By Gerelyn Terzo
Publication Date: 2026-10-31 13:33:00
Microsoft just handed 60,000 employees a voluntary exit offer, but for longtime workers with company stock sitting in a 401(k), one common rollover move could quietly erase a tax break decades in the making.
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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) offered voluntary exits on October 26 to about 60,000 eligible employees. The offer covers select teams in the United States, Canada, India and Britain at vice president level and below. That number counts the workers who qualify for the offer, since departures have yet to be confirmed, and for long-tenured U.S. employees considering the package, the costliest mistake could be hiding in the 401(k) paperwork.
Take Rick, a hypothetical 62-year-old eligible for the offer after 37 years at Microsoft. His 401(k) holds $1.2 million, including $250,000 in company stock acquired years ago. He…
