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Do corporate managers skimp on shareholders' dividends to protect their own retirement funds?

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  • Eisdorfer, Assaf
  • Giaccotto, Carmelo
  • White, Reilly

Abstract

What is the impact of long-term executive compensation, particularly large pension payouts, on the firm's current dividend policy? We argue that managers with high pension holdings are less likely to adopt a high dividend policy that can risk their future pension payouts. Using a hand-collected actuarial pension dataset we show that (i) dividend payments are significantly lower when manager compensation relies more heavily on pension payouts; (ii) higher compensation leverage and inside debt have a significant negative effect on dividend payments net of stock repurchases; and (iii) the negative effect of pension on dividend is significantly weaker when pensions are protected in a pre-funding rabbi trust. We show further that this agency behavior reduces firm performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Eisdorfer, Assaf & Giaccotto, Carmelo & White, Reilly, 2015. "Do corporate managers skimp on shareholders' dividends to protect their own retirement funds?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 257-277.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:30:y:2015:i:c:p:257-277
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2014.12.005
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    6. Nilakshi Borah & Hui Liang James & Jung Chul Park, 2020. "Does CEO inside debt compensation benefit both shareholders and debtholders?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 159-203, January.
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    9. Nie, George Y., 2024. "The Missing Dimension of Risk: Evidence from Inside Debt Maturity and Acquisition Choices," SocArXiv jd3c2, Center for Open Science.
    10. Mostafa Monzur Hasan & Ashrafee T. Hossain & Takdir Hossain, 2022. "CEO inside debt holdings and trade credit," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(3), pages 3677-3709, September.
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    12. Freund, Steven & Latif, Saira & Phan, Hieu V., 2018. "Executive compensation and corporate financing policies: Evidence from CEO inside debt," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 484-504.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Executive compensation; Dividend policy; Agency theory;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G35 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Payout Policy
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods

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