Title: Long-Term Incentives and Wealth Building
1Long-Term Incentivesand Wealth Building
- For most employees, their long-term security
needs are provided for by - Social security
- Their employer's retirement plan
2Long-Term Incentivesand Wealth Building
- For most employees, their long-term security
needs are provided for by - The continuation of their employer's medical and
insurance plans (and for a small group of
employees). - Employer-provided long-term compensation
arrangements.
3Wealth and Work in the United States
- The majority of the wealthy in this country did
not acquire their wealth through inheritance. - It was accumulated through earnings.
4WEALTH AND WORK IN THE UNITED STATES
- Savings, wisely invested and tax deferred,
coupled with valuable, company paid and tax free
benefits, provide ordinary workers an opportunity
to accumulate wealth.....
5WEALTH AND WORK IN THE UNITED STATES
- For those in more lofty positions of power within
most organizations, the opportunities for wealth
building are "remarkable".
6Tax Legislationand Long-Term Incentives
- Federal tax law and long-term compensation
practices are inextricably joined, (sometimes
dysfunctionally), but more often than not the
relationship has been constructive, and
economically rational.
7Tax Legislationand Long-Term Incentives
- Over the years Congress has used tax legislation
to promote both individual and corporate behavior
by - Providing a wide variety of deductions and
credits to corporate and individual income tax
obligations.
8Tax Legislationand Long-Term Incentives
- And
- Promoting individual security and enhancing the
lifestyles of all workers and their dependents.
9Fixed and VariableLong-Term Compensation
- The most common arrangements for long-term
compensation have been those that provide
retirement programs to supplement federal social
security benefits. - Additionally, many of these long-term
compensation plans involve the deferral of a
certain amount of current pay until retirement.
10Three Types Of Deferred Plans
- Qualified Deferred
- Capital Accumulation
- Other Deferred and Supplemental Retirement Income
Arrangements -
11Qualified Deferred Plans
- Plan qualification requirements are defined under
section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code and
the term qualified can relate to a variety of
employer-offered benefits.
12Qualified Deferred Plans
- Qualified, as it relates to pension, profit
sharing, and stock bonus plans, permits the
employer to deduct all contributions to such
plans in the year the contribution is made, and
none of the employer's contribution is treated as
employee taxable earnings until the employee
receives the distribution.
13"To Be Qualified"
- The plan must be in writing.
- The employee's rights under the plan must be
legally enforceable. - The employer must intend to maintain the plan
indefinitely. - The employer must provide for reasonable
notification to employees of benefits under the
plan.
14"To Be Qualified"
- The plan must be maintained for the exclusive
benefit of the employees. - The plan must be funded.
- The plan must be nondiscriminatory - it cannot
discriminate in favor of shareholders, officers,
or highly compensated employees.
15"To Be Qualified"
- Contributions and benefits covered by the plan
must become non-forfeitable according to
prescribed requirements.
16Qualified Deferred Plans
- Social Security
- Employer-Provided Retirement
- Savings or Thrift
- Cash or Deferred Arrangement (Coda)- 401 (K).
- SEP's and Keogh's
- Continuation of Employer-Provided Health and
Medical Insurance.
17Social Security
- More than 60 of all retirees depend on SS for
over one half of their retirement income.
60
18Qualified Retirement Plans
- About 50 of the non-farm U.S. workforce receive
some form of retirement protection from employers
through either - Private Pension
- Deferred Profit Sharing
- Stock Bonus Plans
19Private Pension Plans
- Defined Benefit Plan
- Includes a formula that defines the benefits an
employee is to receive. - Defined Contribution Plan
- Involves the payment of a specified annual amount
to the account of each participant.
20Pension Plans
- All pension plans are concerned with the
following five basic issues - Standard Retirement Age
- Size Of Benefit
- Discrimination In Plan Design
- Early Retirement
- Vesting
21Profit Sharing Plans
- The employers contributions to the plan are a
percentage of corporate profits. - There is no required contribution but employers
must make substantial and recurring contributions
to meet requirements.
22Profit Sharing Plans
- These plans are not usually set up with
retirement income in mind, and as a consequence
the normal method of distribution is lump-sum
payment.
23Stock Bonus Plan
- Employer contributes stock to the plan.
- The actual allocation among participants depends
on the same requirements as a defined benefits
and a defined profit sharing plan, although the
plan functions like a defined contribution plan.
24Plan Limitations
- There is a limit on the level of pay that can be
taken into account... Appropriate discounts for
early retirement...Special provisions for
survivors...Etc.
25Employee Stock Ownership Plan
- A defined contribution plan that operates like a
qualified stock bonus plan. (TRASOP'S and
PAYSOP'S were discontinued in 1986).
26Savings or Thrift Plans
- Possibly the most commonly provided defined
contribution plan. - Over the years many employers have developed
savings or thrift plans that encourage employees
to set aside certain amounts of earnings in order
to have a more secure retirement.
27Savings or Thrift Plans
- An employee can contribute up to 6 of eligible
annual compensation on either a before or after
tax basis with all or a portion of this amount
matched by the employer. - As a general practice the employee is given a
number of investment options to which his or her
funds can be directed.
28SAVINGS OR THRIFT PLANS
- All earnings in these plans are tax deferred
until the funds are distributed to the
participant.
29401 (K) Cash or Deferred Arrangement (CODA)
- The major feature of a 401 (k) plan is that
employees have the right to agree to a reduction
in salary in exchange for a comparable employee
contribution to a qualified trust. - The amount of deferred and accumulated earnings
are excluded from current income and are taxed
only when distributed.
30SepSimplified Employee Pension Plan
- Restricted to employers with less than 26
employees. They are restricted to most of the
same restrictions applicable to any qualified
plan.
31Keogh Plans
32Capital Accumulation
- Equity-Based Programs
- Provides employees (usually key executives) with
an opportunity to acquire stock in their
employer's corporation. - Almost all large corporations provide long-term
incentives for their executives with stock
options the most common type of award.
33Capital Accumulation
- Long-term Bonuses
- Plans designed to provide awards that are earned
over a specific period of time - anywhere from 2
to 5 to as high as 10 years into the future..
34Capital Accumulation
- Insiders - Outsiders
- The securities and exchange commission (sec)
issues regulations regarding the communication
and the acquisition of stock by certain key
personnel.
35Capital Accumulation
- The key personnel are the five most highly
compensated executives and their cash
compensation must be documented on corporate
proxy statements, registration statements, and
periodic reports . -
36Capital Accumulation
- The SEC defines "insiders" as officer, directors,
and those individuals holding 10 percent or more
of the stock in the corporation, and.... - They must disclose their stock ownership and
provide monthly reports of changes in amount of
ownership.
37Other Deferred and Supplemental Retirement
Income Arrangements
- A major issue that must be addressed by most
organizations is the pension plan payments to
highly compensated employees. - ERISA places a limit on pension payments (as of
1993) of 115,641. Highly paid employees
normally earn a higher retirement benefit than
that allowed by ERISA.
38TO OVERCOME THIS PROBLEM MANY ORGANIZATIONS HAVE
DEVELOPED "ERISA EXCESS BENEFIT PLANS" TO KEEP
THE HIGHLY PAID EXECUTIVES "WHOLE".
Other Deferred and Supplemental Retirement
Income Arrangements
- To overcome this problem many organizations have
developed ERISA excess benefit plans" to keep
the highly paid executives "whole". - Supplementary executive retirement plans (SERPs)
have since improved on and consumed the "excess
benefit plans" providing an even more attractive
benefit to the highly compensated executives.
39Other Deferred And Supplemental Retirement
Income Arrangements
- SERPs are unfunded, non-qualified retirement
plans. Payments come out of general company
assets or company-owned life insurance trusts. - Additionally, SERPs can and do provide retirement
benefits that are more generous than those
provided the rest of the workforce.
40Executive CompensationObscene or Motivational
- Base salary
- Short-Term bonuses
- Equity and equity related components (stock
ownership) - Long-Term performance bonuses
- Severance packages
- Supplemental retirement programs
- Special benefits and perquisites
41Executive CompensationObscene or Motivational
Executive Perks
- Company Car, Parking
- Club Membership
- Chauffeured Limousine
- Counseling Service
- Spouse Travel
- Use of Company Plane / Yacht
- Home Entertainment Allowance
- Special Living Accommodations
42Executive CompensationObscene or Motivational
Executive Perks
- Special Dining Rooms
- Company Credit Cards
- Medical Expense Reimbursement
- No-and-low Interest Loans
- College Tuition Reimbursement For Children