Ex-J&J CEO Weldon to walk with $143.5M in retirement

Outgoing Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) CEO William Weldon will take home $143.5 million in retirement benefits when he walks in April.

The veteran J&J employee racked up more than $95 million in deferred compensation and $48.4 million in pension benefits over more than 40 years with the health care titan, according to an SEC filing.

J&J announced in February that Weldon plans to step down on April 26, the day of the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting, and hand over the keys to the corner office to executive committee vice chairman Alex Gorsky.

J&J bumped Weldon’s 2012 pay by 30% to just over $5 million in salary and bonuses for the year. His $2 million 2012 salary is a modest 3% increase from last year, but his $3 million bonus represents a 55% spike over 2011. Weldon’s total take-home was $29.7 million in 2011 and $24.9 million in 2010.

Weldon, who began his career at J&J in 1971 and has been CEO since 2002, will remain chairman of the board, according to a regulatory filing. The board has yet to decide the proper compensation for Weldon in that role, a position that he wasn’t paid for while he was an employee.

Weldon also sits on the board of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM).

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