New regulations on executive compensation are exposing just how much many executives are receiving in retirement benefits - a major component of their pay packages. Just how large are these retirement benefits? Well, former Gannett chairman Douglas McCorkindale who retired last year with a $25 million retirement package in addition to his $21.1 million in deferred compensation. Interestingly, all but $1.7 million of this retirement income was derived from a special executive compensation plan that doesn't apply to normal employees.

The trend is only on the increase too. Executives of the Fortune 1000 companies offering supplemental executive retirement plans stands at about 69% of companies. Meanwhile, non-qualified deferred compensation plans are distributed amongst about 90% of Fortune 1000 companies. These numbers compare to just 21% of private sector employees covered by defined-benefit retirement plans and 42% covered by 401(k) plans. Clearly, there is a disconnect between executives and employees when it comes to retirement plans...