Willis Johnson & Associates is not endorsed by nor affiliated with Chevron.
Industry Disclosures
Financial Planning for Chevron Employees
While working at Chevron, you may have questions regarding the specifics of the plans and benefits available to you. By coordinating company benefits with your outside assets, our wealth management team helps you understand each offering to maximize your benefits and achieve your personal financial goals.
Save More Using Chevron’s Employee Savings Investment Plan (ESIP)
Chevron's ESIP 401(K)
Whether retirement is around the corner or off in the distant future, you want to ensure you save in the most tax-efficient manner for you and your family. Our team of financial advisors helps you get the most from both pre-tax and after-tax savings in your ESIP.
How we help Chevron Professionals with their ESIP:
- Annually convert after-tax money from the 401(k) to a Roth IRA, which allows for tax-free growth
- Optimize savings each quarter to receive the full 8 percent company match and not just a portion of it
- Monitor investment performance and implement investment, savings, and tax-minimization strategies tailored to your long-term goals
- Actively manage investment funds using strategies based on Nobel-Laureate research —no more passive set-and-forget approaches to savings and investments
- Access to additional funds through Fidelity Brokeragelink® accounts to coordinate your 401(k) with non-company or outside assets
Retirement is about more than just 401(k) contributions. Our integrated team of advisors and investment experts work with you to tailor your various benefits and asset allocations in them to you.
Learn More About Maxing Out the Employee Savings Investment Plan (ESIP) or get your questions answered in a complimentary meeting with one of our Chevron experts >>
Chevron’s Employee Savings Investment Plan Restoration Plan (ESIP-RP)
For many of Chevron’s top-tiered executives, Chevron offers the Chevron Employee Savings Investment Restoration Plan (ESIP-RP). Excess benefit plans like this one can have significant tax ramifications when they payout, so it's crucial to appropriately time your retirement to maximize the benefit's after-tax value.
Making the Most of Chevron’s Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP)
For those with a job grade of PSG 28 or above, the DCP can be a valuable benefit to defer real-time compensation into future years when you have a greater need for it. We optimize your DCP elections in coordination with your expected retirement income to reduce taxes today and minimize them in the future.
Optimizing Chevron's Incentive Plans
At Chevron, a significant portion of your compensation can come from the varying incentive plans—your bonus, stock options, performance shares, and restricted stock, to name a few. It's crucial to coordinate the CIP and LTIP alongside your other financial assets to maintain a diversified portfolio over time. We work with you to reduce overexposure to Chevron stock in a tax-efficient manner that fits your overall financial goals.
How we help Chevron Professionals with their Incentive Plans:
- Chevron Incentive Plan (CIP) – Through tax planning, savings prioritization, and benefits eligibility assessment, our advisor can help maximize your annual performance bonus.
- LTIP Stock Options, Stock Options (ISO), and Non-Qualified Stock Options (NQSO) – Accumulating Chevron stock over several years can overweight your portfolio with a concentration in energy. Still, it can also offer tax optimization opportunities such as Net Unrealized Appreciation.
- LTIP Performance Shares & LTIP Restricted Stock Units – After performance shares and restricted stocks vest, there are several mistakes Chevron employees make that can cause them a huge tax liability. We work to ensure that the correct forms and strategies are in place to make sure a simple mistake doesn't amount to significant consequences.
Protecting Yourself & Your Family with Chevron’s Insurance & Health Plans
You care about providing for and protecting those you love most, but do you have the right contingency plan in place if an unexpected event arises? As a fiduciary advisor working in your best interest, we never sell insurance products. Instead, we help you understand the various insurance options available to you and help you decide on a plan that works best for you and your family. Our goal is to ensure that you only pay for what you need instead of all the extras you don’t.
Chevron offers Long-Term Disability plans, a Supplemental Life Insurance Plan (SLIP), and Term insurance plans.
Selecting the Right Chevron Health Plan for You
With each plan comes various trade-offs and opportunities. We walk you through each plan, plan your contributions for healthcare costs and future retiree medical costs in the most tax-efficient manner, and help you maximize your take-home pay by optimizing your HSA and HC FSA accounts.
Chevron offers Anthem HDHP, Anthem HDHP basic, and Anthem PPO plans for healthcare.
Getting More From Your Finances Doesn’t Have to be Difficult.
Meet with one of our Chevron experts to get started >>
Navigating Job Uncertainty or Severances at Chevron
If you’re affected by Resource Optimization Management (ROM) or Employee Selection Process (ESP) and are “left standing,” we can help determine if retirement is a viable option. Whether you decide to retire or move into a new role, our advisors can provide insights into your company's benefits elections' and their impacts.
If you’re unsure about future employment at Chevron or how an untimely layoff could affect your future, our team knows Chevron packages and benefits. We can help you evaluate your goals, analyze your current financial status, and prepare for the next steps forward so you can start your next venture with confidence.
Facing a severance from Chevron? Make sure you’re prepared using our Chevron Severance Checklist >>
Navigating Promotions at Chevron
Earning a promotion can be exciting and filled with new responsibilities, a new job title, and potentially a higher salary and benefits package. What many Chevron executives fail to realize is that this also means more considerations and opportunities for mistakes. When you begin reaching certain income thresholds, there are more nuances regarding your 401(k) and other savings options, your taxes, and financial planning strategies you can leverage. If you aren’t adjusting your contributions or paying attention to specific tax forms, you could be leaving money on the table. As you climb the corporate ladder, your financial plan needs to evolve alongside you. We can help you pivot and adapt your financial strategy to ensure that you have a plan in place anywhere your career takes you.
Going Abroad for a Chevron Assignment
If your career at Chevron takes you abroad on an expatriate assignment, there are many financial factors to consider before making a move. As specialists in both U.S. company benefit plans and financial planning, we can help U.S. citizens and residents looking to optimize their savings and finances on the road to retirement wherever they are in the world.
Accumulating assets in multiple countries can make it difficult to know where to seek guidance from, so our table below may offer some guidance:
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Your Situation Entails: |
Work With a U.S. Advisor Like WJA |
Work With A Foreign Advisor |
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U.S. Citizenship or Resident Status |
Working with an advisor in the U.S. such as Willis Johnson & Associates can help you navigate the financial, tax, and legal guidelines you’re obligated to by your citizenship. |
If you’re not a U.S. citizen or resident, it may be more beneficial to work with an advisor in your home country or the one you’re stationed in. If you’re planning to retire in the U.S. or become a U.S. citizen, working with a U.S. advisor such as Willis Johnson & Associates can help you navigate the financial, tax, and legal guidelines. |
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Assets Outside the U.S. Only |
Due to certain legal restrictions, U.S. advisors, such as Willis Johnson & Associates, are prohibited from managing certain foreign assets. |
If most of your assets are outside the U.S., it may be best to work with an advisor in the country that holds the assets to have the most flexibility in your options. |
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Assets Across the Globe |
If you have assets in the U.S. and other countries, you'll likely need financial experts in each country. Willis Johnson & Associates can offer guidance on your domestic assets and help with converting or considering various foreign assets. |
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Work for a U.S. Employer, but Working in a Foreign Country |
By working with an advisor in the U.S., such as Willis Johnson & Associates, you can avoid the pitfalls surrounding the financial, tax, and legal guidelines you’re obliged to by your citizenship and your time abroad. If you're planning to return to the U.S., you'll want a domestic advisor to ensure that everything converts appropriately for your U.S. tax return upon your arrival back home. |
Suppose you're not a U.S. citizen or resident and are working in a non-U.S. country. In that case, it may be more beneficial to work with an advisor in the country you’re stationed in to get the proper guidance and education you need for your finances and taxes. |
Chevron professionals who prefer to keep their assets in a foreign country may benefit from working with an advisor in that country who's well-versed in the foreign country's tax, financial, and legal guidelines. Similarly, for Chevron employees on the company's international benefit plans, we recommend reaching out to your HR department or an advisor with expertise in your benefit plans and guidelines to understand how to utilize them.
Learn How to Avoid Common Financial Mistakes Expats Make Here >>
Leaving Chevron to Become Self-Employed
Upon retirement from Chevron, many of our clients choose to continue working as a consultant. If you plan to do this, we can help you understand how to structure your finances and retirement to fit your new role. Our team of tax and financial professionals can help you navigate:
- Liability Protection for LLCs
- Tax Deferral Strategies for Solo 401(k), Sep IRA and Solo Pension Plans
- Tax forms unique to consultants, such as Form 1099 and the Correct Way to File Them
- Negotiating Compensation and Hourly Fees with an Understanding of How Consultants Get Taxed
Learn more about setting up a consulting practice here >>
Evaluating a Job Beyond Chevron?
Being recruited is exciting, but how can you know if accepting a new position is the right move? It is often difficult to directly compare the value of two compensation packages and all the benefits on the table. With our expertise in corporate benefit plans, we can map out the difference in value between your current job and the one you're considering to help you decide between them or leverage for a better offer. Whether you choose to take the job or not, we'll help you optimize your elections — at Chevron or your new company.
Getting More From Your Finances Doesn’t Have to be Difficult.
Meet with one of our Chevron experts to get started >>
Planning Retirement From Chevron
Most people only retire once, so they don’t have prior experience to draw from—we’ve helped hundreds of Houston’s energy professionals navigate retirement without leaving money on the table. We will walk you through the complex options and timelines to correctly handle all elections so you avoid losing any benefits and minimize taxes.
We’ll also help you answer common questions like:- Which savings account should you draw from first, and when should you take Social Security?
- Should you take the annuity or lump sum payout of your pension, and when’s the right time to start taking it?
- If you want to consult before winding down, how can you start a consulting business?
- How should your investment strategy change in retirement?
Leveraging the Savings in Your Chevron 401(K)
Chevron’s Employee Savings Investment Plan (ESIP)
As you think about retirement, you might be asking the question: From where should I take the money I need for expenses? Our team can help rebalance your ESIP for your transition into retirement while considering your full financial picture. The transition from accumulating assets to living off of them can be tricky, so working with an advisor can help you understand which assets you should be pulling from and in what order to minimize taxes for a smooth retirement.
Chevron’s Employee Savings Investment Plan Restoration Plan (ESIP-RP)
For many of Chevron’s top-tiered executives, Chevron offers the Chevron Employee Savings Investment Restoration Plan (ESIP-RP). Excess benefit plans like this one can have significant tax ramifications when they payout, so it's crucial to appropriately time your retirement to maximize the after-tax value of the benefit.
Making Chevron CRP & RRP Elections
One of the most significant decisions you make when retiring from Chevron is how to receive your CRP and RRP pension benefits. It is essential to understand the trade-offs between lump sums and annuities, how changing interest rates can affect lump sum values and the implication of timing and taxes. Before you make an irrevocable election, let us give you a second opinion.
Learn more about how these elections can impact your tax bill >>
Utilizing the Chevron Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP)
For those PSG 28 or above, the DCP can be a valuable benefit for deferring real-time compensation into future years when you have a greater need for it. Upon retiring, it's crucial to evaluate your DCP elections' payout when determining your expected retirement income to minimize taxes in your early retirement years.
Setting Up Your Consulting Practice
Upon retirement from Chevron, many of our clients choose to continue working as a consultant. If you plan to do this, we can help you understand how to structure your finances and retirement to fit your new role. Our team of tax and financial professionals can help you navigate:
- Liability Protection for LLCs
- Tax Deferral Strategies for Solo 401(k), Sep IRA and Solo Pension Plans
- Tax forms unique to consultants, such as Form 1099 and the Correct Way to File Them
- Negotiating Compensation and Hourly Fees with an Understanding of How Consultants Get Taxed
Learn more about setting up a consulting practice here >>
When Should You Retire From Chevron?
When you decide to retire from your career at Chevron can significantly impact your retirement income. Sometimes, waiting a few weeks or retiring just a month earlier can be a difference of tens of thousands of dollars. By understanding the timing of the payouts and tax implications of your benefits, along with the segment rates, we can determine the most tax-efficient retirement date for you that optimizes your income into your retirement days.
See how recent interest rates are impacting lump sum CRP payouts here >>
Picking Your Optimal Retirement Date to Get the Most From Your Benefits Doesn’t Have to be Difficult.
Meet with one of our Chevron experts to get started >>
