SEC Rules to Expose Executive Pay

Public companies will have to be a bit more revealing about what and how they are paying executives, say the new rules passed by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.

Under provisions that will go into effect later this year, companies will have to provide a figure for the total compensation they pay to executives each year, as well as a detailed breakdown of the different components of the compensation, including the value of retirement benefits.

The rules were in response to complaints that current compensation disclosures don't provide enough information to shareholders about what CEOs and other executives are actually paid and that they omit some crucial components of their compensation. ...