Note 33 - Pension

General description of the company's pension obligations

Pensions

Defined benefit scheme

This pension scheme is administered by a pension fund conferring entitlement to specific future pension benefits from age 67. The schemes include children’s pension and disability pension under further rules. The Group’s defined benefit pension scheme assures the majority of employees a pension of 68 per cent of final salary up to 12G. The defined benefit scheme is closed to new members.

Defined contribution scheme

Under the defined contribution pension scheme the Group does not provide a future pension of a given size, but pays an annual contribution to the employees’ collective pension savings. Future pension will depend on the size of the contribution and the annual return on the pension savings. The Group has no further obligations with regard to the employee’s labour contribution after the employer’s annual contribution has been paid. Defined contribution schemes are directly expensed. The Group has made a defined contribution pension scheme available to its employees since 1 January 2008.

Early retirement pension scheme

The banking and financial industry has established an agreement on a contractual early retirement pension scheme (“AFP”) for employees from age 62 to 67. The bank pays 100 per cent of the pension paid from age 62 to 64 and 60 per cent of the pension paid from age 65 to age 67. Admission of new retirees ceased with effect from 31 December 2010.

Early retirement pension scheme, new arrangement

The Act relating to state subsidies in respect of employees who take out contractual early retirement pension in the private sector (AFP Subsidies Act) entered into force on 19 February 2010. Employees who take out contractual early retirement with effect in 2011 or later will receive benefits under the new scheme. The new AFP scheme represents a lifelong add-on to National Insurance and can be taken out from age 62. The employer’s premium is determined as a percentage of salary payments between 1G and 7.1G. In keeping with the recommendation of the Norwegian Accounting Standards Board, no provision was made in the financial year for the group’s de facto AFP obligation. This is because the office coordinating the schemes run by the main employer and trade union organisations has so far not performed the necessary calculations.

For further details of the Group’s pension schemes see Note 2 on accounting principles and Note 9 on personnel expenses.