what are golden handcuffs 
golden handcuffs are a collection of financial incentives that are intended to encourage employees to remain with a company for a stipulated period of time golden handcuffs are offered by employers to existing key employees as a means of holding onto them as well as to increase employee retention rates golden handcuffs are common in industries where highly compensated employees are likely to move from one company to another understanding golden handcuffsemployers invest significant resources in the hiring training and retaining of key employees golden handcuffs are intended to help employers hold onto employees that they ve invested in but also to ensure that their best employees and top performers do not leave the firm sometimes golden handcuffs have a negative connotation as they are often associated with individuals staying at a job they are not happy in but not willing to leave because the financial loss would be significant types of golden handcuffsgolden handcuffs can be offered on a graduated basis when employees meet certain milestones or they can be offered all at once with certain stipulations golden handcuffs can take many different forms some examples include stock options supplemental executive retirement plans serps large bonuses vacation homes a company car insurance policies and so forth 