Pity the CEO this holiday season—they’ve taken a hit in their projected monthly retirement income.
A new report from left-leaning Institute for Policy Studies finds the top 100 CEOs will only receive $253,088 each month for the rest of their lives, on average, down from $277,686 in last year’s report.
Nonetheless, their companies must have a fantastic 401k match, as these CEOs have company retirement funds worth $4.7 billion—a sum equal to the entire retirement savings of the 41 percent of U.S. families with the smallest nest eggs, the Institute finds.
This $4.7 billion total is also equal to the entire retirement savings of the bottom:
- 59 percent of African-American families
- 75 percent of Latino families
- 55 percent of female-headed households
- 44 percent of white working class households
As mentioned, the top 100 CEO nest eggs are large enough to generate for each of these executives a $253,088 monthly retirement check for the rest of their lives.
- Among ordinary workers, those lucky enough to have 401k plans had a median balance at the end of 2013 of $18,433, enough for a monthly retirement check of just $101.
- Of workers 56 to 61 years old, 39 percent have no employer-sponsored retirement plan whatsoever and will likely depend entirely on Social Security, which pays an average benefit of $1,239 per month.
With nearly $3 billion in special tax-deferred accounts, Fortune 500 CEOs stand to gain enormously from Trump’s proposed tax cuts on top earners, the Institute adds.
- If President-elect Donald Trump succeeds in cutting the top marginal tax rate from 39.6 percent to 33 percent, Fortune 500 CEOs would save $196 million on the income taxes they would owe if they withdrew their tax-deferred funds.
- Unlike “ordinary” 401k holders, most top CEOs have no limits on annual contributions to their tax-deferred accounts. In 2015 alone, Fortune 500 CEOs saved $92 million on their taxes by putting $238 million more in these accounts than they could have if they were subject to the same rules as other workers.
- Michael Neidorff, the CEO of Centene, a provider of health plans to Medicaid recipients and other low-income Americans, has nearly $140 million in his deferred compensation account, up 658 percent since the 2010 launch of Obamacare.
The retirement asset gap between CEOs mirrors the racial and gender divides among ordinary Americans.
- The 10 white male CEOs with the largest retirement funds hold a combined $1.4 billion, more than eight times more than the 10 CEOs of color with the largest retirement assets and nearly five times as much as the top 10 female CEOs.
“While slashing jobs and benefits for ordinary workers, CEOs of large companies have been feathering their own nests,” Sarah Anderson, report co-author and director of the IPS Global Economy Project, said in a statement. “It’s no wonder so many American workers are concerned about whether their golden years will be tarnished by financial stress.”
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
