Death Benefits Assure 'Golden Coffins'

In a story that no doubt will provide more mileage to critics of executive compensation, a front-page story in today's Wall Street Journal examines death benefits--sometimes called "golden coffins"-- in executive contracts.

Many companies accelerate unvested stock awards after a death and some promise severance payouts, "supercharged" pensions, or a combination of salaries and bonuses paid to heirs for years after they are dead.

The Securities and Exchange Commission requires companies to provide more detail on executive compensation.

The board of ComCast recently rescinded a salary-after-death provision for its 88-year-old chairman of its executive committee, Ralph J. Roberts, that would have paid him $2 million a year for five ears after his death. After criticism from shareholders, however, the provision was canceled. The heirs of current CEO, Brian Roberts (son of Ralph), would be paid for five years after his death, an estimated value of $60 million, according to the WSJ report.

The earliest so-called golden coffin was traced to Armand Hammer of Occidental Petroleum. His contract stipulated he be paid until his 99th year whether he was alive or dead. Hammer died in 1990 at age 92.