(Bloomberg) — The gap in the workplace between the highest and lowest paid has been growing for years. Far less noticed has been the growing gulf in retirement pay.

While the very top often continue to receive executive pensions as well as other benefits, most workers are left only with their 401(k) plans.

CEO compensation at large U.S. companies was 204 times higher than the pay of workers on average in 2013, up 20 percent since 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. And the retirement benefits divide "perpetuates income inequality into old age," said Paul Hodgson, a corporate governance consultant who has researched executive compensation.

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