Retirement benefits, together with the pressure for increased fees to recognise growing workloads, generated a flow of AGM resolutions to increase fee pools in order to accommodate an element of director remuneration that had previously sat outside the pool figure. In almost every case, an adjustment to fees was made to compensate for the value of the annual retirement benefit accrual foregone (or in the case of the new directors, not provided).  This was usually based on an estimate of annual value, given that individual values varied according to tenure and fee histories of individual directors.  Adjustments of approximately 30% to the fee levels were not uncommon, with some adjustments approaching 50% of the pre-existing fees.  In some cases, part of the increase was compulsorily taken in the form of company shares by way of fee sacrifice.

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