The value of top executives's pensions rose an average of 19 percent last year even as their companies' share prices dropped, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Over 200 executives saw pensions jump over 50 percent. The spike, the Journal said, was due in part to "generous" pension formulas based on executive pay and to "arcane" techniques that trigger the increases. Executive pensions grew even though the share prices at the firms dropped an average of 37 percent in 2008, while many companies froze employee pensions and suspended contributions to retirement plans, noted the newspaper.