FERF releases 6th annual compensation survey.

• Position: FEI NEWS - Financial Executives Research Foundation

How does your and your staff's pay stack up against your peers' compensation? The 6th annual Financial Executives Research Foundation survey of financial executives, Financial Executive Compensation Survey 2012, sheds some light on executive compensation.

This latest study was based on feedback from 714 executives regarding salaries, bonuses, long-term incentives and retirement benefits. Compared to last year's findings, the percentage of responses from private companies increased slightly (from 57 percent in 2011 to 63 percent in 2012), while those from public companies decreased slightly--35 percent in 2011 to 30 percent in 2012.

For those respondents who said their compensation had increased, the estimated average salary hike for all respondents was 4 percent, compared to 3 percent last year. About one-quarter of respondents receive a long-term cash incentive, while 48 percent receive some form of stock-based incentive compensation. Stock options (15 percent) were the most cited.

The majority of respondents (79 percent) reported participating in a defined contribution plan with a matching employer contribution. The average employer match is 4 percent for both public and private companies, comparable to last year's...