So it's official: Robert Moffat has left IBM. According to reports, he has "retired" from the company and was not terminated by Big Blue. So if it is indeed true that Moffat left on his own (which seems feasible), then a question lingers: did Moffat receive his full retirement benefits?

It may seem like a silly, trivial question at first. But think about it. IBM pays their executive management team well, and its pension fund (which has been discontinued) was quite generous. As a 31-year veteran of the company, Moffat was eligible for early retirement (executives must have at least 30 years of service, according to IBM's 2009 proxy statement). I'm not sure what Moffat had coming to him, but if you scan the proxy statement's item on 2008 pension benefits then you'll see how much the upper echelon of IBM has stocked up in retirement funds. It's a lot of money.

I'm guessing that IBM must have some kind of power here since Moffat has been arrested and charged with a crime. Perhaps there is some kind of clause in executive contracts that negates an employee's retirement funds/compensation package if he or she is "dishonorably discharged" because of criminal activity, alleged or otherwise. But since IBM has been very tight-lipped on the matter -- seriously, Moffat's bio is gone from IBM's Web site and there's barely a trace of him anywhere on the site -- then it's doubtful we'll know how Moffat's departure was handled from the financial angle.

So did Moffat leave with all his pension benefits and executive compensation? Should he be allowed to take his pension and other benefits until he's received a fair trial? What do you think?