UK: directors' pensions - TUC survey published

The UK's Trades Union Congress has published its sixth annual PensionsWatch survey (prepared on its behalf by PIRC).  The survey analyses the pension arrangements of 346 directors from 102 companies (drawn from the FTSE100 and other large employers). The report's introduction states:

In the debate about executive remuneration, attention has tended to focus on the pay and bonuses that directors receive. Pensions are also an important part of these executive remuneration packages but can be the most opaque element, with limited information available in the public realm. The TUC maintains that pensions should be subject to the same level of scrutiny as other parts of directors' benefits packages. Investors need clear information about executive remuneration as a whole, including pensions, in order to effectively scrutinise company pay and benefits policies and hold boards of directors to account.

The TUC launched PensionsWatch in 2003 in order to track the pensions of directors and staff at the top firms in the UK. The central aim of the project is to give an insight into pensions provision at some of the biggest companies, with an emphasis on directors’ benefits. The project focuses on establishing the nature and level of pensions provision made available to directors, and examining whether there are elements of differential treatment for directors and other employees".

Note: the 2007 survey is available here.