a.s.r.’s remuneration policy is based on the principle that the average level of total remuneration is at most around the median of the reference group. Every three years (two years for the MB), an independent consultant performs a market-based comparison of the remuneration benchmark. The 2023 reference group for a.s.r. employees are the financial institutions (excluding the MB, Asset Management and the Real estate front office). The relevant peer groups for the latter two are the asset management market. The MB’s peer group is described in section 5.3.3.
In line with the remuneration policy, the remuneration of a.s.r. employees consists solely of a fixed payment. a.s.r. does not have a company-wide variable remuneration scheme; for more information, see section 5.3. Employees are eligible for an incidental bonus for the extraordinary performance of specific employees: the 'Boter-bij-de-vis'. In 2023, 163 employees (2022: 97) received this incidental bonus.
Equal pay
At a.s.r., women and men with similar work experience, performance and potential receive equal pay. This was the result of the annual survey that a.s.r. conducts on remuneration for male and female employees.
| (in €) | 31 December 2023 | 31 December 2022 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Female | Male | Ratio1 | Female | Male | Ratio |
| Executive Board2 | 355 | 381 | 0.93 | 334 | 346 | 0.96 |
| Management Board | 236 | 318 | 0.74 | - | - | - |
| Management3 | 54 | 63 | 0.86 | 52 | 59 | 0.89 |
| Other employees | 27 | 32 | 0.86 | 27 | 31 | 0.85 |
- 1 Calculated before rounding of figures.
- 2 The figures for the EB include CEO’s compensation.
- 3 In anticipation of the consolidation with the Aegon NL HR figures as of reporting year 2024 and as Aegon NL applied different classifications to the various layers of management which are not comparable like-for-like with a.s.r., a.s.r. reports on Management as a whole and does no longer apply any sub-classifications.
The survey revealed differences in remuneration and annual wages. The gross hourly wage of women is often lower than that of men. For a.s.r., it is important to understand this difference. A gender pay gap analysis was conducted, and the difference can be explained by two factors:
There are differences in types of jobs done by men and women. For example, more women are employed in customer service and support positions. Whereas traditionally, more men are employed in the more specialised, technical insurance positions and in management, often in the higher salary scales;
Women on average serve three years fewer than men. As a result, men reach a relatively higher position on the salary scale for the same job level compared to women. This difference between men and women based on work experience should therefore disappear over time.
When adjusted for the aforementioned factors, the gender pay gap analysis showed that there was no pay gap (0%) between females and males for equal work and a comparable number of years of work experience. The differences presented in the graph below are explained by the number of years of service and job type. The scope of this analysis included employees of a.s.r., including contractors and excluding subsidiaries.
For the complete a.s.r. remuneration policy and the Remuneration Disclosure, see www.asrnl.com.
Employee Share Purchase Plan
a.s.r. has an employee share purchase plan (ESPP) since 2019. The plan is an equity-settled share-based payments plan. Under the terms of the plan, employees can participate after the publication of the full-year and half-year results.
The members of the MB are required to participate in the ESPP by investing a part of their income in a.s.r. shares. Until the amendment of the remuneration policy from 1 July 2023, members of the Executive Board committed to buy a certain percentage of their remuneration in a.s.r. shares by 2026 (75% for the CEO and 50% for other members of the Executive Board) and to hold these shares for at least five years. The shares were neither variable remuneration nor share-based remuneration.
From 1 July 2023, part of the (fixed) remuneration of the members of the MB will be paid in a.s.r. shares. Other employees participate voluntarily. All employees buy the shares at a discount of 18.5%. The fair value of the a.s.r. share with a five-year lock-up on the grant date is equal to the purchase price paid by the employee.
Other employees participate voluntarily. The employees purchase the shares at an 18.5% discount, which reflects the opportunity costs of the lock-up period of five years. The fair value of the a.s.r. share with a lock-up of five years at the grant date equals the purchase price paid by the employee.
The number of shares purchased by employees, excluding the MB, in 2023 was approximately 153,000 for a total amount of € 5.16 million (2022: 124,000 for an amount of € 4.06 million). The ESPP has an impact on equity through the adjustment in the treasury shares and retained earnings. See section 7.5.11.5 for more information.