Amazon Pay After Year 4 (Salary & RSUs)
After four years, Amazon’s original new-hire RSU grant is generally fully vested, so it does not keep paying out in year five. Your pay then depends on base salary, any cash incentives, and any separately awarded stock that vests. Check your own award documents: role, level, location, share price, and grant terms all affect the result.
The wear-and-tear of tracking pay across several years can make a year-four total look like a dependable yearly rate. It may not be. The largest stock vesting years can make compensation rise sharply, then fall if no new award replaces the original grant.
I separate the question into two parts: what is already scheduled to vest, and what is only possible if Amazon makes another grant. That distinction helps you estimate year-five income without treating a past stock award as a promise of future pay.
Amazon compensation structure and the four-year RSU grant
Amazon compensation may include base salary, cash incentives if applicable, and restricted stock units, or RSUs. An RSU is a promise to deliver company shares when stated conditions are met. For a sound comparison, look at the pay and stock that apply to the same period, not just the offer’s headline value.
The details in your offer and equity documents control. Public salary databases and employee reports can help you form questions, but they cannot confirm your own pay or future grants.
How the original RSU schedule works
A vesting schedule sets when portions of an award become yours, as long as you meet the award’s conditions. Amazon’s commonly reported new-hire schedule is 5%, 15%, 40%, and 40% across the first four years. Confirm your schedule and dates in your own equity documents.
| Year of original grant | Commonly reported portion vesting | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 5% | Award terms and vest date |
| Year 2 | 15% | Shares vested to date |
| Year 3 | 40% | Vest date and share value |
| Year 4 | 40% | Whether this completes the original grant |
| Year 5 | 0% from the original grant | Whether a separate award exists |
This schedule is a general reference, not a substitute for the terms of your award. It shows why year four can include a large vest from the initial grant, while year five does not include another vest from that same grant.
What counts as pay in a given year
Base salary is your regular cash pay, before deductions. Cash incentives may apply under your offer or compensation plan. RSU compensation is the value of shares that vest in the period; it is not the same as the original grant’s headline value, and it can change with Amazon’s share price.
For a year-specific estimate, add the base salary earned during that period, applicable cash incentives, and the value of shares that actually vest during it. Keep taxes and other deductions separate from gross compensation. The share value shown at grant is not guaranteed cash income.
Year-four vesting, year-five refresher grants, and pay components
Year four and year five need separate calculations. Year four may include the final 40% of the original grant under the commonly reported schedule. In year five, that grant is finished. Any stock compensation then depends on a separate award, its vest dates, and its terms.
A refresher grant is an additional stock award made after the initial grant. Do not assume one will be offered or that it will vest in the same way as the initial award. Confirm any new grant in written documents before including it in a pay forecast.
Estimate year-four compensation
Start with the amount of the original grant that is scheduled to vest in year four. Then determine the shares that actually vest and their value for the relevant measurement period. The grant’s original dollar value alone cannot tell you the amount you will realize, because share price and vesting dates matter.
A useful model is:
Year-four gross compensation = base salary + applicable cash incentives + value of RSUs vesting in year four
Use the number of shares vesting and the relevant share price shown in your equity records. If vest dates fall across the year, use the actual records for the period you are measuring rather than treating the full year’s grant value as cash.
Estimate year-five compensation
For year five, remove the original grant from the calculation. Add stock only if you can verify a separate award and the number of shares scheduled to vest during the year. If no new award is confirmed, do not enter an assumed refresher amount as expected pay.
| Year-five scenario | What to include | What not to assume |
|---|---|---|
| No new stock award confirmed | Base salary and applicable cash incentives | Continued vesting from the original grant |
| New award documented, but no year-five vest | Base salary, applicable incentives, and any other confirmed vest | The full grant value as year-five income |
| New award with year-five vest dates | Base salary, applicable incentives, and shares vesting in year five | Future vesting beyond the award terms |
| Stock price changes | Value based on shares vesting and relevant price | Grant-date value as guaranteed proceeds |
These are calculation scenarios, not promises about Amazon’s compensation decisions. A written award and its vesting schedule are the basis for counting future equity.
Illustrative year-four and year-five comparison
Consider a hypothetical employee whose original award follows the commonly reported schedule. The employee sees a large scheduled vest in year four, then no vest from that original award in year five. If a separate year-five award is documented, the employee adds only the shares from that award that vest during year five.
This example shows the timing issue, not a typical salary or stock amount. I avoid using a company-wide average as a personal forecast because role, level, location, offer terms, and share price can make individual outcomes differ.
How to verify equity records and model total compensation
A reliable estimate begins with your own records. Write down your current level and work location, base salary, original grant amount, vest dates, and shares already vested. Then compare the year-four and year-five periods separately, using written award terms rather than assumptions or an online estimate.
When I review a compensation question, I first ask what is documented and what is only expected. That simple split often reveals why a projected year-five total looks too high: the original grant has been counted again after it is exhausted.
A step-by-step record check
Use this sequence to build a clear estimate:
- Record your baseline. Note your role, level, location, base salary, original grant amount, and each vest date.
- Check shares vested. Review your equity account or employer records for the number of shares that have vested and the dates.
- Model year four. Identify the portion of the original grant scheduled to vest, then use the actual vesting and value records for that period.
- Model year five separately. Exclude the original grant. Include only additional awards with confirmed terms and year-five vest dates.
- Review pay statements. Compare your salary and any applicable cash incentives with your records of vested shares.
- Keep gross and net amounts distinct. Taxes or other withholding can affect what you receive. Your pay statement and equity records show the relevant amounts; seek tax advice for personal tax questions.
This process helps you spot differences between an estimate and actual compensation. If the award schedule or vest date is unclear, ask the appropriate Amazon contact for written clarification.
Calculate realized stock value with care
“Realized stock value” means the value associated with shares that have vested or been sold, depending on the figure you are tracking. Keep the measures separate: grant-date value, value when shares vest, and proceeds after a sale are not interchangeable.
A basic estimate for shares vesting in a period is:
Shares vesting × share price used for that vest = estimated value at vest
This is a period estimate, not a guaranteed take-home amount. The share price can move, and withholding can affect proceeds. For a clean year-over-year comparison, use the same measurement period and state whether you are comparing gross vested value or cash after a sale.
Career moves, promotions, and compensation comparisons
A year-five pay change may reflect more than the end of an initial stock grant. A change in role, level, location, salary, cash incentives, or later stock awards can also affect total compensation. Compare like with like, and ask for written terms before using an expected change in a financial plan.
There is no single company-wide figure that predicts an individual’s year-five pay. Public reports can provide context, but they may mix job families, levels, locations, or compensation periods.
Compare the same role, level, and location
When reviewing market data, match your job family, level, work location, and time period as closely as possible. Compare base salary separately from equity and incentives. If a source gives only a headline total, check how it treats stock vesting and whether it reflects current share value or grant value.
Use public databases and employee reports as directional evidence, not as a guaranteed benchmark. The strongest evidence for your own compensation is your offer, current pay statements, equity records, and written updates to your award.
Questions to ask before a move or negotiation
Before accepting a new role, negotiating, or leaving Amazon, seek clear answers on:
- Whether a future stock award has been approved, and its grant date and vesting terms
- How a promotion affects base salary, incentives, or equity, if applicable
- Which vest dates fall within the compensation period you are comparing
- How unvested awards are treated if you leave, as stated in the award documents
- Whether the quoted total uses grant-date value or stock scheduled to vest
Do not treat a verbal estimate or a past award as a confirmed future payment. Written terms let you compare options using the same assumptions.
Conclusion: plan around confirmed compensation
The main year-four-to-year-five change is straightforward: the original four-year RSU grant is generally exhausted after year four, while year-five equity requires a separate award. Your best estimate combines salary, applicable incentives, and shares confirmed to vest in each period. Check your records, model the years separately, and label uncertain amounts as uncertain.
Frequently asked questions
Does the original Amazon RSU grant continue vesting in year five?
No. Under the commonly reported four-year schedule, the original grant is fully vested after year four. Check your individual award documents.
How much of the original grant vests in year four?
The commonly reported schedule places 40% in year four. Your award documents confirm whether that schedule applies to you.
Does every Amazon employee receive a refresher grant?
Do not assume so. Count a future grant only when its terms are confirmed in written award documents.
What determines Amazon stock compensation in year five?
Any separate stock award, its grant date, its vesting schedule, the shares vesting during the year, and the relevant share price.
Is the original grant’s stated value guaranteed income?
No. Grant value is not guaranteed cash income. The value of shares can change, and vesting timing matters.
How do I estimate year-five total compensation?
Add year-five base salary, applicable cash incentives, and the value of shares from confirmed awards that vest in year five.
Should I use salary websites to predict my own pay?
Use them for context only. They may combine different roles, levels, locations, and measurement periods.
What records should I check first?
Review your offer, equity-award documents, pay statements, and equity account records for salary, grant terms, vest dates, and vested shares.
How should I compare year four with year five?
Use the same dates and compensation categories for both years. Separate base salary, incentives, and vested stock value.
What should I ask before leaving Amazon?
Check your award documents and request written clarification on unvested awards and their treatment if you leave.
(This article was written by one of our staff writers, James Holloway. Visit our Meet the Team page.)
