Options Still Dominate Executive Comp Package

December 21, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The median value of total retirement benefits of Fortune 500 CEOs in 2006 was only about half that of their outstanding options awards, according to a new study.

Executive compensation benchmarking firm Equilar says that the median value of total retirement benefits, including accumulated pensions and deferred compensation plan balances, for Fortune 500 CEOs was approximately $7.0 million. That compares with a median value of $15.2 million for outstanding option awards, which typically represent the largest portion of accumulated wealth for CEOs, according to the report.

In 2006, the median value of total accumulated wealth for Fortune 500 CEOs was approximately $48.2 million. This includes pension benefits, deferred compensation, outstanding option awards, unvested stock awards, and shares owned outright.

The study also notes that, according to fiscal year 2006 proxy filings, the Boards of Directors at 89.6% of Fortune 1000 companies retained the services of at least one compensation consulting firm. The ten consulting firms which appeared most frequently in these disclosures held a combined market share of 93.8%.


To learn more about these findings or to obtain a complete copy of Equilar’s compensation consultant market share study, call 1-877-441-6090 or visitwww.equilar.com .

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