Company: STAA
Filing Date: 2025-04-24
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000950170-25-058174
Chunk: 54

Company: STAAR SURGICAL CO
Filing Date: 2025-04-24
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 54
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 remaining performance conditions are presented assuming they are paid out at 100% of target. Subsequent to year end, the 2024 PSUs were cancelled as they were not earned. As a result, 760,570 shares that were reserved for issuance related to the 2024 PSUs became available for future issuance. (2) Represents the weighted average exercise price of outstanding stock options. (3) Represents the weighted average remaining contractual life of outstanding stock options.

| 2025 Proxy Statement | – 43 – |

PAY RATIODISCLOSURE

Our compensation philosophy is to pay our worldwide employees competitively with similar positions, talent and experience in the applicable labor market. We follow this philosophy regardless of the geographic location where we hire employees and regardless of the role; whether at the executive, mid-management, professional or hourly level. We utilize competitive bench-marking data to regularly validate our target compensation range within each respective market place and within each respective employment role. By doing so we believe we maintain an appropriately compensated, qualified and motivated workforce.

As a result of the rules the SEC adopted under the Dodd-Frank Act we are providing the following disclosure about the ratio of the total annual of compensation of our Chief Executive Officer compared to the total annual compensation of the median compensated employee within our worldwide workforce. Our assessment produced the following:

the annual total compensation of the median compensated of all worldwide employees, excluding the Chief Executive Officer was $82,643;

the annual total compensation of our Chief Executive Officer was $7,821,216; and

based on the above, the ratio of our Chief Executive Officer’s annual compensation to that of our median employee is 95:1.

We identified our median compensated employee by calculating the total compensation of our employees of record as of April 22, 2025 using year end payroll records and including the following compensation elements:

base salary;

commissions paid;

bonuses paid;

stock compensation (valued on March 12, 2024— the grant date of annual equity awards awarded to certain employees);

insurance costs paid; and

allowances paid (e.g., housing, travel, etc.).

Because the SEC’s rules for identifying the median compensated employee and calculating the pay ratio based on that employee’s annual total compensation allow companies to adopt a variety of methodologies, to apply certain exclusions, and to make reasonable estimates and assumptions that reflect their compensation practices, the pay ratio reported by other companies may not be comparable to the pay ratio reported above, as other companies have different employment and compensation practices and may