AIG reveals $455 million in bonuses payments for 2008

Beleaguered insurer American International Group Inc. said it had set aside and paid in part nearly $1.5 billion in retention and performance-related bonuses to its employees, more than previously disclosed.

The payments, $1 billion for retention purposes and more than $454 million that are performance-related, have been made as AIG received more than $180 billion from the federal government.

The New York-based company previously said it would pay about $1 billion in bonuses aimed at retaining employees through 2010.

But in answers to questions from a lawmaker that were released this week, AIG said it also paid more than $454.7 million in previously undisclosed performance bonuses to employees in 2008.

AIG was heavily criticized for awarding $165 million in bonuses in March; the money is included in the $1 billion in retention bonuses. Employees returned some of the money.

AIG told Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) that the performance bonuses were paid out by operating units, across its operations in some 120 countries. Cummings has been one of AIG’s sharpest critics.

The payments, on average, ranged from $4,994, to employees of its financial services business, to $51,026, for employees in the company’s asset management group.