Mercedes 2010 Annual Report Download - page 159

Corporate Governance | Remuneration Report | 155
Once again, basic salaries were reduced due to the voluntary
waiver by the members of the Board of Management of 15% of
their base salaries, which was in effect from May 1, 2009 until
June 30, 2010. The increase in the total of base salaries compared
with the prior year reflects the increased number of Board of
Management members.
The table on page 154 shows the base salaries and variable
remuneration of the active members of the Board of Management
for the year 2010 compared with 2009. It is necessary to take
into consideration that Dr.Bernhard was newly appointed to the
Board of Management with effect as of February 18, 2010.
The granting of taxable non-cash benefits in kind, i.e. primarily
the provision of company cars and the reimbursement of
expenses for security precautions, resulted in benefits for the
members of the Board of Management worth the following
amounts:
Taxable non-cash benefits and other benefits
2010 2009
In thousands of euros
Dr. Dieter Zetsche 133 112
Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard 52
Wilfried Porth 101 346
Andreas Renschler 148 251
Bodo Uebber 1217 114
Dr. Thomas Weber 162 252
Total 813 1,075
1 2010: Including an anniversary bonus of €55,000.
Commitments upon termination of service
Retirement provision. The pension agreements of some Board
of Management members include a commitment to an annual
retirement pension, calculated as a proportion of the former base
salary and depending on the number of years of service. Those
pension rights were granted until 2005 and remain valid, but have
been frozen at that level.
Retirement pensions start upon request when the term of service
ends at or after the age of 60, or are paid as disability pensions
if the term of service ends before age 60 due to disability. The
agreements provide for a 3.5% annual increase in benefits
(with the exception of that Wilfried Porth’s benefits will be adjusted
in accordance with applicable law). The agreements include a
provision by which a spouse of a deceased Board of Manage-
ment member is entitled to 60% of that member’s pension.
The amount can increase by up to 30 percentage points depend-
ing on the number of dependent children.
Effective as of January 1, 2006, we substituted the pension
agreements of the Board of Management members with a new
arrangement, the so-called pension capital system. Under this
system, each Board of Management member is credited with a
capital component each year. This capital component com-
prises an amount equal to 15% of the sum of the Board of Man-
agement member’s fixed base salary and the annual bonus
that was actually achieved, multiplied by an age factor equivalent
to a certain rate of return, at present 6% (Wolfgang Bernhard
and Wilfried Porth: 5%). The benefit from this pension plan is pay-
able at the age of 60 at the earliest.