Because X Co. intends to pay the 2012 accrued bonus liability prior to March 15, 2013, the payments will not be treated as deferred compensation, and thus satisfy the economic performance test.

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Cuomo also subpoenaed seven former Merrill Lynch executives on March 6 over their bonus payments, a source close to the investigation told CNN.

CNN: Judge orders release of Merrill bonus recipient names

You may want to ask your employer to pay a bonus in December 2012 in lieu of a bonus otherwise payable in 2013 before March 15.

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But as we are now entering mid-March, and all bonus income has been paid, wage and salary growth before inflation seems to have stabilized at just over 2 percent year-over-year.

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According to Towers Perrin, a consultancy, data from American firms that had filed their 2008 proxy statements by the end of March show that, although median base-salaries rose slightly, the median annual bonus fell by 19%.

ECONOMIST: Restraints on executive pay

According to a survey of industry practices published by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) in March, many banks still fail to use risk-adjusted measures either to calculate the size of their bonus pool or to allocate it.

ECONOMIST: The revolution within