Benefits May 21, 2010

Study Finds S&P 400 CEO Pay Rose in 2009

May 21, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A new report from Equilar indicates that total S&P 400 CEO compensation rose slightly from 2008 to 2009, and bonuses are on the rise.
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Equilar’s analysis based on the proxy filings of 304 companies in the S&P 400 with fiscal years ending between June 30, 2009, and January 31, 2010, also finds that early-2009 equity awards have risen significantly in value due to the market rebound, while 2008 equity awards remain mostly underwater.  

According to a press release, median S&P 400 CEO compensation rose slightly from 2008 to 2009, increasing 1.7%. The median CEO’s pay was $3.76 million in 2009, compared to $3.7 million in 2008.  

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Bonus payouts surged from a median of $656,531 in 2008 to a median of $732,331 in 2009, an 11.6% increase. A quarter of CEOs received no bonus this year, compared to 27.8% who received no bonus last year.  

Equilar found bonuses to be responsive to performance, the press release said. CEOs in the top-performing quartile of companies had a median bonus increase of 66.7% from 2008 to 2009, while those in the bottom quartile saw a median bonus decrease of 32.6%.  

Health care CEOs had the highest median total pay, at $5.5 million in 2009. The Consumer Goods and Utilities industries saw the greatest pay growth, with increases of 12.5% and 13.9%, respectively, from 2008 to 2009.   

Options granted in early 2009, when markets were at record lows, were frequently increased in size to compensate for decreased value. These options are seeing major gains in intrinsic value as the market has recovered. However, nearly 71% of options granted in 2008 remain underwater.  

Equilar said all companies in the analysis had CEOs in place for two or more years, to avoid distortion from new-hire awards.  

To request a copy of the report, go to http://info.equilar.com/CEOPayStrategiesMidCaps.html.

Compliance May 21, 2010

IRS Provides 401(k) Questionnaire Details

May 21, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said a random sample of 1,200 401(k) sponsors this week will be notified that they have been selected to fill out an online compliance check questionnaire.
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An IRS news release said results of the Web poll would help the tax agency better target its oversight efforts over the retirement savings plans. “The information gathered from the Questionnaire will provide a comprehensive view of 401(k) plans and will help (the IRS) maximize its resources for education, outreach, guidance and enforcement efforts while minimizing the burden to compliant plan sponsors,” the IRS said in the announcement.

Coordinated by the IRS Employee Plans Compliance Unit (EPCU), the survey seeks plan information on:

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  • Demographics
  • Participation
  • Employer and employee contributions
  • Top-heavy and nondiscrimination testing
  • Distributions and plan loans
  • Other plan operations
  • Automatic contribution arrangements
  • Designated Roth features
  • IRS voluntary compliance and correction programs
  • Plan administration

The tax agency said sponsors will only be asked to supply information specifically pertaining to their plan’s features; sections of the online survey document not applicable to the plan should not appear as the sponsor completes the requested answers. Each sponsor will also receive a paper copy of the survey with instructions to help formulate the plan’s online responses, the IRS said.

While noting that the effort was not a formal IRS audit, the agency said failure to respond or provide complete information will result in further action or examination of the plan.

Filing Out the Survey

Other instructions offered by the IRS include that sponsors should:

  • Answer the questions for the specific plan referenced in the cover letter, not including controlled group or affiliated service group members.
  • Unless otherwise indicated, provide responses as of the end of this Plan’s 2008 plan year.
  • Provide the most complete and accurate answers possible. Be sure to limit responses to the information requested and do not send books or records.
  • When completing questions which ask for dollar amounts or percentages, round the amounts to the nearest dollar or percentage unless otherwise instructed.
  • Click on “Save and Continue” to save responses for a particular page.
  • When returning to the Questionnaire to continue responding, navigate to the page where answers were most recently provided  by clicking “Save and Continue”.  
  • In some cases, a particular response to a question will cause follow-up questions to appear. These follow-up questions must also be answered before proceeding to the next page. 

More Information from the IRS   

General information about the survey, including a list of frequently asked questions and a glossary, is here.

Instructions on completing the survey are here.

A copy of the survey is here.

Questions about the survey should be addressed to EPCU@irs.gov with "401(k) Plan Questionnaire" in the subject line.

Word of the tax agency's compliance audits was released earlier this year (see IRS Compliance Audits Could Start This Month: Eisner LLP).  

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