Investors skeptical of shift in executive pay

With companies increasingly dropping environmental, social and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) factors from their executive pay plans, there’s sharp disagreement between investors and issuers as to how these kinds of changes should be viewed by proxy advisory firms, according to the latest voting policy survey from ISS Governance.

The firm published the results of its latest annual global benchmark policy survey, which it uses to help craft its voting policies for the upcoming proxy season. READ MORE

New Report Reveals 2026 CEO Pay Trends: Profitability Over Growth, Bonuses Under Pressure

Chief Executive Group just released the 2025–26 CEO & Senior Executive Compensation Report for Private U.S. Companies, the most trusted annual benchmarking resource for executive compensation across privately held businesses in the U.S.

In this latest edition, data shows that actual bonus payouts as a percentage of base salary have been lagging for CEOs since coming out of COVID and the trend seems to be here to stay. The study finds that for the first time in four years, the bonus target for the CEO has fallen, while base salary increases are hardly keeping up with inflation. READ MORE

Tesla Urges Shareholders To Vote In Favor Of $1 Trillion CEO Compensation Package For Elon Musk

In a post shared on the social media platform X on Monday, the company urged its shareholders and investors to vote in support of the Board. "Our next chapter will help create a world we've only begun to imagine & put the world on a path towards sustainable abundance for all," referring to the Master Plan IV released by the company, which focuses heavily on Robotics and AI.

"We are asking shareholders to vote with our Board's recommendations on *all* proposals," the company said and added guidance on how they can vote during the process. READ MORE

Equity Compensation Plays Major Role in Workers’ Retirement Plans and Financial Wellbeing

Equity compensation is far more than a workplace perk for employees at firms offering this benefit. According to a new survey from Charles Schwab of stock plan participants, three-quarters (76%) say equity compensation is very important, and nearly half consider it a “must-have” benefit when evaluating a new job. Half view equity compensation as a critical tool to help achieve retirement goals, and many say it will help them build/increase wealth (38%), learn more about investing (37%), alleviate financial stress (32%), and boost employee morale (32%). Participants say company stock makes up about one-third of their overall investment portfolios on average. READ MORE

Incentivizing compliance and disincentivizing non-compliance

The relationship between employee compensation, recognition, and an organization's culture of compliance is increasingly under scrutiny. Regulators, stakeholders and boards are recognizing that how employees are paid, rewarded and potentially penalized can significantly influence behavior.

Effectively integrating compliance considerations into compensation structures requires an integrated approach, encompassing mechanisms to penalize wrongdoing and strategies to proactively incentivize ethical behavior and adherence to
compliance norms.

Effectively integrating compliance considerations into compensation structures requires an integrated approach, encompassing mechanisms to penalize wrongdoing and strategies to proactively incentivize ethical behavior and adherence to compliance norms. READ MORE

Employee compensation in 2026: What’s driving more cautious investments?

A recent survey has found that budgets for employee compensation in 2026 are projected to be about on par with where they were this year—and ongoing economic uncertainty could be keeping compensation investments flat. 

Mercer’s U.S. Compensation Planning survey found that employers plan to boost their compensation budgets by 3.1% for merit increases and 3.5% for total salary increases for non-unionized employees. That’s consistent with 2025, as employers have delivered actual merit and total salary increases of 3.2% and 3.5%, respectively. READ MORE

Recognition’s Rise in the New World of Total Rewards

Deloitte’s 2018 High-Impact Total Rewards study revealed a great deal of room for improvement within the world of rewards. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) for rewards at the time was an abysmal negative-15, and rewards offerings were actually hurting organizations’ employment brand. Recognition, in particular, was largely untapped. It’s human nature to seek acknowledgement for a job well done, but the status quo for recognition programs rarely rose above common and routine activities like service anniversaries. Only 2% of surveyed organizations considered recognition to be a competitive differentiator, and 31% did not consider recognition to be a differentiator at all.  READ MORE

Salary by Education Level in the United States

In the U.S., the connection between education and income is stark, with higher education leading to higher median earnings consistently.

This visualization highlights how median annual salaries change at each successive level of educational attainment in the United States, using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2024. READ MORE

Americans value college less than ever, but here’s what salary data says

Americans’ belief in the necessity of a college degree has dropped sharply over the past decade. Only about one in three U.S. adults now say higher education is "very important," down from three-quarters in 2010, according to a new Gallup poll.

Yet Census Bureau data shows that college still pays off in significant ways, with median earnings for degree holders nearly double those of high school graduates. READ MORE

BofA Raises U.S. Minimum Hourly Wage to $25, Increasing Starting Salary to More Than $50K

Today, Bank of America announced it has raised its U.S. minimum hourly wage to $25 per hour. With the increase, the minimum annualized salary for full-time employees in the U.S. will rise to more than $50,000. The increase, which goes into effect in early October, applies to all full-time and part-time hourly positions in the U.S., affecting thousands of employees across the nation and helping to fuel the growth of the American economy and create job opportunities that strengthen the communities the company serves. READ MORE

Fox CEO Suzanne Scott's net worth and staggering salary

As the first female CEO of FOX News, Suzanne Scott is thought to take home seven figures as the senior face of the broadcasting company.

Fox News, which is currently under fire from President Trump, began in 1996 with Scott joining at the very beginning. Rising through the ranks, Suzanne took over as the network's CEO from late Roger Ailes in 2018. Ailes resigned in 2016 amid sexual harassment allegations. READ MORE

The objectives of executive compensation and how to measure them

The basic objectives of executive compensation have been the same since the rise of large companies in the late 19th century: provide strong incentives to increase shareholder value, retain key talent and limit shareholder cost. What’s changed over time is the dominant approach to achieving these objectives. In the first half of the 20th century, companies relied heavily on fixed sharing to achieve the three objectives. Since then, public companies have shifted their focus from fixed sharing to competitive pay in the labor market. READ MORE

Elon Musk's $1 trillion pay deal is ambitious — but so was his last 'mammoth' one, tech guru says

Tesla's $1 trillion pay deal for Elon Musk has triggered the same skepticism that greeted his ambitious 2018 pay deal, tech investor Eric Schiffer has said.

In a wide-ranging interview with Business Insider, the CEO of private-equity firm the Patriarch Organization said Musk's previous deal also tied a "mammoth" payout to extremely challenging goals. READ MORE

Tips on Taking the Emotion Out of Pay Conversations

“Pay is personal.” It’s a mantra every manager in your organization should repeat when going into a pay conversation with an employee. There are aspects of pay that might be unrelated to work, and a manager should be prepared for anything. It’s exactly why being prepared with data and facts can turn pay conversations from emotional to meaningful. READ MORE

Pay raises will be stagnant in 2026 as companies 'reorient' to economic uncertainty

If you’re setting your sights on a big pay raise next year, you may want to temper your expectations.

Most employers plan to notch up salaries by an average of 3.4% in 2026 — on par with this year’s reported increases, according to a new survey from The Conference Board.

“Today’s labor market is one of reorientation, not retreat,” Mitchell Barnes, an economist at The Conference Board, told Yahoo Finance. “Employers anticipate steady compensation growth in 2026, but the underlying mix suggests some companies are scaling back, including signing and retention bonuses.” READ MORE

17 People Are Sharing The "Unknown" Jobs That Pay Unexpectedly Well

When one is looking for a high-paying job, others typically suggest career fields such as medicine, tech, finance, etc. However, there are many jobs out there that pay well without people realizing it... READ MORE

Discover the 10 College Majors with the Best Salary Potential After Graduation

Choosing a college major is a big decision, and while passion matters, so does having a paycheck to help pay off the student loans you take out along the way.

A 2025 analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows some fields can lead to starting salaries of $80,000 or more, while others offer steady career growth and lower unemployment.1 Whether you’re aiming for top dollar or a career you love, knowing your earning potential can help you make a smarter choice. READ MORE

Say-on-pay support stays steady and other lessons from the 2025 proxy season

With the 2025 North American proxy season now officially closed, emerging trends in executive compensation are offering valuable insights and shaping important considerations for boards going forward. Here, we explore some of these issues and ways boards and management teams can start to incorporate these into planning for next year’s shareholder meeting. READ MORE

Employers need to pay workers faster — or someone else will

For financially rattled U.S. workers, cash flow is king — which is why more employees are asking, or demanding, to get their wages paid as speedily as possible.

Take gig drivers for brands like Uber and Lyft. They’re telling their bosses that times are tough, and to stay on top of household financial obligations, they want their regular paychecks accelerated. READ MORE

Tesla CFO unloads more stock as CEO pay battle brews

While non-binding, “say on pay” votes — which the SEC mandates must be held every three years by public entities — serve as a barometer regarding shareholders’ views of executive compensation, and failing votes can provide a strong signal of such to leadership and the company’s board. As of June 26, only five companies in the S&P 500 saw failing say on pay votes, according to a recent post on the Harvard Law School’s Forum for Corporate Governance. READ MORE