European and Asian financial services boards pay non-executive directors aged 70 and over significantly more than younger peers, while North American firms invest more in younger talent

• The age pay gap between global financial services non-executives aged 70 and over and those under 70 has grown from 14% to 18% since 2020, indicating increasing value placed on years of experience over other attributes
• Compensation for non-executive directors aged 70 and over has outpaced younger non-executive directors, growing 14% since 2020 compared to 8%
• The widening global age pay gap is compounded by a rising global gender pay gap, which has grown ~2% annually on financial services boards since 2020, and currently sits at 22% (13% when excluding all chair roles)

Non-executive (non-exec) board directors aged 70 and over – particularly men – at global financial services firms are increasingly outearning younger peers, especially across Europe and Asia-Pacific, according to the latest EY Global Financial Services Boardroom Monitor, which tracks board composition and remuneration for a defined universe of listed financial services firms.

Across all regions, the pay gap between financial services non-exec board directors aged 70 and above and those under 70 rose from 14% to 18% between 2020 and 2024 (the latest full year pay data, represented below and throughout as averages). When board chairs and committee chairs – roles that correlate with higher compensation – are excluded from the dataset, non-exec directors under 70 still earn around 15% less than their peers aged 70 and over, averaging $276,634 compared with $326,411.

While the widening age pay gap is a global trend, the size of the gap varies considerably across different regions. In Europe, the gap in earnings between non-exec board directors under and over the age of 69 grew from 22% to 24% between 2020 and 2024, across Asia-Pacific the earnings gap grew from 36% to 43%, and although the it rose at a faster rate in North America – from 3% to 8% – it did so from a much lower base, and, to some extent, is countered by much greater investment in pay and hiring of younger non-exec director cohorts than the other regions. In terms of hiring younger board members, since 2020, North American financial firms have increased the number of non-executive directors under 50 by 27%, while European firms have reduced this cohort by 26%.

Overall pay has risen for all age groups during this period, but compensation for non-exec directors – particularly men – over the age of 70 has outpaced every other age group, growing by 14% since 2020 – from $304,833 to $347,423 in 2024. However, over the same period, global consumer price inflation was far higher, at 20% across advanced economies, while average wage inflation was around 24%.

By contrast, pay growth globally for younger non-exec directors has been markedly slower. Non-exec directors aged 60-69 have only experienced around 4% pay growth, from $290,820 to $303,565, with the pay gap between this group and those over 70 widening from 5% in 2020 to 13% in 2024. The gap is even wider for non-exec directors under the age of 50. In 2024, non-exec directors in this age group (below 50) earned an average of $200,000, which is 42% less than their colleagues over 70. There are regional differences however, and while directors aged 40-49 in Europe have experienced declining remuneration – from $152,261 in 2019 to $145,210 in 2024 – in North America compensation has gone up – from $258,077 in 2019 to $265,998 in 2024.

While length of tenure contributes to higher pay across the director population, age appears to be a stronger driver. Directors aged 70 and over consistently earn substantially more than younger peers with equivalent years of company-level board experience.

Transatlantic compensation differs in structure

Board compensation in shares remains far more prevalent in North America than in other regions. In 2024, financial services non-executive directors in North America received 49% of their total pay in shares, up one percentage point from 2023. In contrast, share-based pay accounted for just 4% of total remuneration for non-executive directors in both Asia-Pacific and Europe; this level was unchanged year-on-year in Asia-Pacific, while Europe saw a modest increase from 3% in 2023.

Europe lags other global markets when it comes to gender pay equality

The age pay gap phenomenon in global financial services boardrooms is compounded by rising inequity in gender representation within older age cohorts, and a growing gender pay gap at all ages (currently rising ~2% per annum globally, and 9% in absolute terms since 2020).

Europe – the region with the largest difference in pay between male and female non-exec board directors – saw its gender pay gap widen at financial services firms by three percentage points between 2023 and 2024. Female non-exec board directors at financial services firms in Europe earned 62% as much as men in 2024, compared with 65% in 2023.

In both North America and Asia-Pacific, the pay gap remained unchanged over the same period. In Asia-Pacific, female non-exec board directors at financial services firms earned 74% as much as their male counterparts in both 2023 and 2024. In North America, where the gender pay gap is narrowest, female non-exec board directors at financial services firms earned 94% as much as men in both years.

At a global level, female board directors at financial services firms were paid 22% less than their male counterparts in 2024: $252,672 compared with $325,402. The gap has remained largely unchanged over the past five years, widening by one percentage point from 21% in 2020.

When looking at non-exec directors aged 70 and over, in all regions except North America, male non-exec directors significantly outearned their female counterparts – by 40% in Europe and 48% in Asia-Pacific, vs just 1% in North America.