Do you work at Intel?
Get expert insights from financial advisors who specialize in helping Intel employees and executives make the most of their compensation package and benefits.
Looking for a financial advisor who specializes in working with Intel employees? You’re in the right place. Below, you’ll find advisors who understand Intel benefits and compensation — along with their answers to common financial questions from Intel employees and executives.
Whether you recently joined Intel or you’ve advanced into a management or executive leadership role over a multi-year career, making smart decisions about your income and Intel benefits can have a lasting impact on your financial future. For example:
✅ Do you know the right moves to get the greatest value from the Intel benefits available to you?
✅ If you’re thinking about leaving Intel for another job or planning to retire in a few years, are you taking the right steps today to receive all the compensation and benefits you’ve earned?
Key Takeaways
Intel’s After-Tax 401(k) Option Is Its Most Overlooked Savings Benefit
The advisors below single out after-tax 401(k) contributions that can be converted to Roth dollars — the “mega backdoor” Roth strategy — as a benefit Intel employees regularly underuse. Used well, it lets employees save beyond the standard contribution limits for long-term, tax-free growth.
Intel’s SERPLUS Deferred Compensation Plan Belongs in Senior Employees’ Tax Planning
Eligible senior employees can defer part of their salary and bonus into Intel’s deferred compensation plan, known as SERPLUS, lowering current taxable income. The advisors below describe clients who were promoted into eligibility without knowing the plan existed, and recommend reviewing it alongside salary, bonus, and equity compensation.
First-Time RSUs and Concentrated Intel Stock Call for a Diversification Plan
Many Intel employees receive restricted stock units for the first time and need help understanding the tax and cash-flow effects. Over time, shares can grow into an outsized part of net worth, and the advisors below describe coaching and careful diversification as the way to bring that exposure back in line.
Why Intel Employees Work with a Specialist Financial Advisor
Throughout the year, Intel provides its employees and executives with updates about their benefits, ranging from health insurance and health savings accounts to retirement plans like a 401(k) with an after-tax savings option and, for eligible senior employees, a deferred compensation plan — along with equity compensation such as restricted stock units and an employee stock purchase plan. While the company offers many useful resources and access to knowledgeable staff who can assist with questions, you’ll also find financial professionals not affiliated with Intel who specialize in helping Intel employees make the most of their income and benefits.
Intel’s worldwide headquarters is in Santa Clara, California, but its largest U.S. site is in Hillsboro, Oregon, the center of the company’s semiconductor research and manufacturing. Other major U.S. campuses include Chandler, Arizona, home to high-volume chip manufacturing; Folsom, California; and Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Whether you work at one of those sites, another Intel office, or remotely from home, you may have questions about your compensation package and benefits better suited for a financial professional who can offer unbiased advice and guidance.
Sensitive topics — like the steps you should take before quitting your job at Intel to work elsewhere, protecting yourself in advance of a corporate layoff, or deciding when you should plan to retire — are all conversations that may be more comfortable with a trusted financial advisor.
Should You Hire an Intel Specialist or a Local Financial Advisor?
You’ll likely find dozens of nearby financial advisors well-suited to help you reach your money goals with a personalized plan. But it can be harder to find a financial advisor who specializes in serving Intel employees. Fortunately, many financial advisors offer virtual services, so you can meet online no matter where you (or they) live — which means you can hire a specialist financial advisor who lives hundreds of miles away if their knowledge and experience working with Intel employees is the better fit for your unique needs.
💡 In the Q&A below, you’ll gain insights from financial advisors who work with Intel employees to help them make smart decisions, get the most value from their compensation and benefits, reduce their money stress, and prepare for a comfortable retirement.
🙋♀️ Have a question not yet answered? Use the form below to submit your question. You can also contact financial advisors directly to set up an introductory call or contact them with your questions.
Q&A: Financial Planning Tips for Intel Employees & Executives
In this section, you’ll learn how you can make the most of your Intel employee benefits and gain valuable tips from financial advisors who specialize in working with Intel employees and executives.
Jump to a Financial Advisor for Intel Employees
Financial Advisor Q&A · Intel Employees
Emily Rassam, CFP®, CRPS, AIFA, NSSA, CDAA
Archer Investment Management · Charlotte, NC · Serves clients nationwide
Richard J. Archer, CDAA, CFA, CFP®, MBA
Archer Investment Management · Austin, TX · Serves clients nationwide
With a focus on serving professionals in the technology industry, the financial advisors at Archer Investment Management help their clients get the most value from their benefits and compensation package so they can enjoy life and feel confident about their financial future. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Austin, Texas, respectively, Emily Rassam and Richard Archer specialize in offering financial planning services to Intel employees.
QAs a financial advisor with experience helping Intel employees save for their retirement, how do you help them make the most of their employee benefits?
Emily: At Archer Investment Management, we specialize in working with mid-career technology professionals. We have several Intel employees as clients and are familiar with the company’s employee benefit plans, retirement plans, equity compensation packages, and ancillary benefits.
More importantly, we are acutely aware of the financial planning needs of technology professionals and how their Intel benefits fit into an overall financial plan, including long-term planning, goal setting, tax planning, and estate planning. We start by building a financial personality profile and risk tolerance assessment to understand your relationship with money and your comfort level with risk.
QWhen you first speak with an Intel employee, what questions do you like to ask to better understand their unique circumstances and determine how you can best help them achieve their goals?
Richard: Our detailed onboarding process includes conversations about your life goals, how your finances play a role in maximizing happiness, and what it means to be intentional with money. We gather information about your benefits and compensation package, spending plan, short-term and long-term goals, taxes, estate plans, and insurance. This detailed planning process allows us to build a comprehensive picture of your financial life and how each piece of the puzzle fits together. You cannot make recommendations without examining the whole picture.
QIs there a particular benefit available to Intel employees you feel isn’t as well utilized or understood by employees as it should be?
Richard: I see two important benefits that often deserve more attention.
(1) The Intel Sabbatical program gives employees the option of four weeks off at the four-year mark of employment or eight weeks off at seven years of employment – at full pay!
(2) The opportunity to do a Mega Backdoor Roth Conversion with after-tax 401(k) dollars is regularly underutilized. Employees often focus on contributing to their pre-tax or Roth 401(k) without realizing the power of after-tax contributions that can be converted to a Roth as soon as the contribution is made. The Mega Backdoor Roth Conversion strategy can be a way to fast-track your journey to financial independence.
QBeyond Intel employee benefits for retirement savings, are there other types of benefits offered by the company that you find valuable to discuss with your clients (e.g., stock, education savings, health savings)?
Emily: Intel offers an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) within which they can receive a 15% discount on Intel stock.
In addition to new parents (mothers and fathers) being able to take up to 12 weeks of paid time off, new parents can work a part-time schedule for up to four weeks in return for full pay.
QFor Intel employees thinking about leaving the company to accept a job elsewhere, what actions do you recommend they take before resigning and shortly thereafter?
Emily: Your matched 401(k) dollars are 100% vested from day one. However, you may have received Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) that are unvested. Look carefully at the dates on your grants and vesting schedules to determine when each RSU grant vests; this may impact your timing to leave Intel – you don’t want to leave any money on the table!
QFor Intel employees approaching retirement age, how do you recommend they prepare to make the transition from living off their salary to relying upon other sources of income?
Richard: Our detailed retirement planning process includes:
- A spending strategy tailored to your income goals
- Social Security timing recommendations
- Coordination of health care benefits
- Discussion around how your spending will change throughout retirement
- Stress-testing your retirement projection with many what-if scenarios
- Timing your exit to maximize any unvested RSUs
QFor Intel employees who have managed their finances on their own to this point, what would you suggest they consider to help them decide if they should begin working with a financial advisor at this stage in their lives?
Emily: There are many online tools and calculators. Where we find Intel employees get stuck is understanding how to prioritize goals and seeing the big picture.
We help Intel employees organize their financial lives and provide accountability for reaching goals. Understanding whether you should use surplus dollars to pay down debt, save towards a short-term goal, or work towards a long-term aspiration (such as retirement or college education savings) can be challenging.
For Intel employees planning with a spouse or partner, an advisor helps facilitate difficult conversations and moves the ball forward in your planning process.
QWhat are some of the unique financial planning challenges you commonly see among your clients who are Intel employees, and how do you help them overcome these obstacles?
Richard: One common obstacle we find is knowing when to diversify away from the concentration risk of holding a high percentage of your net worth in one company’s shares. Many of our Intel employee clients struggle with selling positions; it requires coaching, recognizing natural human biases, an evaluation of the risks, and careful diversification away from an outsized position.
QWhat questions do you recommend Intel employees ask financial advisors they’re considering hiring to help them decide if they’re a good fit?
Richard: If you were granted incentive stock options (ISOs) or RSUs, be sure to work with an advisor who understands how to incorporate those into your overall picture. Seek an advisor who can model the alternative minimum tax (AMT), understands the rules around qualifying and disqualifying dispositions, and knows how and when to diversify away from sizeable single stock positions, if appropriate.
QIs there anything that comes up frequently in your initial meeting with Intel employees that surprises you?
Richard: Employees don’t always understand the full realm of benefits – both big and small – available to them. Be sure to carefully review the benefits available to you! For some employees, this may be the first time they have received RSUs, and they often need our guidance to fully understand how that affects their taxes and the full cash flow picture. We enjoy helping people with strategies to ensure they fully benefit from their entire compensation package.
QFor highly compensated Intel employees and executives, are there any special benefits you believe it’s important to take into consideration when preparing their financial plan?
Emily: The Intel Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP), ‘SERPLUS,’ is available to employees at Level 10 or higher. This enables employees to save and invest up to 75% of their annual cash bonus/commissions and up to 60% of their salary. Contributions to the DCP reduce your annual taxable income. Additionally, Intel matches up to 5% of ‘excess Pay’ going into the SERPLUS Plan. By reviewing the full picture of your salary, bonus, and equity compensation, we can identify key strategies to help you maximize the DCP benefit.
QIs there a particularly memorable experience or a moment you recall with a client who worked at Intel when you realized they have unique opportunities and circumstances when it comes to their financial planning needs?
Emily: One of our clients recently accepted a higher-level position at Intel, and she was unfamiliar with both the after-tax savings via a Mega Backdoor Roth Conversion strategy and DCP. We reviewed the plan documents and guided her through all the enrollments so that she fully maximized all savings and cash flow opportunities. We enjoy this ‘out of the box’ and strategic long-term thinking when a client has so many wonderful benefits available!
Considering a financial advisor who specializes in working with Intel Employees?
Are you a financial advisor who specializes in working with employees at Intel or another large company?
✅ Join Wealthtender and get featured as a specialist financial advisor based on your knowledge and experience working with employees at Intel or another large company. (Subject to availability and terms.)
✅ Sign up today and join financial advisors attracting their ideal clients on Wealthtender
Ask a Financial Advisor Your Intel Benefits & Career Questions
Are you ready to enjoy life more with less money stress?
Sign up to receive weekly insights from Wealthtender with useful money tips and fresh ideas to help you achieve your financial goals.
About the Author
Brian Thorp
Founder & CEO, Wealthtender · Editor-in-Chief
Brian Thorp is the founder and CEO of Wealthtender and serves as Editor-in-Chief. With over 25 years in the financial services industry — including nearly 22 years at Invesco, where he led strategic partnerships with wealth management firms representing more than $100 billion in assets — Brian founded Wealthtender to help people find financial advisors they can trust and make more informed money decisions.
A member of the National Society of Compliance Professionals and its SEC Marketing Rule Working Group, Brian was recognized by WealthManagement.com as one of its “Ten to Watch in 2024” for his work reshaping how financial advisors market their services. He holds a B.B.A. in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin.
Brian and his wife live in Austin, Texas.