You earned your stock options. Can you afford to keep them?

You earned your stock options. Can you afford to keep them? You spend four years at a startup, fully vest your grant, then decide to leave. That’s when you discover you have 90 days to exercise your options or lose them. This is the post-termination exercise period, or PTEP. Around 90 days is common at U.S. startups, though your documents set the deadline. Say you have 20,000 vested options with a $2 strike price. You need $40,000 of your own money to buy the shares. Taxes may add to the bill, even if you can’t sell those shares yet. No spare cash? You could lose the entire unexercised grant despite completing the vesting schedule. A particularly uncomfortable choice after a layoff, when your savings need to cover rent. The company may have years to reach an exit. You have three months to commit your money, with no guaranteed return. Before signing, I’d ask how much exercising could cost and how long I’d have after leaving. Some employers offer longer windows. “Fully vested” sounds reassuring. It doesn’t mean the shares are yours.