CenturyTel CEO's 2008 Compensation Valued At $7.6M

In addition, Post received $193,901 in insurance premiums paid, $131,164 in tax reimbursements for these premiums and $94,340 in what the company called "plan contributions," which generally refer to retirement plans.

Post's compensation package also included $4.65 million in restricted stock, a 23 percent decline from the prior year.

The AP's total pay calculations include executives' salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Monroe, La.-based CenturyTel's shares lost 34 percent of their value in 2008.