GlossarySummary Compensation Table columns
Perquisites
Also called perks, fringe benefits.
Personal benefits reported as part of All Other Compensation, such as aircraft use, security, or housing, when they meet Item 402 disclosure thresholds.
What it is
Perquisites are personal benefits the company provides: aircraft, cars, security, financial planning, housing, club dues, and similar items. In the SCT they are not their own column. They are included in All Other Compensation when they exceed Item 402’s disclosure threshold, with identity and value in footnotes.
Incremental cost to the company is the usual valuation, not the retail price of a charter flight. Security and aircraft to a remote home are often the largest S&P 500 perk lines.
Why companies use it
Companies argue some perks are for safety (security), efficiency (aircraft), or competitive necessity. They are still compensation under Item 402 once they are personal benefits.
A tax gross-up on a perk, where it still exists, is also other compensation.
Pros
- Can be cheaper than raising salary by the full retail cost of the benefit.
- Security programs may be framed as a corporate risk issue, not a lifestyle item.
- Footnote disclosure lets readers see the line items.
Cons
- Optics: a small perk can dominate coverage of a large equity grant.
- Incremental-cost accounting can look low next to the executive’s personal benefit.
- Not a separate CompensationBase bar; they sit inside Other.
Examples
Aircraft footnote
The CD&A may say the CEO is required to use company aircraft for all travel. The SCT Other footnote still lists the incremental cost of personal legs. That amount is perquisite disclosure, not a separate ranking column.
Below-threshold perks
Small benefits under the SEC’s dollar threshold may not be itemized. Absence of a jet line is not proof that no perks exist; it may mean they did not clear the disclosure bar.
On CompensationBase
Perquisites are not a separate CompensationBase column. They sit inside All Other Compensation when the company reports them there.
Related terms
- All other compensation
The SCT catch-all column for perquisites, certain pension amounts, and items not put in salary, bonus, or equity. Alternative-asset managers often report carried interest and partnership distributions here.
- Item 402
The SEC disclosure item that requires the Summary Compensation Table and related executive pay tables. CompensationBase is an Item 402 SCT reader, not a Form 4 or 8-K pay feed.