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Stock Benefit Plans
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
Stock Benefit Plans Stock Benefit Plans
The Company maintains multiple stock-based payment arrangements under which employees may be awarded restricted stock units, stock options and other forms of stock-based benefits.
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. Incentive and Stock Award Plans
On May 21, 2020, the Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. 2020 Incentive and Stock Award Plan (the "2020 Plan") was approved by the Company's stockholders. The 2020 Plan replaced the Company's previous equity incentive plan, the 2011 Incentive and Stock Award Plan.
The types of awards permitted under the 2020 Plan include stock options, restricted stock units payable in Company common stock or cash, and other stock-based awards. Performance-based restricted stock units are referred to as performance stock units. The 2020 Plan contains a provision which, in the event of a change in control of the Company, may accelerate the vesting of awards. This provision requires both a change in control of the Company and a subsequent specified termination of employment for vesting to be accelerated. There are 20 million shares approved for issuance under the 2020 plan. The total number of shares issued in connection with full-value awards may not exceed 12.5 million shares. Full-value
awards include awards such as restricted stock units and performance stock units but exclude stock options.
The Company's current practice is to grant non-qualified stock options, restricted stock units ("RSUs") and/or performance stock units ("PSUs") on an annual basis to senior executives and a limited number of other employees as part of their total compensation. RSU awards are also granted to new hires or as retention awards for certain employees.
Stock Options: The Company currently grants non-qualified stock options under the 2020 Plan. The Compensation Committee determines when the options vest and may be exercised and under what terms the options are forfeited. Options are generally granted with an exercise price equal to the market value of the Company's common stock on the date of grant. These option awards generally vest 25% per year and have a contractual term of 10 years.
The estimated fair value of options granted is calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing valuation model. This model takes into account several factors and assumptions. The expected dividend yield is based on expected dividends for the expected life of the stock options.
The assumptions used in the Black-Scholes option pricing valuation model for options granted by the Company in 2021, 2020 and 2019 are as follows:
202120202019
Risk-free interest rate0.79 %1.44 %2.51 %
Expected life (in years)6.06.06.0
Expected volatility23.45 %20.33 %20.93 %
Expected dividend yield1.58 %1.53 %1.82 %
A summary of the status of the Company’s stock option awards as of December 31, 2021 and changes during the year then ended is presented below:
SharesWeighted
Average Exercise
Price		Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term		Aggregate
Intrinsic Value
($000)
Balance at January 1, 20217,769,895 $79.71 
Granted1,324,618 $117.53 
Exercised(1,676,783)$61.42 
Forfeited(200,605)$105.98 
Balance at December 31, 20217,217,125 $90.17 6.4 years$601,999 
Options vested or expected to vest at December 31, 20217,128,248 $89.98 6.5 years$595,954 
Options exercisable at December 31, 20213,988,943 $75.19 5.1 years$392,470 
In the above table, forfeited options are unvested options whose requisite service period has not been met. Expired options are vested options that were not exercised. The weighted-average grant-date fair value of the Company's option awards granted during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 was $22.25, $21.09 and $17.87, respectively. The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the same periods was $137.5 million, $159.3 million and $136.7 million, respectively.
As of December 31, 2021, there was $15.0 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to the Company's option awards. The weighted-average period over which that cost is expected to be recognized is approximately 1.13 years. Cash received from the exercise of stock options for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 was $103.0 million, $72.0 million and $106.5 million, respectively.
The Company's policy is to issue treasury shares upon option exercises or share unit conversion. The Company intends to issue treasury shares as long as an adequate number of those shares is available.
Restricted Stock Units and Performance Stock Units: The Company currently grants RSU and PSU awards under the 2020 Plan. The Compensation Committee determines the restrictions on such units, when the restrictions lapse, when the units vest and are paid, and under what terms the units are forfeited. The cost of these awards is amortized over the vesting period, which is generally three years. Dividend equivalents are not paid out unless and until such time that the award vests and shares are distributed.
The payout for PSU awards granted prior to 2020 is based on the achievement of the Company's performance measures, based on adjusted EPS growth as modified for executive compensation purposes and measured on a three-year annualized growth basis, and paid out generally over the three-year performance period. The Company accounts for these awards as performance condition restricted stock units. The performance condition is not considered in the determination of grant date fair value of such awards. Compensation cost is recognized over the performance period based on management’s estimate of the number of units expected to vest and shares to be paid and is adjusted to reflect the actual number of shares paid out at the end of the three-year performance period.
The payout for PSU awards granted in 2020 and 2021 is based on the achievement of the Company's adjusted EPS growth as well as a relative total stockholder return ("TSR") modifier versus the S&P 500 companies. The TSR modifier is a market condition with the grant-date fair value determined using a Monte Carlo simulation model. The Monte Carlo model takes into account several factors and assumptions including the risk-free interest rate, historical volatility of and correlations between the stock prices of the Company and the S&P 500 companies, and the Company’s relative TSR versus S&P 500 companies for the brief portion of the three-year performance period prior to the grant date.
The number of shares actually earned at the end of the three-year period will vary, based on actual Company financial performance, and for 2020 and 2021 PSU awards, relative TSR, from 0% to 200% of the number of performance share units granted.
The assumptions used in the Monte Carlo simulation model for PSU's granted with the TSR modifier by the Company in 2021 include:
2021
Risk-Free Interest Rate0.20 %
Dividend Yield1.7 %
Volatility25.0 %
Initial TSR2.6 %
A summary of the status of the Company's RSU and PSU awards as of December 31, 2021 and changes during the period then ended is presented below:
Restricted Stock UnitsPerformance Stock Units
SharesWeighted Average
Grant Date
Fair Value		SharesWeighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Non-vested balance at January 1, 20215,513,681 $101.22 656,682 $101.54 
Granted2,469,062 $120.19 250,813$122.77 
Vested(2,125,113)$97.26 (197,216)$83.05 
Forfeited(309,168)$106.91 (48,089)$111.76 
Non-vested balance at December 31, 20215,548,462 $110.86 662,190$114.35 
The weighted-average grant-date fair value of the Company's RSU awards granted during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $118.20 and $92.50, respectively. The weighted average grant date fair value of the Company's PSU awards granted during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $127.71 and $91.17, respectively. The total fair value of the shares distributed during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 in connection with the Company's non-option equity awards was $277.8 million, $290 million and $211.9 million, respectively.
The payout of shares in 2021 with respect to the PSU awards granted in 2018 was 110% of target based on performance for the three-year performance period. In aggregate, 217,003 shares became distributable in respect to PSUs vested in 2021.
As of December 31, 2021, there was $384 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to the Company's RSU and PSU awards. The weighted-average period over which that cost is expected to be recognized is approximately one year.
Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Purchase Plans
In May 1999, the Company's stockholders approved an employee stock purchase plan (the "1999 Plan") to replace the 1994 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the "1994 Plan"), which terminated on September 30, 1999 following its fifth annual offering. Under the current terms of the Plan, shares are purchased four times during the plan year at a price that is 95% of the average market price on each quarterly purchase date. Under the 1999 Plan, after including the available remaining unused shares in the 1994 Plan and reducing the shares available by 10,000,000 consistent with the Company's Board of Directors' action in March 2007 and the addition of 4,750,000 shares due to a shareholder action in May 2018, no more than 40,350,000 shares of the Company's common stock may be sold. Employees purchased 362,230 shares during the year ended December 31, 2021 and at December 31, 2021, 4,516,058 shares were available for issuance under the 1999 Plan. Under the 1995 Company Stock Purchase Plan for International Employees (the "International Plan"), after reflecting the additional 5,000,000 shares of common stock for issuance approved by the Company's Board of Directors in July 2002, the addition of 4,000,000 shares due to a shareholder action in May 2007 and reducing the shares available by 1,000,000 consistent with the Company's Board of Directors' action in March 2018, no more than 11,000,000 shares of the Company's common stock may be sold. Employees purchased 121,873 shares during the year ended December 31, 2021 and there were 1,034,131 shares available for issuance at December 31, 2021 under the International Plan. The plans are considered non-compensatory.