Analysis of Executive Perquisites Trends in S&P 100 Companies through 2024

Executive Perks Take Flight: How CEO Benefits Are Evolving in 2025

When it comes to executive compensation, perks are more than just luxury — they’re strategic tools tied to security, retention, and company reputation. FW Cook’s 2025 Executive Perquisites Report on S&P 100 companies sheds new light on how corporate America’s most powerful leaders are being supported beyond their paychecks.

Security and Private Jets Take Center Stage

The report shows a clear trend: companies are investing more heavily in their executives’ safety and convenience. Between 2021 and 2024, personal use of corporate aircraft by CEOs climbed from 70% to 76%, while security service provisions soared from 38% to 59%.

“Security is no longer a perk — it’s a necessity,”
— FW Cook 2025 Executive Perquisites Report

Security benefits now extend well beyond a bodyguard at the door. They often include home security systems, cybersecurity measures, private vehicles, and even personal aviation for safer travel. These programs are expected to grow through 2026 as companies respond to higher-profile security risks involving business leaders.

Median perk values reflect this shift:

• Personal aircraft use: up from $129,000 to $210,000

• Security services: up from $75,000 to $111,000

Most S&P 100 CEOs are required to use corporate aircraft for both business and personal travel due to company-wide security mandates.

Stable, Modest Perks Hold Steady

While air travel and protection costs soar, other perks remain stable. Company cars, tax and financial planning, executive physicals, life insurance, and charitable matching continue to appear regularly, with values usually below $25,000 annually.

“These steady perks may seem small, but they play a big role in executive well-being and financial clarity,”
— Corporate Compensation Consultant

A quick snapshot of prevalence across perks:

• Financial & tax planning: Offered to 40% of CEOs and NEOs; median value $15,000

• Company cars: Provided to 40% of CEOs; median value $22,000

• Executive physicals: 28% participation; steady at $7,000 median

• Security for non-CEOs: Rising trend; residential coverage between $15,000 and $35,000

Club memberships and long-term disability perks, once status symbols, are now seen in fewer than 5% of companies.

The New Normal of “Security-as-Strategy”

Beyond individual benefits, this trend reflects a deeper shift in how companies perceive executive risk. The lines between personal and corporate safety have blurred.

Companies are tightening travel rules, requiring the use of private jets, and extending cybersecurity protections to top leaders’ homes. Roughly 20% of companies impose spending limits — often around $250,000 — for personal jet use, and about 30% extend limited aviation perks to other executives with board or CEO approval.

In a climate where visibility comes with vulnerability, executive perks have evolved into a comprehensive safety strategy. As compensation committees look ahead, these benefits are poised to remain central to executive retention and risk management — not as indulgences, but as investments in leadership continuity.

“In today’s environment, protecting leadership means protecting the company itself.”
— FW Cook 2025 Executive Perquisites Report