Dear Joyce: Our company was sold. The new company's benefits cost us 800 percent more and the pay is 30 percent lower. The new company is very cost-conscious.

Twelve directors are no longer required to supervise staff, but none of us have been laid off yet. As one of the highly paid but underutilized directors, I think I need to explore job opportunities. After 20 years, how do I negotiate a fair severance package and ask them to downsize me? -- T.K.

Dear T.K.: You're probably right -- the hammer may fall at any moment. So says Bill Coleman, senior vice president of compensation for the Web site www.Salary.com, the gold standard for reporting what workers in various occupations and locales earn.

A severance package may already be in the works, but let's start from scratch with a game plan based on Coleman's extensive experience:

Executive Severance Packages
Typical severance plans provide one to two weeks' pay for each year of service. A common cash severance for someone in your director/executive position might be six months' to one year of pay, including bonuses.

Finer Points
If your old employer had a pension plan, you may be close to a retirement milestone in that plan. If so, an early out can cost you money and you may want to hold tight for a little longer or factor a diminished pension into your negotiation.

Simply accelerating the vesting on existing stock or stock options can greatly increase the value of your farewell package, especially if the buyer paid a premium for your company. The downside is that you may have to pay cash for the options and you may have taxable income sooner than expected.

When you take a hit in one area, try to make it up in another. For example, you can ask for perks such as outplacement services and use of the office's copiers, faxes and administration support, as well as keeping your computer and company car.

Benefits like health and insurance are tough to change in standard plans. They often follow the severance timeline, lasting as long as the cash payments. And don't forget compensation for accrued vacation time.

Enterprising Tactic
When you want something the company refuses because doing it for you means doing it for everyone, get creative. Position your request as a special benefit, not as part of the basic severance package. Say why you deserve the special benefit.

Suppose you want early stock-option vesting in compensation for your role in transitioning the group to the new organization. Suggest that you can be available for consulting for the next six months, during which time your options will vest one-sixth each month.

Gather Information
Before asking the key decision-maker for a meeting to discuss post-merger operations, sharpen your negotiating skills with research. Find out what others like you get in your company and outside.

The general salary.com service is free online, while its 14-page personalized service costs under $30 and is well worth it.

Additionally, use the search engine Google to look for models of "severance packages." Next step: Use the information you discover to play out a few scenarios and plan your responses.

Structure the Agenda
When meeting with a senior manager or senior human resource executive, begin with a magic question: How do you see our personnel needs in the near future? That sets the stage for a possible role for you in a larger company. Or it opens the door to explain why you deserve a generous severance:

In light of the company's need to reduce the workforce, for the good of the team, I am volunteering to be laid off. By volunteering, I save someone else's job. Of course, after 20 years, I would expect to be compensated fairly for my past dedicated work and for easing management's downsizing requirement. What could we work out?

Team Loyalty
When you're in the home stretch, go out with style and take care of your direct reports. It will help them and it could help maximize your own negotiation.

It's a Wrap
Bill Coleman reminds you to make sure you negotiate all major points, including the amounts, dates and restrictions. Get everything in writing when you want to leave your job on your terms.