thanks for saving me the effort to do the numbers :)
Financially ignorant and proud of it. I feel so sorry for these people.
And this mentality is exactly why we should be hiring employees with B.S. or at minimum, Associates degrees in business. It all starts with hiring educated people.
Honestly this is an epic battle between the financially literate and illiterate. I truly wish that more people could appreciate the value of time coupled with money.
This is a beautiful thing that Robin has done for us and for many this will lead to a lifetime of financial literacy. No, its not an instant financial windfall, but it’s much better than that. Consider bankrupt Lottery winners and Michael Jackson losing everything.
Slow and steady financial growth and literacy over a lifetime is a beautiful thing. Like the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady wins the race. Don’t forget to invest enough to get the full 401K match even with the recent 1 year deferral. Yes, the one year deferral was a horrible move by Robin, but still never turn down free money.
So put in the minimum to get your match and more importantly start a Roth IRA plan OUTSIDE OF THE BANK and continue to become financially literate. Also… look for a new and better job. It’s always a risk but with risks come rewards.
Good luck to all employees… and may you become ex-employees by your choice.
Fees are when you sell it’s like 15$ to sell but like somebody else said you can transfer it to a platform with cheaper fees. It’s honestly negligible if you don’t sell it every month imo. Let it build a little then sell like once a year and it won’t matter.
It’s not a huge benefit as somebody else mentioned 5% discount on 10% of salary. For me it’s like 60 bucks a month.
But I have made a good chunk on buying the stock and the dividens start adding in too. Just hold it till you have enough to diversify.
Where is 5% raise coming from?
You can put in 10% of your salary and receive a 5% discount on that.
Assuming the stock is the same as cash for math purposes, that is a 0.5 % of overall salary (or 0.5 % raise if you use the program).
My Fidelity screen says trades are free, where do you guys see trading costs?
That’s not accurate you pay taxes on the free money of the 5% but you wouldn’t pay capital gains on it again it was as if you purchased that amount at face value why is why you have to pay the taxes upfront. Withdrawing immediately is still worth enrolling and yes fidelity fees are high don’t sell immediately do it every 6-12 months and pay the fee once…
You do realize BNY execs don't write the tax laws right?
If you got a 5% raise would you not pay taxes on it?
I saw someone comment that taking advantage of the ESPP was like giving yourself a 5% raise. I knew there had to be tax implications both on the buying and selling side, and with the additional Fidelity charges I'm sure this is a pretty useless benefit.
Thanks for saving me the effort to do the numbers :)
One (small) thing you can do is move it to another provider that offers free trades. This is so far away from a benefit it's insulting.