MetLife CEO receives 2009 compensation package worth nearly $10 million, down 20 pct, says AP

AP tally shows MetLife CEO’s 2009 pay fell 20 pct

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — MetLife Inc. Chairman and CEO C. Robert Henrikson received compensation of $9.98 million in 2009, down 20 percent from the previous year, according to an Associated Press calculation of figures disclosed in a regulatory filing Tuesday.

Henrikson received a compensation package valued at $12.4 million in 2008.

The lower compensation for MetLife’s CEO came during a tumultuous year for the insurance sector. The industry struggled to regain profits as the broader financial-services sector was hit with the credit crisis. The New York-based life insurer lost $2.37 billion in 2009.

Henrikson’s base salary totaled $1 million in 2009, the same as in 2008. He received a performance-related cash bonus of $3.5 million in 2009, compared with $3.25 million in 2008.

His 2009 compensation also included stock options and restricted stock valued at nearly $5.2 million on the day they were granted. In 2008, he received similar awards valued at $7.76 million.

Henrikson received perks valued at $280,483 in 2009, including $170,000 in company contributions to retirement plans and $81,699 for personal aircraft use.

The AP’s executive pay calculation aims to isolate the value the company’s board placed on the CEO’s total compensation package. The figure includes salary, bonus, incentives, perks and the estimated value of stock options and awards.

The calculations don’t include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals that companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the SEC, which reflect the size of the accounting charge taken for the executive’s compensation in the previous fiscal year.

During 2009 shares of MetLife edged up nearly 4 percent to close out the year at $35.35.