Gone are the days when top executives received oodles of goodies from their companies, including tax gross-ups and personal use of the corporate jet. Fortune 100 companies are chopping most of the perquisites they previously offered to chief executive officers and other senior management, a trend that remains for the fifth straight year since 2005.

According to a report issued by executive compensation data firm Equilar, the top 100 companies in the United States continued to reduce perks offered to top management. Average perks received by officers was $228,929 last year compared to $249,632 in 2009. The 8.3 percent reduction (2009 to 2010) reflected a more modest cut compared to the 28.3 percent slash during the 2008 to 2009 periods.

Also on the chopping block are tax reimbursements paid to officers to compensate for tax payments incurred by some taxable perks awarded to officers. Average tax gross-ups fell by 48.4 percent to $13,911 in 2010 compared with $26,936 a year ago. Popularity of awarding tax gross-ups among Fortune 100 companies also declined to 25.3 percent last year from 50 percent in 2009.

The popular CEO transportation mode, corporate aircraft, has also been slashed. Average value related to personal use of corporate aircraft among CEOs was reduced by 20 percent to $92,421 in 2010 from $115,588 in 2009. The prevalence of aircraft perks decreased to 64.2 percent in 2010 from 66 percent a year ago.   

The overall tightening of corporate purse strings on perquisites for CEOs and other executives was due to the economic climate and harsh criticism from investors and shareholders over the boards' approach to fringe benefits, said Equilar.

Other findings in the Equilar 2011 Benefits and Perquisites Report include:

Accumulated Pension Benefits Remain Significant

- 66.3 percent ($9.9 million) of Fortune 100 companies reported accumulated pension benefit for their CEOs compared to 64.9 percent ($12 million) in the prior year. 

Non-qualified Deferred Compensation Plan Balances Increase

- 78.9 percent of companies in 2010 reported the deferred compensation plan. The average balance of these plans grew by 5.3 percent to $4 million in 2010 compared to $3.8 million in 2009.

Overall Prevalence of Key Perquisites Decreases

Eliminated Perks

- Last year, 14.7 percent of companies indicated that they would eliminate some executive perks in 2010 or by the beginning of 2011. The most frequently eliminated perks are tax reimbursements (7.4 percent), club memberships (2.1 percent), security (3.2 percent), financial planning (2 percent), and additional health benefits (2 percent).