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GE Settles SEC Welch Perk Probe The Associated Press General Electric Co. said Thursday it has settled an informal investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission into its employment and post-retirement agreement with former chief executive Jack Welch. The SEC order found that company filings did not fully describe the extent of Welch's benefits and did not completely disclose the facilities and services that he continues to access through GE since his retirement. The company said it cooperated with the SEC and neither admitted nor denied the commission's findings. Under Welch's agreement, which was first included in GE's SEC annual filing in 1996 and thereafter until 2002, the executive was allowed continued access to GE facilities and services for the remainder of his life comparable to those he enjoyed as CEO. Included in the agreement were such items as access to company aircraft, cars, offices, apartments and financial planning services. The SEC opened the investigation in Sept. 2002 and GE's board withdrew many of the perks at Welch's request. Shares of General Electric fell 29 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $33.44 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
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