Highest-paid exec pay dips 7.4 percent: ERI Economic Research Institute study

Total compensation of the highest-paid executives at publicly traded companies dipped 7.4 percent in the past 12 months, according to a recent study.

According to Redmond-based ERI Economic Research Institute, the executives’ overall total compensation decreased but base salaries remained about the same and other parts of compensation, including pension benefits and nonequity incentives, increased.

The average highest-paid top executive received $17.7 million in total compensation in February 2009, down from $19.1 million in February 2008. Executives were hit by a drop in stock options compensation, which was down more than 10 percent from last year.

ERI studied compensation data from a group of 45 companies it said it selected from nearly 6,500 companies that report compensation data to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: http://triangle.bizjournals.com