The value of “other compensation” reported for Fortune 100 executives—which chiefly includes benefits and perks—reached a median $126,550 in fiscal year 2015, representing a 14.5% increase from $110,557 in 2014, according to a recent Equilar report.
By comparison, median total compensation for the executives in the study increased 4.2% in 2015. Of course, total comp is inclusive of much larger figures. Median pay overall grew from $7.1 million to $7.4 million for the highest-paid executives at Fortune 100 companies, and despite that 14.5% growth, the spike in median “other compensation” in absolute dollars fell just shy of $16,000.
Still, the fact that perk values experienced double-digit growth is worth noting, given investor scrutiny around any executive pay that is not tied to performance, and special perks that are not available to employees across the organization. When companies do award perks with high dollar values, it behooves them to include detailed explanations in their SEC filings of why those perks are included.
Dan Marcec is the editor-in-chief of C-Suite. He can be reached at dmarcec@equilar.com.