More companies are tying their CEO's pay to the company's performance, either financially or in the stock market. In many cases, specific targets have to be reached for CEO's to receive promised benefits. Over half of the companies surveyed had performance measures in place, up from 35% in 2009. Analysts say that the change reflects how companies and shareholders are viewing compensation and performance for CEOs.
See "'pay for Performance' No Longer a Punchline", Scott Thurm, The Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2013