Target said its directors have changed executive compensation programs to better reflect the retailer’s commitment to pay for performance and that Steinhafel was the last top executive eligible for the deferred compensation plan that paid 12 percent interest. Steinhafel couldn’t be reached for comment.

Compensation Ballooned

“In response to shareholder feedback, we embarked on a comprehensive overhaul of our executive compensation programs to even better align compensation with company performance,” said Eric Hausman, a spokesman for Target.

For decades executive retirement savings plans were designed to replace CEO incomes, which were more modest than today.

“These benefits weren’t originally intended to be huge wealth generators,” said Gary Hewitt, director of governance research at Amsterdam-based Sustainalytics, which provides research to investors. “But it’s become that as CEO compensation has grown to 200 to 300 times what average workers make. They’re controversial and harder to justify now that companies have abandoned pensions for those in the ranks.”

Many who save in a 401(k), by contrast, don’t have enough for a secure retirement. At Target, those who work less than 1,000 hours aren’t eligible to save in the plan at all.

‘Take the Cake’

“Target throws workers a cracker and top executives take the cake,” said Ron Pierce, a former worker at the retailer’s distribution center in Stuarts Draft, Virginia. “Who can even spend $47 million? I’d like to see a chunk of that go for pensions for all employees.”

Pierce, employed at Target from 2007 through 2012, advocated for better worker benefits and wages. He said he put in ten-hour shifts, lifting 5,000 cartons a day for $21 an hour. By the time he left, Pierce had $32,000 in his 401(k) account. Target matches 100 percent of workers’ contributions, up to 5 percent of their pay. He also left the company with a one-time payout of about $4,600 from a pension, which the company ended for new employees in 2008.

The retailer’s 31,000 retirees received an average annual pension benefit of about $4,000 in 2013, according to company filings. For current employees, Target has “below average” participation in its 401(k), according to BrightScope Inc., a San Diego firm that rates 401(k)s.

Decline Of Pensions

Target store workers, like those at other retailing companies, earn at the lower end of the pay scale -- store clerks typically make about $10 an hour. Such companies not only have low 401(k) participation rates, many also tend not to automatically enroll their workers, said BrightScope CEO Mike Alfred.