COLUMBUS, Ga., Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Aflac Chief Executive Officer Dan Amos said he would forfeit a $13 million severance package in his contract if he were to be fired by the supplemental insurer.
Known as a golden parachute, Amos's contract calls for the huge bonus if the health and life insurance company were sold or if he were fired, USA Today reported Friday.
"If they don't think I'm doing a good job, they don't have to worry about paying me off," Amos told USA Today.
Golden parachutes came under intense criticism as Congress was debating the $700 billion financial bailout package. Many wondered how a CEO could be fired and leave a company in shambles, while still receiving a huge severance package.
Amos has been Aflac CEO for almost nearly 20 years and was the first CEO to have his pay subjected to a non-binding shareholder vote.
He receives a salary of $4.3 million a year, but bonus pay and stock options in 2006 and 2007 topped $14 million, the newspaper reported.
