Ex-CEO Gets $44-Million Severance

Former Morgan Stanley Chairman and Chief Executive Philip J. Purcell will receive $43.9 million in bonus money and $250,000 a year for life, plus health benefits and office help, as part of his severance from the company he led for eight years.

Purcell, 61, will receive half his bonus money next Jan. 15 and the rest one year later. The bonus will be adjusted by a percentage roughly equal to Morgan Stanley’s annual pretax earnings growth.

Under the agreement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, Purcell will receive the annual $250,000 payment for the rest of his life, and Morgan Stanley agreed to contribute an additional $250,000 a year in Purcell’s name to charities of his choice.

The company will also provide “administrative support” -- office facilities and assistance -- for his lifetime.

All of the awards and perks are contingent on Purcell’s staying away from Wall Street. Should he take a similar job with a Morgan Stanley competitor, he has to give it all up.

Morgan Stanley declined to comment on Purcell’s deal.

Purcell’s replacement, John J. Mack, is guaranteed to receive an annual salary and bonus package equal to the average compensation of Morgan Stanley’s top four competitors, with a cap of $25 million a year.

Purcell resigned under pressure from the company June 13 after a wave of top-level employee departures led a group of former executives to wage a public relations campaign calling for his job.