5 Examples of Executive Bonus Plans

February 14, 2023 at 5:00 AM

In today’s competitive market, finding the right talent to help grow your business has become difficult. It’s even harder to keep the highest-level performers to stay with your company. One solution many businesses have resorted to is looking for examples of executive bonus plans.

Beyond offering a high-paying salary, an executive bonus plan provides additional incentives to your most important employees. It’s not just a way to draw and retain the top talent, but it can also be a tool to help motivate them to successfully grow the business. These bonuses can take a variety of shapes, but below are a few examples of executive bonus plans you can implement into your business.

Different types of executive bonus plans.

Disability income protection.

Disability income insurance, or DI insurance, provides your highest-level executives with a safety net should they suffer an accident, injury, illness, or disability that prevents them from working. Should they go through something that makes it to where they can’t work anymore, the disability income protection would kick in. While it doesn’t guarantee they’d receive 100% of their income, it would provide a percentage of their gross income to help them pay their bills despite being unable to work.

Executive medical reimbursement plan.

This fully insured program provides additional benefits beyond the regular health plans, such as group medical, dental, or vision coverage. If an executive has to pay out-of-pocket for any medical treatment, the executive medical reimbursement plan would pay that cost and serve as a regular deductible for the business. It’s an example of an executive bonus plan that provides additional financial incentives beyond their healthcare plan and regular salary.

Non-qualified deferred compensation.

This example of an executive bonus plan provides a couple of different benefits to your executives. Essentially, it’s a way for them to earn wages, bonuses, or other versions of compensation in one year but waiting until a later year to actually receive them. This is helpful because the executives can still earn money even after they’ve left the workforce. It also allows them to defer their tax payments on those earnings to a later date, often when their taxable income is much lower, so the amount owed on those earnings is less as well.

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Short and long-term incentives.

Incentive bonuses are an effective way to motivate executives to help their teams reach specific goals. The metrics your business uses to define those goals can vary, but essentially, you set key milestones, both short and long-term, that your organization wants to achieve. If the executives can get their team to reach those metrics, you can offer a financial incentive to the team leaders.

Perquisites.

Perquisites are perks you provide to high-level executives, and they’re a helpful way to attract the highest-performing executives and keep them with your company. The type of perks you offer can vary drastically. It can be anything from membership to a private club, offering them a company vehicle they can drive for personal use, or providing special housing arrangements. These benefits fall outside of their traditional salary and can serve as a helpful tool when trying to fill an executive-level role.

Want more examples of executive bonus plans?

Then reach out to the team of experts at Ashton Benefits. We know how to reward your top executives by setting up a benefits plan that provides the MVPs of your company with long-term financial stability. We can show you first-class benefits plans that help foster a work environment based on initiative while attracting and retaining top talent. Learn more about our services, or contact us online to set up your initial consultation.

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