Step · Reveal
Retention Bonus Math
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A retention bonus is a lease on your future. The math is not whether the bonus is big. The math is whether the market you would have entered over the same period pays more.
What this reveals. One number: the difference between the retention path and the outside path you entered, over the retention period.
What it does not do. It does not tell you to reject or accept. It compares two paths in the same currency.
What retention bonus has been offered?
Over how many years must you stay to earn it?
What is your current total annual compensation?
Base + bonus + equity annualized.
What is the market total compensation for a comparable outside role?
Confidence in the outside comp figure?
Your own estimate of how solid the outside figure is. It is shown beside the result and does not change the dollar figure.
market path minus retention path over the retention period
The number above is the market path minus the retention path, from the figures you entered. The retention path is your current total compensation for each retention year plus the bonus. The market path is the outside total compensation for the same years. A negative number means the retention path is higher. Your confidence in the outside figure is shown separately. It is your own estimate and does not change the dollar figure.
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Assumptions used: retention bonus, retention years, current total, and market total. Both paths hold compensation flat over the period, with no raises and no discounting. Equity enters both paths at paper value, as if it were cash. An answer of 5 years or more is counted as 5 years. Confidence in the outside figure is your own estimate. It is shown on its own row and does not change any dollar figure. Path comparison excludes equity acceleration, benefits, and non-financial factors. The comparison is a scenario built from those inputs. It is not a recommendation to accept or decline.
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This comparison sets a retention bonus against the outside alternative you entered over the same period, with pay held flat on both paths. If the alternative is not a concrete offer, it is your estimate. Your confidence in it is shown beside the comparison as your own judgment and does not weight it.
If the choice is real and dated, Decision Desk™ can examine both paths under stated assumptions and prepare a documented position on what to ask for.
Bring one date to the Review: the retention offer deadline or the external offer deadline, whichever is first. If it is not set, say so.
Prepare for my retention decision
The Private Decision Review determines whether the Decision Desk™ is appropriate for the decision in front of you. The Decision Desk™ investment is $5,000, invoiced after acceptance. Nothing is charged for the Review, and submitting it creates no obligation on either side. You remain the decision-maker and negotiator.
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Decision Guide
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