Fewer Companies Offer Executive Perquisites in 2010

Kansas City, Kan. — Since the onset of the economic downturn, organizations across the country have found their executive compensation packages placed under a magnifying glass and scrutinized at every turn. As a result, fewer companies are now offering perquisites to their highest ranking employees. According to the Executive Compensation 2010/2011 survey results, 77.6 percent of organizations offer perquisites to their chief executive officers. That’s down from 89.8 percent in 2009.

Of the perks offered to CEOs, supplemental life insurance is the most prevalent, 31.7 percent. Company cars and club memberships are offered at a rate of 30.7 and 26.1 percent, respectively. Over 20 percent of companies offer supplemental disability and voluntary deferred compensation programs to CEOs.

“Companies have a difficult challenge in balancing the types of perquisites they offer their top employees,” said Amy Kaminski, director of marketing for Compdata Surveys, the nation’s leading compensation and benefits survey data provider. “Although many companies have started offering perks of a more practical nature, offering traditional perks such as supplemental executive retirement plans, can be a useful tool in maintaining employee morale. This is particularly important in light of the pay cuts executives have seen in the last couple of years.”

The newly released results report perquisites vary by industry as 32 percent of chief financial officers in the utilities industry are offered voluntary deferred compensation programs. This is followed by the insurance industry at 30.2 percent and hospitality at 28.9 percent. Voluntary deferred compensation is offered in the banking and finance industry at a rate of 24.7 percent. CFOs in services are offered this perk the least, 9.2 percent.

Perks also vary by region as companies offer club memberships to presidents in the Southeast at a rate of 30.2 percent. This is followed by organizations in the Northeast at 21.7 percent and the West at 18.6 percent. Respondents in the South Central region grant club memberships at a rate of 16.4 percent, while in the Midwest they are offered at 15.2 percent of organizations surveyed.

About the Survey
Executive Compensation 2010/2011 analyzes national and regional data by base pay and total cash compensation for over 65 executive and senior management positions. Information was collected from over 4,500 organizations across the country, reporting on over 20,000 incumbents.

Compdata Surveys is the nation’s leading compensation and benefits survey data provider. Thousands of U.S. organizations provide data each year ensuring the reliability of our results. Compdata Surveys has been providing comprehensive data at affordable prices to organizations from coast to coast since 1988. For further information about their compensation and benefits surveys, contact Amy Kaminski at (800) 300-9570.
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This press release was distributed through PR Web by Human Resources Marketer (HR Marketer: www.HRmarketer.com) on behalf of the company listed above.