7.11.3Notes to the company financial statements

7.11.3.1 Changes in comparative figures

The impact of these changes on a.s.r.’s profit before tax and shareholders returns is summarised in section 7.3.2.

7.11.3.2 Accounting policies

The company financial statements are prepared in accordance with Title 9, Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code. The consolidated financial statements of a.s.r. for 2024 have been prepared in accordance with IFRS – including the IAS and Interpretations – as accepted within the EU and with part 9 of the book of the Dutch Civil Code. In accordance with Section 362(8), Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code, the same accounting policies for the recognition and measurement of assets and liabilities and determination of results applied to the company financial statements are applied to the consolidated financial statements.

Investments in group companies are recognised, using the equity method, in accordance with the accounting policies used in a.s.r.’s consolidated financial statements whereby the goodwill, if any, is presented separately. The share of profit of group companies is reported in conformity with the accounting policies used in a.s.r.’s consolidated financial statements.

Lease contracts are disclosed using IFRS 16 based on the option under RJ 292.1.

Unless stated otherwise, all amounts presented in these financial statements are in millions of €. Calculations in the tables are made using unrounded figures. As a result rounding differences can occur.

7.11.3.3 Acquisitions and legal mergers

In 2024, there were no acquisitions and legal mergers for a.s.r.

On July 2023, a.s.r. acquired the shares of Aegon NL. Following the acquisition, on 1 October 2023, Aegon NL has legally merged with a.s.r. As a result, Aegon NL ceased to exist as a separate legal entity.

7.11.3.4 Intangible assets

Intangible assets
20242023
Goodwill1717
Intangible assets277346
Total intangible assets295363

The goodwill relates to the acquisition of BNG Vermogensbeheer in 2016 (4 million) and to the acquisition of Generali in 2018 (13 million). No impairments were deemed necessary. For more information see section 7.5.1.

Intangibles assets mainly relates to the intangible assets acquired through the acquisition of Aegon NL in 2023 and relates mainly to customer relationships, trade names and software. Intangible assets are amortized straight-line over their useful life, which is determined individually (between 5 and 20 years).

7.11.3.5 Property and equipment

Property and equipment
20242023
Right-of-use assets:
Land and buildings owned by subsidiary210230
Vehicles66
Other1520
Total property and equipment230256

The right-of-use assets includes property and equipment that is leased by a.s.r. Land and buildings owned by subsidiary relates mainly to the a.s.r. head office, which is owned by a.s.r. life.

Changes in property and equipment
20242023
At 1 January256219
Additions12
Depreciation-20-13
Remeasurement-10
Impairments-3-
Other changes--3
Changes in the composition of the group-442
At 31 December230256
Gross carrying amount as at 31 December364378
Accumulated depreciation as at 31 December-131-122
Accumulated impairments as at 31 December-3-
Net carrying value as at 31 December230256

Depreciation of property and equipment is recorded in the operating expenses (see section 7.11.3.20).

7.11.3.6 Subsidiaries

Subsidiaries
20242023
At 1 January11,4785,781
Additions1013
Share of result1,4021,115
Dividend received-1,587-1,194
Revaluations198202
Other changes13-9
Changes in the composition of the group-8545,570
At 31 December10,66011,478

The changes in the composition of the group relate to Aegon NL (2023) and Knab (2024).

7.11.3.7 Loans to group companies

Loans to group companies
20242023
At 1 January37868
Issues30305
Repayments-285-
Revaluations11
Accrued interest-14
At 31 December124378

The loans to group companies with a principal amount of 121 million (2023: 376 million) are expected to be settled more than one year after the balance sheet date and have an average interest rate of 6.15% (2023: 6.22%). Interest income on loans to group companies amounts to 6 million (2023: 6 million). The repayment relates to Knab.

7.11.3.8 Investments

In 2024 excess cash is invested in short term corporate bonds (2023: short term government bonds).

7.11.3.9 Deferred tax liabilities

The deferred tax liabilities mainly arises from the difference in commercial and fiscal valuation of employee benefits (including the assets resulting from the insurance contracts, which are administrated by a.s.r. life and Aegon life) amounting to 252 million (2023: 180 million). These also consist of intangible fixed assets, investment property and technical provision valuations to market value.

7.11.3.10 Other receivables

The other receivables include receivables from group companies, which include the receivable (reimbursement right) with respect to insurance contracts for the pension plan of a.s.r. administered by a.s.r. life and Aegon life amounting to 6,133 million (2023: 6,044 million). The value is equal to the value of the related insurance contracts administered by a.s.r. life and Aegon life, which are both eliminated in the consolidated financial statements. The remaining portion of the receivables from group companies is payable on demand.

7.11.3.11 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents are fully and freely available.

7.11.3.12 Equity

Statement of changes in equity
Share capitalShare premium reserveLegal reservesActuarial gains and lossesRetained earningsTreasury sharesUnappropriated resultOther equity instrumentsEquity
At 1 January 2024344,070842-2882,830-78581,0049,343
Appropriation of the result previous year----858--858--
Net result for the year-----946-946
Dividend paid-----382--245--627
Remeasurement of post-employment benefit obligation--113----113
Unrealised change in value--198--35---163
Change in reserves required by law---183-183----
Discretionary interest on other equity instruments-----63----63
Issue of other equity instruments-------500500
Redemptions of other equity instruments--------502-502
Cost of issue of other equity instruments-----5----5
Treasury shares acquired (-) / sold-----2-102---103
Other movements----17--522
At 31 December 2024344,070857-1753,402-1097011,0079,786
Share capitalShare premium reserveLegal reservesActuarial gains and lossesRetained earningsTreasury sharesUnappropriated resultOther equity instrumentsEquity
At 1 January 2023241,533288-1685,389-79-1,8411,0046,150
Appropriation of the result previous year-----1,841-1,841--
Net result for the year-----1,086-1,086
Dividend paid-----254--228--482
Remeasurement of post-employment benefit obligation----120-----120
Unrealised change in value--202--20---182
Change in reserves required by law--352--352----
Discretionary interest on other equity instruments-----48----48
Treasury shares acquired (-) / sold-----1-4---5
Increase (decrease) in capital102,537---4075--2,582
Other movements-----1----1
At 31 December 2023344,070842-2882,830-78581,0049,343

Share capital

For a breakdown of the share capital, see section 7.5.11.1.

Legal reserves

The legal reserves relate to the revaluation of investments in group companies. The legal reserves are maintained in relation to the (not yet received as dividend) share in the result (and other additions to equity) of group companies accounted for using the equity method since initial recognition reduced with the amount of dividend that a.s.r. is able to distribute without restrictions. The legal reserves are not freely distributable. See section 7.9 for more information on the regulatory restrictions.

Treasury shares

For more information on treasury shares, see section 7.5.11.5.

Other equity instruments

The other equity instruments relate to two different hybrid Tier 1 instruments (2023: two different hybrid Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruments) classified as equity. See section 7.5.11.6 for more information.

Freely distributable items

The part of equity attributable to shareholders that is available for dividend distributions is limited by the Dutch Civil Code and the Dutch Supervisory Rules and Regulations (Solvency II requirements). The distribution of capital is restricted in accordance with the Dutch Civil Code for share capital and statutory reserves. The Solvency II requirements stipulate that a.s.r. must maintain a minimum amount of capital.

The freely distributable reserves is based on the lowest outcome of the restrictions from the Dutch Civil Code and the Solvency II requirements. This is further explained in the table below:

Distributable items
20242023
Equity attributable to shareholders8,7798,339
Non distributable items
- Share capital13434
- Legal reserves857842
Distributable items based on the Dutch Civil Code7,8897,463
Reserves available for financial supervision purposes12,32111,578
Solvency II requirement under the Financial Supervision Act6,2096,581
Distributable items based on the Solvency II requirements6,1124,997
Freely distributable items (lower of the values above)6,1124,997
  • 1 Less the nominal value of treasury shares if applicable

For more information on Solvency II capital management objectives see section 7.9.1.

7.11.3.13 Employee benefits

Employee benefits can be broken down as follows (see section 7.5.15 for further details):

Employee benefits
20242023
Post-employment benefits pensions4,9745,160
Post-employment benefits other than pensions3539
Post-employment benefit obligation5,0105,199
Other long-term employee benefits2719
Total5,0365,218

7.11.3.14 Other provisions

Changes in provisions
20242023
At 1 January843
Additional provisions2865
Reversal of unused amounts-1-1
Utilised in course of year-32-9
Changes in the composition of the group-25
At 31 December7984

Provisions primarily relate to provisions for employee restructuring and retained disability risk. See section 7.5.16 for more information.

The timing of the outflow of resources related to these provisions is uncertain because of the unpredictability of the outcome and time required for the settlement of disputes.

An amount of 52 million (2023: 70 million) of the provisions is expected to be settled within twelve months after the balance sheet date.

7.11.3.15 Subordinated liabilities

For information regarding the subordinated liabilities see section 7.5.12.

7.11.3.16 Borrowings

Borrowings
20242023
Loans597596
Lease liabilities229248
Total borrowings826845

The loans relate to the issue of the green senior bond under the a.s.r. Green Finance Framework of 600 million in 2023. The bond has a maturity of 5 years with a fixed rate coupon of 3.625%.

The lease liabilities consist primarily 215 million (2023: 220 million) of the lease of the a.s.r. head office from a.s.r. life. The interest rate for the lease of the head office is 1.5% (2023: 1.5%). The maturity of this contract is 31 years, which includes the total of five extension options of five years each.

An amount of 15 million (2023: 20 million)of the lease liabilities is expected to be settled within twelve months after the balance sheet date.

7.11.3.17 Debts to group companies

Debts to group companies with a principal amount of 205 million (2023: 996 million) have an average interest rate of 3.86 % in 2024 (2023: 3.92%). The maturity of the loans varies from 1 - 3 years. An amount of 30 million of the debt to group companies is expected to be settled less than or equal to one year after the balance sheet date.

There is no significant difference between the carrying amount of the debt to group companies and the fair value of these liabilities. No securities or guarantees have been agreed and no collateral is posted.

7.11.3.18 Due to banks

In 2024, due to banks amounted to nil (2023: 200 million).

7.11.3.19 Other liabilities

Other liabilities
20242023
Short-term employee benefits2718
Trade payables2410
Other liabilities243306
Total other liabilities295334

The carrying amount of other liabilities is a good approximation of their fair value.

7.11.3.20 Operating expenses

The operating expenses of 279 million (2023: 211 million) are operating expenses relating to holding activities. The increase in the operating expenses is mainly due to the integration of Aegon NL entities. See section 7.6.11 for the total operating expenses of the Group. Operating expenses also include depreciation of the right-of-use assets owned by subsidiaries of 16 million (2023: 12 million).

The average number of employees working for a.s.r. is 7,684 (2023: 6,154), all working in the Netherlands. a.s.r. allocates expenses to subsidiaries according to the extent to which the expenses incurred can be related to the activities of the subsidiary. This allocation is reassessed each year.

7.11.3.21 Investment income

The investment income of 225 million (2023: 72 million) mainly increased as a result of an increase in the interest income relating to the employee benefits obligation allocated to the holding.

7.11.3.22 Interest expense

The interest expense relates primarily to the interest on subordinated liabilities, interest owed to credit institutions and to the interest on the lease liabilities.

7.11.3.23 Auditor’s fees

The following fees for the financial years have been charged by KPMG Accountants N.V. to a.s.r., its subsidiaries and other consolidated entities, on an accrual basis.

Auditor’s fee
Amounts in thousands20242023
KPMGKPMGOther auditor
Audit of the financial statements16,71415,4106,144
Other audit engagements2,8181,7122,076
Total audit fees19,53217,1238,220

Fees for audit engagements include fees paid for the audit of the consolidated and company financial statements, quarterly reports and other reports.

In the above mentioned years no fees were paid for tax-related advisory services to KPMG Accountants N.V. and no fees were paid to other KPMG networks, other than KPMG Accountants N.V.

7.11.3.24 Related parties

A related party is a person or entity that has significant influence over another entity, or has the ability to affect the financial and operating policies of the other party. Parties related to a.s.r. include associates, joint ventures, members of the EB and MB, members of the SB, close family members of any person referred to above, entities controlled or significantly influenced by any person referred to above and any other affiliated entity.

a.s.r. enters into transactions with related parties during the conduct of its business. These transactions mainly involve loans, debts, deposits and commissions, and are conducted on terms equivalent to those that prevail in arm’s length transactions.

  • Related party transactions in relation to members of the EB, MB and SB are mentioned in section 7.7.4 of the consolidated financial statements. In this chapter are also the related party transactions in relation to Aegon Ltd and its group companies (since Aegon Ltd. has significant influence over a.s.r.) mentioned.

  • The remuneration of the EB and SB members of a.s.r. is disclosed in section 7.7.5 of the consolidated financial statements.

  • The loans (including interest income) and debts to group companies are described in 7.11.3.7 respectively 7.11.3.17 of the financial company statements.

The post-employment benefit plan of a.s.r. is administered by a.s.r. life and Aegon life. For information regarding to this plan reference is made to section 7.11.3.10 of this company financial statements.

7.11.3.25 Contingent liabilities

Joint and several liability

a.s.r. forms a fiscal unity for corporate income tax and VAT with nearly all of its subsidiaries. The company and its subsidiaries that form part of the fiscal unity are jointly and separately liable for taxation payable by the fiscal entity.

A statement of joint and several liability under section 403, Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code has been issued by a.s.r. for the companies identified in section 7.7.9.

Utrecht, 25 March 2025

Executive Board

Jos Baeten

Ewout Hollegien

Ingrid de Swart

Supervisory Board

Joop Wijn

Bob Elfring

Sonja Barendregt

Gisella Eikelenboom

Gerard van Olphen

Daniëlle Jansen Heijtmajer

Lard Friese