Golden Coffin

Perks. They’re one of the best parts of being a high-ranking executive. Maybe we’ve got a company car, or maybe we’ve got killer stock options or access to the organization’s vacation home in Mallorca. Whatever perks our firm offers its execs, we as COO get to enjoy them as long as we’re employed there.

But what happens if we die during the course of that employment? Obviously we won’t be able to take advantage of those perks anymore...but if our company has a golden coffin policy going on (also called “death benefits” in less verbally creative circles), our heirs might still be able to.

That’s right: some companies will say, right there in their executive contracts, that our surviving family members can still take advantage of some or all of our exec perks, even if we buy the farm while working there. Usually this golden coffin language will specify how long the perks are available—i.e., until the end of the calendar year—or when they will be disbursed—i.e., six months after the executive’s death—and which specific perks are included.

Most of the time, golden coffins have more to do with stock options and insurance payouts than they do with company cars or access to the pad in Mallorca. The goal is to compensate the exec’s family with the money that person would have made, had they not kicked off.

Some people love golden coffins; some people hate them. But for families who are eligible to receive them, they can make coping with the loss of their loved one a little less financially stressful, if nothing else.