Many of the biggest CEO golden retirements can be found at the Business Roundtable. As the leaders of America’s largest companies, these CEOs are responsible for the shift away from defined-benefit pension plans. Not content to downsize their own employees’ retirement plans, these CEOs also want to privatize Social Security.
Social Security promises America’s working families a guaranteed annual retirement benefit for life. Nearly two-thirds of America’s retirees count on Social Security for most of their retirement income. The Business Roundtable, an exclusive club of top CEOs from America’s biggest companies, thinks this promise should be ended.
Instead, the Business Roundtable wants to privatize Social Security by creating individual accounts. The Business Roundtable is a founding member of the so-called “Coalition for the Modernization and Protection of America's Social Security.” This organization raised a $20 million war chest to advocate Social Security privatization.
Business Roundtable President John Castellani has pledged to “spend what it takes” to promote Social Security privatization. The Business Roundtable also has recruited privatization supporters to attend President George W. Bush’s pro-privatization Social Security events.
You might think that Business Roundtable CEOs would be true believers in individual accounts. In fact, many Business Roundtable CEOs will receive chart-topping defined-benefit pensions when they retire.
Out of the top 25 CEO pensions, 12 CEOs have been Business Roundtable members. And Pfizer CEO Henry McKinnell is the chairman of the Business Roundtable.
Pfizer is one of the few large U.S. corporations that has publicly supported President Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security. Pfizer joined the pro-privatization Alliance for Worker Retirement Security and has funded or played an active role in other groups that support private accounts, including the Cato Institute, American Legislative Exchange Council, USA Next and Americans for Tax Reform.
Business Roundtable CEOs and Their Golden Retirements
Rank | CEO | Company | Annual Pension |
1 | Lee R. Raymond | Exxon Mobil Corp. | $8,187,200 |
2 | Henry A. McKinnell | Pfizer Inc. | $6,518,459 |
5 | Robert L. Nardelli | The Home Depot Inc. | $4,612,500 |
6 | Samuel J. Palmisano | IBM | $4,550,000 |
10 | Richard K. Davidson | Union Pacific Corp. | $2,700,000 |
12 | James J. Mulva | ConocoPhillips | $2,600,000 |
13 | Vance D. Coffman | Lockheed Martin Corp. | $2,591,856 |
18 | E. Neville Isdell | Coca-Cola Co. | $2,500,000 |
19 | Arthur F. Ryan | Prudential Financial Inc. | $2,456,000 |
20 | Lewis Hay | FPL Group Inc. | $2,430,134 |
21 | Sidney Taurel | Eli Lilly and Co. | $2,300,000 |
22 | Jeffrey R. Immelt | General Electric Co. | $2,300,000 |
Source: Pension estimates provided by The Corporate Library
Learn more about corporate lobbying for Social Security privatization.
