The annual research, on the pay of top-listed company directors, found basic pay rises were "relatively restrained" at 4% and average cash bonuses fell by 8.8% last year.
But directors benefited from long-term incentive plans (LTIP), which jumped by 58%, taking the median total from £764,000 to over £1.2 million, the study revealed.
"With nearly two-thirds of FTSE directors benefiting from an LTIP award in the latest year, the higher share-based payouts clearly made up for any ground lost in lower annual bonuses," said Steve Tatton, editor of the report.
The study found this is the second year in a row that payouts from these shareschemes have been buoyant.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said the survey's findings meant that top bosses' pay was growing 20 times faster than that of the average worker.
"It's one thing replacing bonuses with long-term incentive plans, but FTSE 100 companies are simply exploiting this change to make their fat cats even fatter," she said.