report released Wednesday by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and the Center for Effective Government (CEG) titled "A Tale of Two Retirements" concludes that the company-sponsored retirement savings of America's top 100 CEOs equal what's in the retirement accounts of 41 percent of the U.S. population.

The study was put together by Sarah Anderson and Scott Klinger with assistance from Jessica Schieder. They point out that the retirement divide "is not the result of natural law, but rather the rules established that disproportionately reward company executives far more than ordinary workers." Anderson said: “This CEO-to-worker retirement gap is a lot bigger than the pay gap and one more indicator of the extreme level of inequality that is really tearing the country apart."

Key findings include:



• The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion. That’s equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American families (more than 50 million families and more than 116 million people). • On average, the CEOs’ nest eggs are worth more than $49.3 million, enough to generate

a $277,686 monthly retirement check for the rest of their lives. • David Novak of YUM Brands had the largest retirement nest egg in the Fortune 500 in

2014, with $234 million, while hundreds of thousands of his Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and

KFC employees have no company retirement assets whatsoever. Novak transitioned

from CEO to Executive Chairman in 2015. [...] • The top 10 largest CEO retirement funds—all held by white males—add up to $1.4

billion, compared to $280 million for the 10 largest retirement funds held by female

CEOs, and $196 million for the 10 largest held by CEOs who are people of color. • The far more disturbing racial and gender gaps among lower-income Americans are

even wider. For example, 62 percent of working age African-Americans and 69 percent

of Latinos have no retirement savings, compared to just 37 percent of white workers. [...] • Nearly half of all working age Americans have no access to any retirement plan at work.

The median balance in a 401(k) plan at the end of 2013 was $18,433, enough to generate a monthly retirement check of $104.

What's most irksome about this huge divide between Fortune 500 CEOs and rank-and-file Americans is that the system is engineered to give these and other executives favorable tax treatment unavailable to hoi polloi. The study's authors label these "platinum" retirement plans. At the same time, many hoi oligoi are doing what they can to increase the economic insecurity of their workers. The study notes that close to half of all working-age Americans have no company-sponsored retirement plan at all. And, of those "lucky" enough to have a 401(k) plan, the median balance at the end of 2013 was $18,433. That would provide a monthly retirement check of $104.

There's more below.