Vesting is the point at which something already granted becomes actually yours. Equity commonly carries a cliff before anything vests at all, employer retirement contributions vest on a schedule capped by federal rules, and signing bonuses frequently carry a clawback for a fixed period. Pricing a departure means finding every date and asking what walking away before each one costs.
What vesting actually is
A condition on money already granted to you. The grant happened; ownership arrives on a schedule, and leaving before a milestone forfeits whatever has not vested.
Which makes vesting a retention mechanism rather than a benefit. That is not a criticism — it is what it is designed to do, and understanding it as a constraint rather than a gift produces better decisions about when to move.
Two schedules, very different risks
Cliff vesting gives you nothing until a date, then everything up to that point. Leaving one month early forfeits the lot, which makes the weeks around a cliff the most expensive weeks of your tenure.
Graded vesting releases a portion at intervals. Less dramatic and far easier to plan around, because there is no single date where everything turns on timing.
The retirement rules that apply regardless
Your own contributions are always immediately yours. Employer contributions to a defined contribution plan must vest no slower than three-year cliff or six-year graded under federal rules.
So the worst case is knowable: three years to own the employer portion outright. That is a bounded, checkable number, unlike equity vesting which follows whatever the plan document says.
Equity vesting is where the large numbers sit
A common shape is four years with a one-year cliff, then monthly or quarterly. Somebody eleven months in has nothing; somebody thirteen months in has a quarter.
Refresh grants complicate it further, because each new grant starts its own schedule. That produces a rolling stream of unvested value that never reaches zero — which is precisely the intended effect and is worth naming when you feel unable to leave.
Calculating what leaving actually costs
List every unvested grant with its next vesting date and value. Add the employer retirement contributions not yet vested. Add any bonus that requires you to be employed on a future payment date.
That total is the real cost of leaving today, and it is frequently larger than people assume and smaller than it feels once written down. Both errors are common and the list fixes them.
Timing a move around it
Where a cliff or a large tranche sits within a few months, waiting is usually worth more than the increase from moving sooner. Where the next event is a year out and refreshes keep arriving, waiting is an indefinite commitment.
The honest test: is there a date after which the unvested balance drops materially? If yes, target it. If the balance never drops, the schedule is doing its job and the decision has to be made on other grounds.
Negotiating around forfeited value
A new employer can compensate for what you forfeit, usually through a sign-on bonus or an accelerated first grant. This is a normal request and it is far more successful when you can name the figure.
Bring the actual list — grant dates, amounts, vesting dates. “I forfeit $23,000 vesting in March” is a negotiable fact; “I have equity I would lose” is not.
What to check before you accept anything
The vesting schedule in writing, including what happens on layoff, on resignation and if the company is acquired. Acceleration on a change of control is a real term and its absence is informative.
And ask whether the first grant has a cliff. For somebody uncertain about a role, a one-year cliff means the first year is effectively unpaid in equity terms, which belongs in the decision rather than in the surprise.
Common questions
What does vesting actually mean?
The point at which something already granted becomes yours to keep. Before it vests, it can be forfeited by leaving.
How fast must employer retirement contributions vest?
Federal rules cap it for defined-contribution plans — broadly full vesting by three years on a cliff or by six on a graded schedule. Your own contributions are immediate.
Can a signing bonus be taken back?
Frequently, if you leave within a stated period. That is a clawback and it lives in the paperwork rather than the conversation.
Can a new employer cover what I forfeit?
It is normal practice to ask. Bring the actual schedule rather than an estimate, because it is a document and not an argument.
Is it worth staying to reach a cliff?
Sometimes, and the way to decide is to write the exact number down. Left vague, it becomes a permanent reason not to move.
What is the difference between cliff and graded vesting?
A cliff gives nothing until a date then everything up to it; graded releases portions at intervals. Leaving a month before a cliff forfeits the entire tranche.
How fast must employer retirement contributions vest?
No slower than three-year cliff or six-year graded under federal rules for defined contribution plans. Your own contributions are always immediately yours.
Can a new employer compensate for forfeited equity?
Usually, through a sign-on or an accelerated first grant — and the request succeeds far more often when you can name the exact figure and date.