Compensation for the chief executives of the biggest U.S. companies fell more sharply last year than any year since the financial crisis, as weaker corporate performance slowed cash bonuses and accounting rules pared back pension growth.

Median pay for the CEOs of nearly 300 large publicly traded companies slipped 3.8% to $10.8 million last year from $11.2 million in 2014, a Wall Street Journal analysis of compensation data from MyLogIQ found. Half of those CEOs saw total pay either decline or rise by less than 1%—also the worst showing for S&P 500 chiefs since the 2008 crisis.

“Increases in CEO pay have taken a bit of a pause this year,” said John Roe, head of advisory services at ISS Corporate Solutions. Where pay is rising, Mr. Roe noted, “it’s in the places shareholders like to see it coming from most: It’s in equity.”

The median rise in stock-based compensation—the biggest component of most CEO pay packages—was about 7%. The median rise in cash pay, including salary and annual bonus, was 2%, down from 5.6% growth in 2014, the Journal analysis found.