AIG yanks $93 million in quickie payouts after Dems squawk

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Source: Financial Week

American International Group deferred $93.3 million in questionable payouts to senior executives and former employees and agents following the intercession of two Democratic lawmakers.

The lawmakers, Reps. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) and Joseph Crowley (D-NY), criticized the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve for approving the payments. The insurer is due to receive $150 billion under the federal bailout.

The employee payouts were to be made by April 1 after deferred compensation plans were terminated by the insurer, AIG said in a statement yesterday. Instead, only current employees and agents will now get the money in the next few months, while the others will have to wait until after they retire or leave the company, the statement said.

AIG had said in November that accelerating the deferred work payments would help retain key employees. But the congressional inquiries yielded information showing that $90 million would go to former employees and agents, the two lawmakers’ said in a statement. These payments would have no impact on keeping key personnel.

The congressmen’s questions also led to the determination that $3 million was to be going to several top AIG executives who are subject to limits on compensation under the bailout legislation enacted in October, the lawmakers said.

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