Year-End Planning for Amgen Executives (2025):
If Your RSUs Have a Mind of Their Own, This One’s For You
Amgen executives don’t need another dry tax checklist.
You need something that speaks to the lived experience of being paid in a currency that:
Vests when you’re on vacation,
Drops during blackout,
Rallies the second you sell, and
Somehow creates a tax bill even when your cash flow feels like it’s running an endurance test.
So let’s talk about what actually matters this time of year, the things every Amgen exec feels but rarely says out loud.
1. The RSU Withholding Mirage
You glance at your paystub and think:
“Okay… they withheld taxes. I think?”
But default RSU withholding is about as accurate as asking Google or ChatGPT to guess your age based on your Spotify playlist.
It looks right, but it’s wrong in ways that become painfully obvious around April 15th, also known as “the week everyone texts their advisor with all caps.”
If you’ve had heavy vesting this year, or the stock moved more than you expected, now’s the time to check whether the IRS is waiting for a check the size of a luxury used car.
2. Concentration Creep: Amgen Edition
You start the year with a reasonable allocation.
Then a couple big vests hit.
Then the stock jumps 9% on Phase 3 news.
Then blackout arrives like a medieval drawbridge slamming shut.
Next thing you know, Amgen is 38% of your total net worth and you’re lying to yourself saying,
“It’s not that concentrated… it’s just temporarily elevated.”
Year-end is the moment to face that mirror.
3. The Mega Backdoor Roth: The Benefit You Swear You’ll Look At Later
Every executive intends to maximize the Mega Backdoor Roth.
Somewhere between Q2, the ESPP purchase, your 10b5-1 plan review, and the small matter of running a major piece of Amgen… it slips.
And then you log in during December and realize:
“Oh. I’ve done approximately 17% of what I thought I did.”
A quick check now can save thousands in unnecessary tax later.
It’s not exciting, but neither is paying taxes you didn’t have to.
4. Blackout Timing: The Universe’s Favorite Joke
If you need liquidity in Q1 when all the bills come in from taxes, real estate, tuition, then
you can be absolutely certain that your ability to sell will be restricted exactly when you need it.
It’s not personal.
It’s just how the compliance gods maintain balance in the universe.
Plan before January, or accept your fate.
5. Gifting & Charitable Moves That Don’t Involve Writing a Giant Check
You want to make charitable gifts? Great.
Just don’t do it the amateur way.
Don’t send cash when you can donate appreciated Amgen stock and keep the IRS out of the party.
Your cause gets a bigger gift.
You get a bigger deduction.
Everybody wins except the Treasury, which is kind of the point.
A Closing Thought
If you’re an Amgen executive, you already know the truth:
Your financial life is more complicated than “a portfolio and a plan.”
You’ve got:
RSUs
ESPP
Blackouts
Concentration risk
High-income tax brackets
Compensation timing that never lines up with IRS deadlines
You don’t need generic advice, you need someone who understands all of this in real time.
And if your current advisor has never asked you:
How much Amgen stock you own,
What your vests look like,
Whether you’re under-withheld,
Or how you’re managing concentration and taxes…
Fire them.
You deserve someone who’s actually paying attention.
