What Is A Top Hat Retirement Plan? 
A Top Hat plane is a form of Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation -LRB- NQDC -RRB- . These plans are not governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act -LRB- ERISA -RRB- and are not concerned with discrimination as defined by the Act . Employers have the option to implement the plans and offer them on employees of its choosing . The plans are generally used as incentives to keep certain employees from leaving a company by offering them an extra incentive to stick around and work for the company . 