“Our executive-compensation plan is tied to our company performance and based on objective, measurable criteria which aligns our executive interests with those of shareholders,” Brian Grace, director of communications, said by e-mail. “Regarding our 401(k) program, we believe in investing in our employees’ future.”
Unlike ordinary employees with 401(k)s, who can only set aside $18,000 a year of their own pay and an extra $6,000 if they’re 50 or older, top executives can often place unlimited amounts in special deferred-compensation plans. Some companies offer sweeteners including supplemental executive retirement plans.
Michael Neidorff, the chairman, president and CEO of Centene Corp., a provider of health plans to Medicaid recipients and other low-income Americans, saw the biggest gain in his retirement savings over five years, according to the study. He had $139.2 million in his deferred-compensation account at the end of 2015, a sevenfold jump from 2010.
Centene representatives couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
“These deferred-compensation plans make visible the high-level wealth that CEOs can accumulate, sometimes over long careers,” said Gary Hewitt, a director at Sustainalytics, an Amsterdam-based corporate governance and investment research firm. “And CEOs take advantage of these plans because they believe they’ll be taxed lower when they withdraw their money than when they put it in.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.