diff --git a/kernel/shared/src/main/scala/cats/effect/kernel/Ref.scala b/kernel/shared/src/main/scala/cats/effect/kernel/Ref.scala
index 2b820b5f9c..8f2f9211f1 100644
--- a/kernel/shared/src/main/scala/cats/effect/kernel/Ref.scala
+++ b/kernel/shared/src/main/scala/cats/effect/kernel/Ref.scala
@@ -104,6 +104,11 @@ abstract class Ref[F[_], A] extends RefSource[F, A] with RefSink[F, A] {
    */
   def modify[B](f: A => (A, B)): F[B]
 
+  /**
+   * Like `modify` but the evaluation of the return value is wrapped in the effect type `F`.
+   */
+  def flatModify[B](f: A => (A, F[B]))(implicit F: FlatMap[F]): F[B] = F.flatten(modify(f))
+
   /**
    * Update the value of this ref with a state computation.
    *