GM CEO Rick Wagoner's pension valued at $20 million

— -- General Motors' ousted CEO Rick Wagoner has at least one thing to look forward to: retirement.

Wagoner departs the ailing automaker with a pension with a current value of more than $20 million, resulting from his more than 31 years at the company, according to regulatory filings.

While pensions are commonplace in the auto industry, it's still painful to watch the top executive walk away from a company left in such bad shape with such a large payout, says Ric Marshall, chief analyst of The Corporate Library.

Compensation expert Graef Crystal says the $20 million pension is not out of line for someone with three decades of experience, although many companies have dropped these plans.

Wagoner, 54, is not eligible for the $20 million until he's 60, but Crystal advises him to take a reduced amount now if he can. If GM goes into bankruptcy protection, only $833,000 of the pension is protected, Crystal says. Wagoner risks losing the rest in a bankruptcy settlement.

This isn't the first time a GM executive left with a big pension. Outrage erupted in 1990 after GM's retiring chairman Roger Smith walked with a pension payout worth $1.2 million a year.

Other companies have had even larger payouts. When Pfizer CEO Henry McKinnell stepped down in 2006, he was eligible for a lump-sum pension payment of $83 million, AFL-CIO PayWatch says.

While pension payouts seem lucrative, such plans are typical in the auto industry, says Steven Hall of Steven Hall & Partners. Also, Wagoner will not get any severance connected with his forced departure. Even a laid-off factory worker would likely get some form of severance, says Tim Haigh, compensation expert at W.T. Haigh & Co.

Marshall says top executives at companies that run into trouble should have the conscience to at least forfeit some of their rewards. "Let's be outraged," he says, "but let's move on."