The 2024 S&P 500 Director Compensation Snapshot highlights data and year-over-year changes in director compensation among S&P 500 boards. It also includes 10- and 20-year comparisons to provide context for some of today’s most significant trends, revealing where small annual incremental shifts are part of more significant long-term changes.
Here are some highlights from the report.
-
The average total compensation for S&P 500 directors (excluding independent chairs’ fees) is $327,096, an increase of 1.8% from 2023 ($321,220).
-
Stock accounts for 58% of director compensation, with cash accounting for 37% for the third year in a row.
- The average annual retainer for S&P 500 independent directors is $144,077, up only slightly from $143,106 in 2023. Over the past 20 years, director retainers have increased 5.4% on an annualized basis.
- More than three-quarters of boards (76%) grant stock awards to directors, up from 74% in 2023. The average targeted dollar value of annual stock awards is $190,489, up 2.7% from $185,460 in 2022.
- For the first time in two decades, the number of companies awarding directors stock options increased in 2024. This year, 10% of boards awarded stock options to directors, worth an average of $140,405 — a 6.5% increase from 2022. In 2004, 68% of boards granted stock options; that fell to 18% by 2014 and 7% in 2023.
- Of the 190 S&P 500 boards with independent chairs, all but six provide the chair with additional compensation. This chair premium averages $173,279, a 1.3% decrease from $175,519 last year, and ranges from $25,000 to $500,000.
- Most S&P 500 boards (97%) provide a supplemental retainer for service as a committee chair, compared with 95% a decade ago. Among these boards, audit committee members and chairs tend to receive the highest supplemental retainer.