Sprint - Nextel 2013 Annual Report Download - page 80

Table of Contents
Other Components of Executive Compensation
Our named executive officers' total rewards opportunities consist of a number of other elements important to our compensation philosophy for 2013
of attracting, retaining, and motivating our named executive officers:
The Sprint Corporation Change in Control Severance Plan, which we refer to as the CIC plan, provides severance benefits to a select group of
senior executives, including our named executive officers, in the event of a qualified termination of employment in connection with a transaction
that results in a change in control. Any of these benefits payable would be reduced to the extent of any severance benefit otherwise available
under any other applicable policy, program, or plan so that there would be no duplication of benefits. The benefits upon termination in
connection with a change
78
•
Employee Benefit Plans and Programs. Our compensation program includes a comprehensive array of health and welfare benefits in which our
eligible employees, including our named executive officers, are eligible to participate. We pay all of the costs for some of these benefit plans, and
participants contribute a portion of the cost for other benefit plans.
•
Retirement Programs. Our retirement program consists of the Sprint Corporation 401(k) Plan, which provides participants a fixed matching
contribution on up to 4% of eligible compensation, an opportunity to build financial security for their future. The amount of any matching
contributions made by us to participating named executive officers is included in the "All Other Compensation" column of the 2013 Summary
Compensation Table.
•
Deferred Compensation. Certain employees, including our named executive officers, are offered the opportunity to participate in the Sprint
Corporation Deferred Compensation Plan, a nonqualified and unfunded plan, under which they may defer to future years the receipt of certain
compensation in addition to that eligible under the 401(k) plan. Participants may elect to defer up to 50% of base salary and 75% of STIC plan
payments. We believe this plan helps attract and retain executives by providing the participant another tax efficient retirement plan. Participants
elect to allocate deferred and any matching contributions among one or more hypothetical investment options, which include one option that
tracks our common stock and other options that track broad
- based bond and equity indices. Our plan provides for a matching contribution
using the same matching contribution percentage as our 401(k) plan of eligible earnings above the applicable annual limit, which is intended to
compensate highly
- compensated employees for limitations placed on our 401(k) plan by federal tax law. For 2013, Mr. Hesse participated in the
Sprint Corporation Deferred Compensation Plan.
•
Personal Benefits and Perquisites. The limited personal benefits and perquisites that we provide to our named executive officers are intended to
promote executive retention and to allow our executives to maximize their focus on the company. These benefits are summarized in footnote 5 to
the 2013 Summary Compensation Table. As a result of the recommendations contained in an independent third
- party security study, the
Compensation Committee established an overall security program for Mr. Hesse. Under the security program, we currently provide Mr. Hesse
with residential security systems and equipment, and he is required to use our aircraft for business and non
- business travel. We believe these
measures ensure the safety of Mr. Hesse and allow him to devote his full attention to Company business. Mr. Hesse is permitted to have his
family accompany him on the corporate aircraft for business and non
- business travel.
•
Change in Control. If a transaction that could result in a change in control were under consideration, we expect that our named executive
officers would face uncertainties about how the transaction may affect their continued employment with us. We believe it is in our stockholders'
best interest if our named executive officers remain employed and focused on our business through any transition period following a change in
control and remain independent and objective when considering possible transactions that may be in stockholders' best interests but possibly
result in the termination of their employment. Our change in control benefits accomplish this goal by providing each eligible named executive
officer with a meaningful severance benefit in the event that a change in control occurs and, within a specified time period of the change in
control, his employment is involuntarily terminated without "cause" or voluntarily terminated for "good reason."