Money / executive bonuses Exec Pensions Soared as Stocks Tanked Multi-million-dollar payouts escape pay watchdog scrutiny By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff Posted Nov 3, 2009 4:47 AM CST Copied Executive retirement plans have been largely overlooked by regulators probing compensation, a Wall Street Journal analysis finds. (Shutter Stock) Steep increases in the pensions of top execs passed largely unnoticed amid the recent uproar about pay and bonuses. The average pension for a top executive rose 19% last year even as share prices fell by an average of 37%. More than 200 execs saw pensions boosted by over 50% by firms using little-scrutinized compensation techniques, finds a Wall Street Journal analysis of 340 firms. (More executive bonuses stories.) Report an error