Incentive Plans and Deferred Compensation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Incentive Plans and Deferred Compensation

Incentive Plans and Deferred Compensation

Note 17.   Incentive Plans and Deferred Compensation

We have separate annual and long-term incentive plans for our executive and senior vice presidents.  We also make available deferred compensation plans for executive and senior management and outside directors.

Annual incentive plan

Our annual incentive plan is a bonus plan that pays cash to our executive and senior vice presidents annually.

The awards under the annual incentive plan are based on attainment of corporate and individual performance measures established at the beginning of each year.  These measures, which can include various financial measures, are established by the Executive Compensation and Development Committee of our Board of Directors, and are then approved by the Board of Directors.  A funding qualifier was introduced into the plan in 2009.  The Executive Compensation and Development Committee of our Board of Directors determined that the plan should first consider the Indemnity’s financial results before a payout could be made to participants of the plan. The funding qualifier is based upon Indemnity’s operating income.  If the funding qualifier is met, each member of executive and senior management becomes eligible for incentive compensation based upon specific performance measures.  The corporate performance measures considered in the plan primarily included the Property and Casualty Group’s direct written premium and statutory combined ratio in 2010 and also included the reported policy retention ratio in 2011.

The cost of the plan is charged to operations as the compensation is earned over the performance period of one year.  The after-tax compensation cost charged to operations related to the annual incentive plan bonus for the Erie Insurance Group was $2 million, $3 million and $2 million for 2011, 2010 and 2009 respectively.

Long-term incentive plan

Our long-term incentive plan (“LTIP”) is a performance based incentive plan designed to reward executive and senior vice presidents who can have a significant impact on our long-term performance.

The LTIP award is based upon the level of achievement of objective measures of performance over a three-year period as compared to a peer group of property and casualty companies selected by our Executive Compensation and Development Committee of our Board of Directors.  The 2011, 2010 and 2009 awards were based upon the reported combined ratio, growth in direct written premiums and total return on invested assets as defined by the Erie Insurance Group.  These performance measures are compared to the same performance measures of a peer group of companies.  Because the award is based upon a comparison to results of a peer group over a three-year period, the award accrual is based upon estimates of probable results for the remaining performance period.  This estimate is subject to variability if our results or the results of the peer group are substantially different than the results we project.

The Executive Compensation and Development Committee determines the form of the distribution to be granted at the beginning of each performance period.  The 2009-2011 performance period is closed and distributions will be made in the form of cash later in 2012 once peer group financial information becomes available.   The Executive Compensation and Development Committee agreed to also distribute awards under the 2010-2012 performance period in cash, while the 2011-2013 performance period will be paid in shares of Indemnity’s Class A common stock.  If the Executive Compensation and Development Committee determines that awards will be paid in restricted performance shares, then shares of our Class A common stock will be purchased on the open market and distributed to the plan participants when the award is paid.  We do not issue new shares of common stock to plan participants.  Accordingly, the disclosure requirements of Item 201(d) of Regulation S-K are not applicable.  The performance shares awarded through the LTIP are considered vested at the end of each applicable performance period.

The maximum number of shares which may be earned under the plan by any single participant during any one performance period is limited to 250,000 shares.  The aggregate number of Class A common stock that may be issued pursuant to awards granted under the LTIP is 1.0 million shares.  With respect to an award of performance units, the maximum dollar amount which may be earned under the plan by any single participant during any one performance period is $3 million.  A liability is recorded and compensation expense is recognized ratably over the performance period.

At December 31, 2011, the plan awards for the 2009-2011 performance period were fully earned in accordance with the LTIP.  The awards for this performance period will be calculated upon receipt of the final financial information for the peer group.  The estimated plan award based upon the peer group information as of September 30, 2011 is $5 million.

At December 31, 2010, the awards for the 2008-2010 performance period were fully vested in accordance with the LTIP.  The average share price on the date the shares were paid to participants for the 2008-2010 performance period was $73.97.  The plan award of $5 million was paid in July 2011.  At December 31, 2009, the awards for the 2007-2009 performance period were fully vested in accordance with the LTIP.  The average share price on the date the shares were paid to participants for the 2007-2009 performance period was $44.48.  The plan award of $2 million was paid in July 2010.

Earned amounts are allocated to related entities and settled in cash once the payout is made.  The after-tax compensation cost charged to operations related to these restricted stock awards for the Erie Insurance Group was $6 million in 2011, $4 million in 2010, and $2 million in 2009.

Deferred compensation plans

Our deferred compensation plans are arrangements for our executive and senior vice presidents and outside directors.  The deferred compensation plan for our executive and senior vice presidents allows participants to elect to defer receipt of a portion of their base salary and/or annual incentive plan award until a later date.  Employer matching contributions that cannot be credited to our tax-qualified 401(k) plan, because they exceed the annual contribution or compensation limits of that plan, are also credited to the accounts of participants who elected to participate in the deferred compensation plan for the year by deferring receipt of some portion of their base salary.  The deferred compensation plan for our outside directors allows participants to defer receipt of a portion of their director and meeting fees until a later date.  Employees or outside directors participating in the respective plans select hypothetical investment funds for their deferrals which are credited with the hypothetical returns generated.

The awards, payments, deferrals and liabilities under the annual incentive plan, long-term incentive plan and deferred compensation plans for officers and outside directors were as follows for the years ended December 31:

(in millions)	Erie Insurance Group
	2011			2010		2009
Awards, employer match and hypothetical earnings by plan:
Long-term incentive plan awards	$	9		$  7		$  4
Annual incentive plan awards		3		4		3
Deferred compensation plans, employer match and hypothetical earnings		1		2		1
Total plan awards and earnings		13		13		8
Total plan awards paid		(10	)	(6	)	(8	)
Compensation deferred under the plans		0		1		1
Distributions from the deferred compensation plans		(1	)	(1	)	(1	)
Gross incentive plan and deferred compensation liabilities at end of period	$	24		$22		$15

Stock compensation plan for outside directors

We have a stock compensation plan for our outside directors to further align the interests of directors with shareholders by providing for a portion of annual compensation for the directors’ services in shares of our Class A common stock.  Each director vests in the grant 25% every three months over the course of a year.  Dividends paid by us are reinvested into each director’s account as additional share credits which vest immediately.  Upon leaving board service, directors are paid shares of our Class A common stock equal to the number of share credits in their deferred stock account.  Our practice is to purchase the shares that will be paid to the directors on the open market.  We do not issue new shares of common stock to directors.  Accordingly, the disclosure requirements of Item 201(d) of Regulation S-K are not applicable.  The annual charge related to the stock compensation plan for our directors totaled $1 million in 2011, $2 million in 2010, and $0.4 million in 2009.