The €417bn asset manager APG paid about 500 employees bonuses of €63,500 on average last year.

According to its annual report, APG said it paid almost €32m in total in bonuses, amounting to 25% of the average salary.

Variable pay makes up 10% of salary costs at the asset manager for the €359 civil service scheme ABP.

Executive board members, including chief executive Gerard van Olphen, are ineligible for bonuses.

At the €114bn MN, the average bonus as a percentage of salary is about half that of APG’s.

MN – asset manager for the large metal schemes PME and PMT – capped bonuses at 20% of the basic salary and reported that 5% of its 1,200 employees were eligible for variable pay, compared with 14% at APG.

APG said it set a similar maximum for workers reporting directly to its executive board but that variable pay for asset management could increase to as much as 40% of the basic salary.

It added that, for its New York and Hong Kong-based workers, it tried to strike a balance between what was acceptable in the Netherlands and what was needed locally to retain valuable employees.

APG emphasised that its remuneration policy was aimed at attracting, retaining and motivating qualified staff and said the bonuses it paid in New York were in-line with those for similar positions in the city.