Contributions to defined contribution retirement benefit plans are recognized as an expense when employees have

rendered service entitling them to the contributions. Payments made to state-managed retirement benefit schemes

are dealt with as payments to defined contribution plans where our obligations under the plans are equivalent to

those arising in a defined contribution retirement benefit plan.

We maintain one multi-employer union defined benefit pension plan and various other defined contribution pension

plans covering a substantial number of our employees. ASML accounts for its multi-employer defined benefit plan as

if it were a defined contribution plan for the following reasons:

•ASML is affiliated to an industry-wide pension fund and uses the pension scheme in common with other

•Under the regulations of the pension plan, the only obligation these participating companies have towards the

pension fund is to pay the annual premium liability. Participating companies are under no obligation whatsoever to

pay off any deficits the pension plan may incur. Nor have they any claim to any potential surpluses

Our pension and retirement expenses for all employees for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021,


Year ended December 31 (€, in millions)	2021	2022	2023
Pension plan based on multi-employer union plan	161.7	181.2	244.4
Pension plans based on defined contribution and other plans	67.5	74.7	104.5
Pension and retirement expenses	229.2	255.9	348.9

The accrued pension premiums were €39.2 million as at December 31, 2023 and €53.2 million as at December 31,

In accordance with the collective bargaining agreements effective for the industry in which we operate, which has no

expiration date, there are 21,586 eligible payroll employees in the Netherlands (53.6% of our total payroll FTEs) that

participate in a multi-employer union plan. Our net periodic pension cost for this multi-employer union plan for any

period is the amount of the required employer contribution for that period.

This multi-employer union plan is managed by PME (Stichting Pensioenfonds van de Metalektro) and this plan covers

approximately 1,568 companies and approximately 183,685 contributing members. Every participating company

contributes a premium that is based on the same contribution rate. This contribution rate can fluctuate yearly based

on the coverage ratio of the multi-employer union plan. For 2023, the contribution percentage was 28.0% (2022:

28.0%, 2021: 27.6%). For 2023, our contribution to this multi-employer union plan (including the premiums paid by

employees), was 18.3% (2022: 15.7%, 2021: 13.6%) of the total contribution to the plan. For 2024, we expect to

contribute around €365.0 million to this plan (including the premiums paid by employees). The pension rights of each

employee are based upon the employee’s average salary during employment.

The PME multi-employer union plan monitors its risks on a global basis and is subject to regulation by Dutch

governmental authorities. By Dutch law (the Dutch Pension Act), a multi-employer union plan must be monitored

against specific criteria, including the coverage ratio of the plan’s assets to its obligations. The coverage ratio is

calculated by dividing the funds capital by the total sum of pension liabilities and is based on actual market interest

rates. The legally required minimal coverage ratio is 104.3% (2022: 104.3%). Compared to the previous year, the

coverage ratio of PME slightly decreased to 109.4% as per December 31, 2023 (December 31, 2022: 110.4%). A

recovery plan is in place intended to improve this coverage ratio towards 120%. ASML has no obligation to pay any

deficits the pension fund may incur, nor does it have any claim to any potential surpluses.

We also participate in several other defined contribution pension plans (inside and outside the Netherlands), with our

expenses for these plans equaling the employer contributions made in the relevant period.

For more senior US employees we have a non-qualified deferred compensation plan that allows them to defer a

portion of their salary, bonus, and commissions. The plan allows us to credit additional amounts to the participants’

account balances. The participants divide their funds among the investments available in the plan. Participants elect

to receive their funds in future periods after the earlier of their employment termination or their withdrawal election, at

least 3 years after deferral. Expenses were close to nil relating to this plan in 2023, 2022 and 2021. As of

December 31, 2023, our liability under deferred compensation plans was €94.7 million (2022: €70.5 million). The

related compensation plan assets are €95.2 million (2022: €71.1 million).