Table:
|  |  | Total contributions for | Defined benefit obligation for all pension commitments excluding deferred compensation 1 |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| (in €) | 2019 | 2018 | 2019 | 2018 |
| Managing Board members in office as of September 30, 2019 |  |  |  |  |
| Joe Kaeser | 1,234,800 | 1,210,440 | 14,299,267 | 12,970,960 |
| Dr. Roland Busch | 616,896 | 604,800 | 6,071,233 | 5,121,226 |
| Lisa Davis 2 | 616,896 | 604,800 | 5,701,811 | 5,322,537 |
| Klaus Helmrich | 616,896 | 604,800 | 6,473,904 | 5,714,522 |
| Janina Kugel | 616,896 | 604,800 | 2,674,432 | 2,157,427 |
| Cedrik Neike | 616,896 | 604,800 | 2,349,895 | 1,757,258 |
| Michael Sen | 616,896 | 604,800 | 1,862,660 | 1,239,785 |
| Prof. Dr. Ralf P. Thomas | 616,896 | 604,800 | 6,184,498 | 5,235,121 |
| Total | 5,553,072 | 5,444,040 | 45,617,700 | 39,518,836 |
Paragraphs:
Pension benefit commitments
For fiscal 2019, Managing Board members were granted contributions under the BSAV totaling € 5.6 million (2018: € 5.4 million), based on a Supervisory Board decision from November 7, 2019. Of this amount, € 0.02 million (2018: € 0.03 million) relates to the funding of pension commitments earned prior to the transfer to the BSAV.
The expense recognized in fiscal 2019 as a service cost under IFRS for Managing Board members’ entitlements under the BSAV in fiscal 2019 totaled € 5.4 million (2018: € 5.3 million).
Contributions under the BSAV are added to the individual pension accounts in the January following each fiscal year. Until pension payments begin, members’ pension accounts are credited with an annual interest payment (guaranteed interest) on January 1 of each year. The interest rate is currently 0.90%.
The following table shows the individualized contributions (allocations) under the BSAV for fiscal 2019 as well as the defined benefit obligations for pension commitments:
In fiscal 2019, former members of the Managing Board and their surviving dependents received emoluments within the meaning of Section 314 para. 1 No. 6 b of the German Commercial Code totaling € 21.09 million (2018: € 39.9 million).
The defined benefit obligation (DBO) of all pension commitments to former members of the Managing Board and their surviving dependents as of September 30, 2019, amounted to €175.7 million (2018: €168.2 million). This figure is included in NOTE 17 in B.6 NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
1 Deferred compensation totals € 4,125,612 (2018: € 4,115,237), including € 3,703,123 for Joe Kaeser (2018: € 3,694,439), € 361,494 for Klaus Helmrich (2018: € 362,606) and € 60,995 for Prof. Dr. Ralf P. Thomas (2018: € 58,192).
2 In accordance with the provisions of the BSAV, benefits to be paid to Lisa Davis are not in any way secured or funded through the trust associated with the Company’s BSAV plan or with any other trust. They represent only an unsecured, unfunded legal obligation on the part of the Company to pay such benefits in the future under certain conditions, and the payout will only be made from the Company’s general assets.
Question:
What was the expense recognized in fiscal 2019 as a service cost under IFRS for Managing Board members’ entitlements amount to?
Answer: € 5.6 million