Educational only: Work and pay decision support, not tax, legal, financial or career advice.
Privacy: No account is required. Tool inputs and results stay in this browser. Anonymous categorical usage analytics send only governed page, tool, cluster and action identifiers; tool inputs and results are never sent. Error monitoring is disabled. Optional saved state stays only on this device.
Update policy: Reviewed when formulas or official dependencies change.
Scope: Market-neutral work and pay planning using your own assumptions.
What this calculator helps you decide
Best for
Workers weighing unvested compensation against a higher-paying move.
Outputs
Risk-adjusted forfeiture, leaving gain, net advantage and break-even months.
Start here
Enter face value, vest probability, realizability and the compensation increase.
- Close-intent boundary
- Do not use this to forecast a security price or vesting outcome; use Expected Job Value Calculator for broader uncertain job outcomes.
Compare benefits, equity and leave
Golden Handcuffs: risk-adjusted forfeiture
Risk-adjusted forfeiture, leaving gain, net advantage and break-even months.
Forfeiture and leaving-gain assumptions
Risk-adjust the unvested value and compare it with entered compensation gains and switching costs.
Your numbers stay in this browser
Current face value of compensation that may be forfeited.
Your assumed probability of vesting, entered as a decimal.
Expected annual compensation increase in the leave scenario.
Months over which to compare the compensation increase.
Realizability and switching costsOpen the assumptions you are less likely to change on every comparison.
Your assumed share of face value that may be realized.
One-time costs assigned to leaving.
Calculated result
The engine returns 45,000 risk-adjusted forfeiture and a 36-month break-even before switching costs.
Use one currency consistently across all inputs.
PDF and CSV exports stay on this device. Clean page links contain no inputs.
Scenario comparison
Each row names the assumption axis changed from the baseline.
ScenarioResultDifference
Entered scenario0.00Baseline
Vest probability: 0.8-3,000.00-3,000.00
Save these results, change an input, then compare the updated figures with this baseline.
The baseline is temporary in this tab and is not added to shared scenario links or generated reports.
Calculation details
View calculation detailsView the formulas and inputs used for these results.
Net leaving advantage
Net leaving advantage
netLeavingAdvantage = annualCompIncrease × horizonMonths ÷ 12 − riskAdjustedForfeiture − switchingCosts0.00 currency unitsResult0.00 currency units
Horizon compensation gain minus risk-adjusted forfeiture and switching costs. Displayed using the engine-rounded value.
Net leaving advantage formula →Risk-adjusted forfeiture
Risk-adjusted forfeiture
riskAdjustedForfeiture = unvestedFaceValue × vestProbability × realizability45,000.00 currency unitsResult45,000.00 currency units
Face value multiplied by entered vest probability and realizability. Displayed using the engine-rounded value.
Risk-adjusted forfeiture formula →Break-even months
Break-even months
breakEvenMonths = (riskAdjustedForfeiture + switchingCosts) ÷ annualCompIncrease × 1236Result36
Months needed for the annual increase to offset forfeiture and costs; zero means no positive annual increase. Displayed using the engine-rounded value.
Break-even months formula →Inputs used
- Unvested face value
- 60,000.00 currency units
- Vest probability
- 0.75
- Realizability factor
- 1
- Annual compensation increase
- 15,000.00 currency units
- Comparison horizon
- 36
- Switching costs
- 0.00 currency units
Open this calculator with preset values
This calculator supports documented, shareable scenario URLs. Compatible assistants and applications can construct links using the parameters below.
Scenario values are visible in the URL, calculations run in the browser, and optional saved state stays only on this device. Anyone you share the URL with can read those numbers, so do not include private or identifying data.
| Parameter | Meaning | Unit | Allowed values | Presence | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unvestedFaceValue | Current face value of compensation that may be forfeited. | currency units | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 60000 |
| vestProbability | Your assumed probability of vesting, entered as a decimal. | probability | 0 to 1 | Required | 0.75 |
| realizability | Your assumed share of face value that may be realized. | share | 0 to 1 | Required | 1 |
| annualCompIncrease | Expected annual compensation increase in the leave scenario. | currency units/year | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 15000 |
| horizonMonths | Months over which to compare the compensation increase. | months | 1 to 600 | Required | 36 |
| switchingCosts | One-time costs assigned to leaving. | currency units | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 0 |
Golden Handcuffs: risk-adjusted forfeiture
Use net leaving advantage as a scenario based on your probability and realizability assumptions.
Formula summary
- Primary formula
- netLeavingAdvantage = annualCompIncrease × horizonMonths ÷ 12 − riskAdjustedForfeiture − switchingCosts
Data used here
- The estimate uses your inputs and the work-value formula documented in the methodology.
Decision checks
Act on the result
Verify vesting terms and keep face value separate from expected realizable value.
Stress-test the decision
Retest vest probability, realizability and switching costs.
When this estimate can be misleading
- No security-price forecast, tax or vesting guarantee is made.
- Non-financial career considerations are excluded.
- Use net leaving advantage as a scenario based on your probability and realizability assumptions.
Educational estimate, not advice. See all assumptions & limitations →
Related reading
Use these practical guides to interpret the decision and its assumptions.
- How to use the Golden Handcuffs calculator
Compare a user-adjusted forfeiture estimate with compensation gains and switching costs over a chosen horizon.
Read guide
Frequently asked questions
Does the entered leaving gain offset risk-adjusted unvested compensation?
Verify vesting terms and keep face value separate from expected realizable value.
Which official source and period does this use?
This market-neutral tool does not use an official local policy rule.
Can I share or save a scenario?
Tool inputs and results stay in this browser. Anonymous categorical usage analytics send only governed page, tool, cluster and action identifiers; tool inputs and results are never sent. Error monitoring is disabled. Optional saved state stays only on this device.
What evidence should I check before making the decision?
Check the source record, timing and excluded costs behind the result before making the work decision.