Severance benefits and stock appreciation rights were also issued to 29 other Chrysler executives, but only Mr. Eaton was given the pension sweetener.

And pension sweeteners could be offered in lieu of wage increases when times were tight, since costs could be deferred.

Similar pension sweeteners have backfired in Philadelphia, San Diego and Milwaukee.

This page has already urged the Governor to veto an outrageous pension sweetener for New York City teachers.

He also received a pension sweetener that could be worth $360,000 a year for life if he stays with the new company three years.

Even some of Dr. Crew's strongest allies said privately yesterday that his request for a pension sweetener was unreasonable because it came so late.

Voters in Houston made that choice after learning that pension sweeteners issued there in 2001 were allowing some people to retire in their 40s.

Now the Mayor has placed the school aid formula and a proposed pension sweetener that he opposes for municipal employees at the top of his political agenda.

Each year more employees were enticed to retire earlier with pension sweeteners culminating in a mass exodus of foremen, supervisors and managers in 2002.

The law is the latest in a long list of pension sweeteners that have driven up pension costs by billions of dollars.