Download table as excel file| 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | ||||||||||||
| £m | £m | £m | ||||||||||||
| Salaries and accrued incentive payments | 6,993 | 6,635 | 5,036 | |||||||||||
| Social security costs | 508 | 502 | 412 | |||||||||||
| Pension costs – defined contribution plans | 141 | 128 | 76 | |||||||||||
| Pension costs – defined benefit plans (Note 30) | 150 | 282 | 271 | |||||||||||
| Other post-retirement benefits (Note 30) | 10 | 30 | 27 | |||||||||||
| Other | 603 | 592 | 496 | |||||||||||
| Staff costs | 8,405 | 8,169 | 6,318 | |||||||||||
Included in salaries and incentive payments is £551m (2006: £640m, 2005: £338m) arising from equity settled share-based payments, of which £60m (2006: £78m, 2005: £44m) is a charge related to options-based schemes. Also included is £8m (2006: £6m, 2005: £nil) arising from cash settled share-based payments.
The average number of persons employed by the Group worldwide during the year was 128,900 (2006: 118,600, 2005: 92,800).