Stock Benefits Boost Kemper Leader’s Pay

Kemper Chairman David B. Mathis got an 83 percent increase in compensation last year, largely due to one-time stock benefits triggered by an unconsummated merger, the company’s proxy statement shows.

The statement mailed by the financial services company to shareholders this week said Mathis’ compensation rose to $5.3 million in 1994 from $2.9 million the previous year.

It said $1.7 million of the increase resulted from Kemper’s June 1994 agreement to be acquired by Conseco Inc.

The company said his benefit from the failed Conseco deal may have been overstated because the value of the stocks he received has declined from a high of $65 a share last year to as low as $36.

The Conseco deal unraveled in November for lack of financing. Kemper agreed earlier this week to be acquired by Swiss-owned Zurich Insurance Group for $2.6 billion.