If your company offered you the ability to voluntarily retire, would you take it? That’s what Delta Airlines (DAL) did yesterday when it offered volunteer severance and retirement packages to 30,000 employees in hopes of cutting at least 2,000 jobs. “If we need to, we'll go deeper,” Delta CFO Ed Bastian told analysts on Tuesday at a JP Morgan (JPM) investor conference. Oil prices hit an all-time high this week, at $111 a barrel, almost twice what they were last year, putting increasing pressure on the airline industry to off-set costs any way it can. 

According to a Delta spokesperson, the severance packages are targeted towards mainline employees—people working on the frontline, administrative, and management side–and will not be extended to pilots who are unionized. Administrative and management employees need a minimum of one year with the company to qualify for the “early-out” offer, while frontline employees (flight attendants, ticket agents, and baggage handlers) need to have at least 10 years under their belt in order to take the early retirement. And, of course, employees who are already up for retirement  are also eligible to accept the buy-out package. 

Delta has not disclosed the terms of the buy-out, but whatever it is, it might be hard for Delta employees to negotiate. “With a buy-out of this magnitude, it’s a bit more difficult,” says Morris Armstrong, a financial planner in Danbury, Conn. “When companies offer buyouts to a 100 or so people, it’s easier to negotiate your own individual package.” If you can negotiate, predetermine the minimum that you’ll accept. “Make sure whatever it is, you’ll be comfortable with it and not regret it later on,” says Hallie Crawford, a certified career coach based in Atlanta, Ga., the same city where Delta is based. “Quality of life is a good standard to give you an outline. Then give yourself a buffer so you won’t get in a situation where you feel desperate and stuck.” 

Delta’s future is uncertain, especially after talks to merge Delta with Northwest Airlines (NWA) hit gridlock today after negotiators couldn’t successfully blend seniority lists for pilots from the two airlines. The impasse could, however, make a severance package look more appealing to Delta employees. “When you’re uncertain about the viability of a company and your prospects for employment elsewhere are good, that buy-out is a good idea,” says Armstrong. “And, when you dislike your job, it’s a great idea.” 

But, first consider the potential impact. If there’s a chance you could find yourself unemployed or underemployed for the next four or five years, you might want to think twice before jumping at what looks like free money. And, if you have health conditions that might make it difficult to secure coverage once you’re no longer under Delta’s corporate plan, then that can take priority over severance. 

“Lets say you’re 60 years old and your prospects for future employment aren’t that great,” says Armstrong. COBRA will give you 18 months of health care coverage, but you sill have a gap before you start collecting Medicare.” Do a cost analysis before accepting a buy-out to determine how much private health insurance will cost and if the severance offers enough to subsidize it. 

Even if you are the picture of health, an unhealthy company means an ailing pension. If a company files Chapter 7 bankruptcy, “it’s considered a liquidation and all assets are sold to pay creditors,” says Michael Eisenberg, spokesperson for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Not to mention, after filing Chapter 7 the company ceases to exist, meaning your pension goes poof right along with it. Filing under Chapter 11, like Delta did in 2005, gives a company the opportunity to reorganize its finances and s whether an employee loses his or her pension is less absolute. If you’re not confident in the company’s future, taking a buy-out gives you an opportunity to take a lump sum from your pension and roll it into an IRA. “Pension cuts suck, period,” says Armstrong. “Look at the credit a company has going forward, and if it’s on the shaky side I might advocate to the client to roll it into an IRA.” 

“There’s a great deal of factors when looking at a financial decision,” says Armstrong. “You don’t only look at the pennies.” Your financial future can still soar, even if Delta looks like it might stay grounded.