Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- American International Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Edward Liddy postponed a meeting with a congressman who criticized the insurer’s retention pay, saying the firm needs more time to research his questions.

“Given the breadth of your inquiries to date, and our parallel commitment to make certain that we provide you with thorough answers to your questions, it is in everyone’s best interest to re-schedule,” Liddy wrote in a letter late yesterday to Representative Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat.

AIG is under pressure to disclose more details on payments to prevent employees from quitting as the insurer tries to sell units and repay a loan from the U.S. government. The company has said the retention programs will cost at least $450 million for more than 2,000 employees. As many as 7,000 workers may receive retention awards, a person familiar with the matter said.

The company said in a Nov. 10 regulatory filing that 130 executives were among the group, then the insurer told Cummings this month the number was 168.

The congressman yesterday said Liddy has shown a “pattern of deception,” prompting Liddy to say in the letter that he is concerned the public debate on AIG has “degenerated into a personal attack on me.”

Liddy, the former Allstate Corp. CEO appointed to run AIG after the government took over the insurer in September, pointed out in the letter that he is working for an annual salary of $1.

‘Common Goal’

“We share a common goal -- namely a passion to protect the U.S. taxpayers and ensure they are paid back, with interest,” Liddy wrote.

Cummings said taxpayers need to know how much is being spent on retention pay and exactly how many workers are covered. The congressman has questioned the need for the program when the poor economy means there are few other options for workers.

“They’ve got to come and be upfront with us,” Cummings said in an interview on Bloomberg Television today. “I don’t think AIG gets this yet. They are government employees. The government of the United States owns 80 percent of AIG.”

AIG spokesman Nicholas Ashooh said today that compensation for the top 60 AIG managers in 2008 will decrease 40 percent from a year earlier. The retention payments were a “small investment” to maintain the value of businesses, he said.

Keeping Talent

“We are faced with trying to keep businesses together, keep their talent together, while we sell a lot of these companies,” Ashooh said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “That’s where the retention comes in, in trying to keep your key players who have the best business contacts and the best specialized knowledge about the business in place so we can get the best value while we sell these businesses and repay the government.”

The federal rescue package, which entitles the government to an 80 percent stake, includes a $60 billion loan, a $40 billion investment and about $50 billion to buy securities owned or insured by AIG.

Liddy said in the letter his staff would work with the Cummings to find a new date for the meeting, which was previously scheduled for today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Holm in New York at eholm2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 18, 2008 14:17 EST