Any bonus that has specific terms should come with some sort of paperwork. An email or a contract that indicates the terms of the bonus. If they just give you money then it's just money that you have. I would expect to see something like a promise to pay it back if you leave the company within a year or something like that.

Typically it’s a 1 year commitment for that size and type of bonus. You’ll know if there’s strings attached if and when you have to sign something or you’ll get some kind of printed letter from your boss or HR. If you get zero communication about any strings attached or the duration of the commitment, then you can always just ask HR.

It may just be a semantical wording/naming issue. Confirm with your boss that the bonus is for "time served" and not for a future commitment. If you have a really good relationship with your boss you can simply say (with a smile), "So I can leave next week and still get to keep the money?"

If it is in fact for time served then it's really just a regular performance bonus, that it is specifically because you stuck around is making someone call it "retention" but, based on your description, it's tied to past performance rather than future performance.

Typically there is a burn off and if you leave before hand you owe a portion back.

Our company last year had bonus's they handed out to help stop the bleeding, and on the back side. They only gave meager raises to employees.

I've gotten one of them before because the company was seeking to encourage employees to quit (no raise, benefit reduction) and I was one of the employees they did wanted to keep.

They also won't tell you this is the reason (it's something you often have to intuit or find our from senior leadership who is on their way out).

I was in a similar situation in a job ten years ago. My employer made it clear that the bonus would only be paid if I stayed through the target date. All of our jobs were ending on the same target date, so the trick was to not start the new job search too soon and risk missing out on the bonus, and not start too late where you might have a few months without income before starting the next job.

You just need to clarify when you actually get the bonus. Because there's two types:

1. You get the money in the next paycheck or two. It's a "Thank you for not quitting on us" gesture of good will with no strings attached.
2. You get the money one year from now (in Oct 2023) so you have to stay on the job for another year until you get the money. This is much more common for "retention" bonuses and why you found this type more often when you did your Googling. Often the timeline is actually spread out over multiple years so you get 1/3 after one year, another 1/3 the 2nd year, and the last 1/3 the 3rd year but it can vary drastically so you'd just have to check with your boss. I have had 1-year get-it-all retention bonuses like this, but is just more rare.

Both are very normal business practices to retain employees and keep them happy. I've gotten both types in my career.

Since it's only $5k and he said it was "no strings attached" then it's probably the first type but just talk to him and clarify it.

If there are strings, you'll sign something. Just put the money in to savings if you happen to leave before the clawback is up.

Most retention bonuses are paid at completion of the term as an incentive to stay, without a lockin after payment.

In those cases you would get the $5k to $10k after the retention period.

Though usually you hear of that type of bonus when the merger happens, not a year later.

Thanks, and agreed. What's confusing me is that this is offered 1 year after the completion of the merger. As much as the internet research I've done can offer, this commonly seems to be offered through the merger rather than 1 year post-merger. But again, this is just from Googling. Does the timeframe seem... Strange?

Thanks, yes what seems to be throwing me off is the timing of this all. I'm not too sure why this would be offered afterwards rather than during the merger if there was a fixed period of time that I would have to serve to receive it. If they were to offer retention bonuses, I feel like retention through the merger would be more valuable to the company versus after. Will be asking for more clarity tomorrow.

Yup. Just make sure to read any paperwork they ask you to sign!

Merger may have included $$$ for retention bonus? I had one they forgot to ask me to sign after giving notice to quit. Quit shortly after

Good point, I did not think about that. Will definitely be keeping a close eye on how this develops...

Not really. Labor market hot - suddenly worried about losing some key people or maybe they just lost some key people and don’t want to lose more. Happens. Random retention bonuses can happen even with no mergers in the picture.

Your definitely going to have to sign a doc. What you need to figure out is how the payout works and if you get it even if they let you go prior to the timeframe. The last one i got was a big one but had lots of strings. 1/2 at 1 year, other half at year 2, once paid it was mine but if i got let go or left 1 day before payout i wouldnt get paid. Most of the time these bonus come because they are planing on major restructuring which probably includes your dept and maybe your role but they dont want everyone jumping ship and leaving them high and dry. Once the rumors start everyone starts looking for work. In my case they stayed true to their word. I stayed the 2 years, got a nice payday and then everyone most of us got let go. New it was coming and the payday made it easy to chill while looking for work. You boss may be telling you the truth but may also have job on the line and not know it. Long way of saying it doesnt cost you anything to take it. So take it but keep your ear to the ground and eyes open.