About this report

Filing

This document contains Aegon’s Annual Report as filed on Form 20-F (also referred to in this document as ‘Annual Report’) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

About this report

This report serves as Aegon’s Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2017. It presents the consolidated financial statements of Aegon pages 144-305 and the stand-alone financial statements of Aegon N.V. pages 307-319, both prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (‘IFRS’), and Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.

Aegon N.V. is referred to in this document as ‘Aegon’, or ‘the Company’, and is together with its member companies referred to as ‘Aegon Group’ or ‘the Group’. For such purposes, ‘member companies’ means, in relation to Aegon N.V., those companies required to be consolidated in accordance with the Netherlands legislative requirements relating to consolidated accounts.

Presentation of certain information

References to the ‘NYSE’ are to the New York Stock Exchange and references to the ‘SEC’ are to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Aegon uses ‘EUR’ and ‘euro’ when referring to the lawful currency of the member states of the European Monetary Union; ‘USD’, and ‘US dollar’ when referring to the lawful currency of the United States of America; ‘GBP’, ‘UK pound’ and ‘pound sterling’ when referring to the lawful currency of the United Kingdom; and ‘PLN’ when referring to the lawful currency of Poland.

Aegon prepares its consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS and with Part 9 of Book 2 of the Netherlands Civil Code for purposes of reporting with the U.S. SEC, including financial information contained in this Annual

Report on Form 20-F. Aegon’s accounting policies and its use of various options under IFRS are described in note 2 to the consolidated financial statements.

Other then for SEC reporting, Aegon prepared its Annual Accounts under International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union, including the decisions Aegon made with regard to the options available under International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the EU (IFRS-EU). IFRS-EU differs from IFRS in respect of certain paragraphs in IAS 39 ‘Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement’regarding hedge accounting for portfolio hedges of interest rate risk. Under IFRS-EU, Aegon applies fair value hedge accounting for portfolio hedges of interest rate risk (fair value macro hedges) in accordance with the EU ‘carve out’ version of IAS 39. Under IFRS. hedge accounting for fair value macro hedges cannot be applied to mortage loans and ineffectiveness arises whenever the revised estimate of the amount of cash flows in sceduled time buckets is either more or less than the original designated amount of that bucket.

This information is prepared by revising the hedge accounting impacts that are applied under the EU ‘carve out’ version of IAS

39. Financial information under IFRS accordingly does not take account of the possibility that had Aegon applied IFRS as its primary accounting framework it might have apllied alternative hedge strategies where those alternative hedge strategies could have qualified for IFRS compliant hedge accounting. These decisions could have resulted in different shareholders’ equity and net income amounts compared to those indicated in this Annual Report on Form 20-F.

A reconciliation between IFRS-EU and IFRS is included in note 2.1 to the consolidated financial statements.

References

References are included on page 377 of this document.

Our environment

Last year saw a welcome improvement in the world economy, with the 3% pickup in global growth the highest rate recorded since 2011. For Aegon, the macroeconomic backdrop was in general positive. Economic growth improved across the majority of our markets, and this was reflected in business and consumer confidence. Inflation remained relatively low and central bank policies moved slowly onto a path of normalization globally. The rise in interest rates, be it from a very low base, was a beneficial development not only for customers wishing to save for the future, but also for Aegon and the industry as a whole.

Political events were once again followed very closely by the financial community. Indeed, political developments in Aegon’s three largest markets continued to make headlines, with a new President taking office in the US, the formation of a new coalition in the Netherlands, and the triggering of article 50 by the UK government to leave the EU. The regulatory world also continued to change rapidly. In the US, for instance, the Department of Labor implemented a new fiduciary rule to ensure customers’ best interests are served, whereas in the UK, changes to corporate tax rate policy required us to hold more capital.

Our financial performance

2017 was a very positive year for Aegon from a financial perspective, and I am pleased that we are, as a result, well positioned to achieve our 2018 financial targets. In terms of our key financial metrics, our earnings were strong, we continued to generate solid sales – particularly in fee businesses, pension businesses, mutual funds and third-party asset management – and we made progress on our return on equity target.

Furthermore, recapitalizing our Dutch business and strengthening our group solvency ratio means that we are able to fully focus on continuing to implement our strategy, such as executing our expense savings program, which will lead to annual EUR 350 million cost savings by year-end 2018. Most important of all, we paid out a total of close to EUR 50 billion in claims and benefits over the year, demonstrating how relevant our company is to the lives of our millions of customers

Our company’s transformation

Customers’ needs and expectations are continuously evolving and we are therefore changing the way we serve them. In 2017, we made significant progress across our company in becoming a more innovative and digital company, positioning us well for future growth.

In our largest market, the US, we continued our work to reduce expenses in order to boost earnings and modernize our business by investing in new technology. In early January of 2018, we announced that we would outsource the administration of our life, health, annuities and benefits businesses. This decision represents a major strategic step forward, as our customers will benefit from both enhanced digital capabilities and higher service levels. In addition, the divestment of the majority of our run-off businesses marked a major milestone in the strategic transformation of our US business.

The most important development in the Netherlands over the last year was the recapitalization of our Dutch business by injecting capital from the Group and divesting Unirobe Meeùs Groep. As a result, the unit is now strongly capitalized, is expected to generate healthy cash flows, and is positioned to pay a dividend to the group in 2018, which represents a very significant turnaround from only a year ago.

In the UK, we have transformed our business into the number one retail investment platform in the market, with over 1.2 million customers. Our main focus over the last year was continuing to integrate Cofunds and BlackRock’s defined contribution business, together with upgrading tens of thousands of customers from our backbook onto our state-of-the-art platform, which increased assets to more than GBP 117 billion. This growth is a direct result of our decision to reposition our UK business, and underlines the benefits of moving to a fee-based business model.

During 2017, we took the decision to implement a new structure in our European asset management business to enhance synergies, become more agile and improve earnings. Furthermore, our asset management joint ventures in China and France have proven very successful in contributing to underlying earnings and the growth of our business.

The significant progress achieved in our largest markets was also replicated in our developing markets. In Asia, for instance, our Chinese joint venture has become profit-making due to the continued success of our critical illness product. Our Asian high-net-worth business has made a meaningful contribution to the group, upstreaming a special dividend of USD 200 million for the first time. Elsewhere, our business in India is a leader in the digital insurance market, and continues to set the standard for offering life insurance online. Perhaps most pleasing of all, we have made significant progress in terms of how we share

ideas, information and innovation across our company. This means that customers in one market can benefit from what we have learned in another, demonstrating one of the key benefits of being active in such diverse markets.

Our communities

Being a responsible corporate citizen is a role we take very seriously. We manage over EUR 800 billion of investments and have a duty to invest responsibly. We also support our communities in other ways: raising global awareness about retirement issues; fulfilling our tax obligations; and helping to implement the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Further information about all these issues, together with an overview of our strategy, can be found in our 2017 Review, which is published online.

Our employees and shareholders

I am very proud of how our team of over 28,000 colleagues continued to deliver at a time of change. I would therefore like to pay tribute to their hard work and dedication over the last 12 months, and express my gratitude for all that they do to serve our customers. Our thanks also go to our investors, without whom we would not be able to meet our purpose. I am pleased

that we increased our full year 2017 dividend to 27 euro cents, and that by paying a sustainable and growing dividend we will be able to meet our target to return EUR 2.1 billion of capital to shareholders from 2016 to 2018.

Our organization

We are this year saying farewell to Aegon’s Supervisory Board Chairman, Rob Routs and fellow member of the Supervisory Board. Dirk Verbeek both of whom are stepping down at the Annual General meeting in May 2018. I would like to sincerely thank Rob and Dirk for the commitment, challenge and support they have provided over the last 10 years, and wish them well for the future.

Looking ahead

Our company has every reason to look forward with confidence. We are well on track to achieve our 2018 financial targets, and we have a compelling strategy. Moreover, the need for the financial security we help provide to millions of customers has never been so great. By continuing to transform and grow our business we will therefore be even better placed to help people around the world secure their financial future.

Alex Wynaendts

Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Board of Aegon N.V.

Alexander R. Wynaendts (1960, Dutch)

CEO and Chairman of the Executive and Management Boards of Aegon N.V.

Alex Wynaendts began his career in 1984 with ABN AMRO Bank, working in Amsterdam and London in the Dutch bank’s capital markets, asset management, corporate finance and private banking operations. In 1997, Mr. Wynaendts joined Aegon as Senior Vice President for Group Business Development. He was appointed as a member of Aegon’s Executive Board

in 2003, overseeing the Company’s international growth strategy. In April 2007, Mr. Wynaendts was named Aegon’s Chief Operating Officer. A year later, he became CEO and Chairman of Aegon’s Executive Board and Management Board. His current term of office ends in 2019. Mr. Wynaendts has been an Independent Director of the Board of Air France-KLM S.A. since May 2016 and a member of the Supervisory Board of Puissance B.V. (not listed) since May 2017.

Matthew J. Rider (1963, American)

CFO and member of the Executive and Management Boards of Aegon N.V.

Matt Rider began his career at Banner Life Insurance Company and held various management positions at Transamerica, Merrill Lynch Insurance Group and ING before joining Aegon. From 2010 to 2013, he was Chief Administration Officer

and a member of the Management Board at ING Insurance, based in the Netherlands. In this role he was responsible for all of ING’s insurance and asset management operations, and specifically for Finance and Risk Management. Mr. Rider joined Aegon on January 1, 2017 and was appointed as CFO and member of the Executive Board of Aegon at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Aegon N.V. of May 19, 2017.

Alexander R. Wynaendts: see above

Matthew J. Rider: see above

Mark Bloom (1964, American)

Global Chief Technology Officer and member of the Management Board of Aegon N.V.

Mark Bloom has over 30 years’ experience in information technology. He joined Aegon from Citi in February 2016, where he served as Global Head of Consumer Digital and Operations Technology, responsible for digital, data and operations technology solutions and innovations. Prior to that, he held

a number of technology leadership positions in financial services and the aerospace industry. As Global Chief Technology Officer at Aegon, Mr. Bloom is responsible for leading the Company’s technology and innovation activities, including leveraging technology to drive efficiency and enhancing the customer experience. Mr. Bloom was appointed as a member of Aegon’s Management Board in August 2016.

Adrian Grace (1963, British)

CEO of Aegon UK and member of the Management Board of Aegon N.V.

Adrian Grace held various roles at GE capital, Sage Group Inc., before joining Barclays Bank as Chief Executive of the Insurance Business in 2004, and HBOS as Managing Director of Commercial

Businesses in 2007. He joined Aegon UK in 2009, and was appointed CEO of Aegon UK in 2011 and as a member of the Management Board of Aegon in 2012. Mr. Grace is a non-executive Director at Clydesdale Bank and a member of the Financial Conduct Authority practitioners’ panel. He was member of the Board of Scottish Financial Enterprise until June 2013.

Allegra van Hövell-Patrizi (1974, Italian)

Chief Risk Officer of Aegon N.V. and member of the Management Board of Aegon N.V.

Allegra van Hövell-Patrizi began her career in 1996 at McKinsey & Company, specializing in financial institutions. After several years as a partner there, she joined F&C Asset Management in 2007 as a member of the Management Committee. In 2009, she

joined Prudential plc where she became Group Risk Director, and a member of the Group Executive Risk Committee, as well as the PUSL Board (within the Prudential plc group). Ms. Van Hövell-Patrizi joined Aegon at the end of 2015. She was appointed Chief Risk Officer of Aegon N.V. and a member of Aegon’s Management Board in January 2016.

Marco Keim (1962, Dutch)

Head of Aegon Continental Europe and member of the Management Board of Aegon N.V.

Marco Keim began his career with accountancy firm Coopers & Lybrand / Van Dien, before moving to the aircraft manufacturer Fokker Aircraft and NS Reizigers, part of the Dutch railway company, NS Group. In 1999, he joined Swiss Life in the Netherlands as a Member of the Board, and was appointed CEO

three years later. Mr. Keim was appointed CEO of Aegon the Netherlands and member of Aegon’s Management Board in June 2008, and Head of Aegon Continental Europe in January 2017. Mr. Keim was a Board member at the Verbond van Verzekeraars until December 2016. Mr. Keim is a member of the Supervisory Board of Eneco Holding N.V., and holds a Management Board position at VNO-NCW.

Onno van Klinken (1969, Dutch)

General Counsel and member of the Management Board of Aegon N.V.

Onno van Klinken has over 25 years’ experience providing legal advice to a range of companies and leading Executive Board offices. Mr. Van Klinken started his career at Allen & Overy, and previously worked for Aegon between 2002 and 2006. He then served as Corporate Secretary for Royal Numico, before it was acquired by Groupe Danone. His next position was as General Counsel for the Dutch global mail and express group TNT,

where he served from 2008 until the legal demerger of the group in 2011. This was followed by General Counsel positions at D.E. Master Blenders 1753 and Corio N.V Mr. Van Klinken rejoined Aegon in 2014 as General Counsel responsible for Group Legal, Regulatory Compliance, the Executive Board Office, and Government and Policy Affairs. Mr. Van Klinken has been a member of Aegon’s Management Board since August 2016. Mr. Van Klinken was appointed member of the Board of Stichting Continuïteit SBM Offshore in December 2016.

Carla Mahieu (1959, Dutch)

Global Head Human Resources and member of the Management Board of Aegon N.V.

Carla Mahieu started her career in 1984 at Royal Dutch Shell, where she held various management positions within Human Resources, Communications and Corporate Strategy. Following several years as a consultant – during which time she worked for Spencer Stuart, among other companies – Ms. Mahieu was

appointed Senior Vice President Corporate Human Resource Management at Royal Philips Electronics in 2003. Ms. Mahieu joined Aegon in 2010 as Global Head Human Resources, and has been a member of Aegon’s Management Board since August 2016. Ms. Mahieu has been a member of the Supervisory Board of the Royal BAM Group since 2011, and the Supervisory Board of VodafoneZiggo Group B.V. since 2017.

Mark Mullin (1963, American)

CEO of Aegon Americas and member of the Management Board of Aegon N.V.

Mark Mullin has spent more than 20 years with Aegon in various management positions in both the United States and Europe. Mr. Mullin served as President and CEO of one of Aegon’s US subsidiaries, Diversified Investment Advisors, and as head

of the Company’s US annuity and mutual fund businesses. He was named President of Aegon Americas in 2009, and became President and CEO of Aegon Americas and a member of Aegon’s Management Board in 2010. Mr. Mullin was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Council of Life Insurers in October 2017.

Sarah Russell (1962, Australian)

CEO of Aegon Asset Management and member of the Management Board of Aegon N.V.

Sarah Russell has over 25 years’ experience in international finance and asset management. Ms. Russell began her career at Toronto Dominion in Melbourne before joining ABN AMRO in 1994. She moved to the Netherlands in 2000, where she held a number of various roles, leading to her appointment as CEO of ABN AMRO’s asset management operations. Ms. Russell

joined Aegon Asset Management as CEO in 2010, and has been a member of Aegon’s Management Board since August 2016. Ms. Russell has been a non-executive director of Nordea Bank AB since 2010, holds a Supervisory Board member position at the Nederlandse Investeringsinstelling, and is Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board of La Banque Postale Asset Management. Ms. Russell is also a Board member of the American Chamber of Commerce, the Netherlands since May 2017.

Long-term value creation

To prosper, companies must create long-term value for society and their stakeholders. Aegon creates value in several ways, for instance as a provider of insurance and other financial services, and a responsible employer and business partner. Aegon also makes significant social and economic contributions through its returns to shareholders, its tax payments, its support for local communities and, most importantly, through the money the Company invests both for its own account and on behalf of its customers. Aegon’s aim is to be a responsible corporate citizen, fully aware of the impact the Company’s businesses have on its stakeholders and on society as a whole.

Aegon defines its stakeholders as: any individual or organization affected, or likely to be affected, by its business or that may, in turn, affect the environment in which we operate. Aegon recognizes five main stakeholder groups:

Most Aegon businesses operate in a highly-regulated environment. This environment may be affected by a number of factors: economic, financial, regulatory, social, environmental and employee-related. More information on the aspects relevant to Aegon can be found in the non-financial statement on page 13.

Aegon’s ambition

Aegon’s purpose - to help people achieve a lifetime of financial security - forms the basis of the Company’s strategy. The central focus of the strategy is to further change the Company from a product-based to a customer need-driven company. This means serving diverse and evolving needs across the customer life cycle; aligning Aegon’s brand promise with being a trusted partner for financial solutions that are relevant, simple, rewarding, and convenient; and developing long-term customer relationships by providing guidance and advice, and identifying additional financial security needs at every stage of customers lives.

The aim of Aegon’s strategy is that the Company be a truly international enterprise with a common culture across its businesses of working together; that Aegon’s respective businesses learn from one another and replicate best practices to benefit customers; that it recognizes and addresses

opportunities in rapidly changing markets in a timely and agile way; and that it attracts, develops, and retains the best people who share its values and are committed to its purpose.

In order to do so, Aegon is focused on reducing complexity, eliminating duplication, improving accuracy, and increasing automation to realize cost efficiencies, allowing investments in its transformation to a digitally enabled, customer-centric company. Furthermore, the Company is focused on driving scale and establishing strong market positions in its current footprint, and strictly adhering to comprehensive standards that support the efficient use of capital by all its businesses. The different market segments, and starting positions of Aegon’s businesses nonetheless mean that they will experience different paths to meet the same goals. Expertise and knowledge available in Aegon’s established markets is utilized to position its businesses in emerging markets.

In summary, it is Aegon’s ambition to be regarded as a trusted partner for financial solutions at every stage of life in all its markets. That means being recognized by its customers, business partners, and society as a company that puts the interests of its customers first in all that it does; and being regarded as an employer of choice by employees, engaging and enabling them to succeed. In addition, the Company strives to meet shareholder’s expectations by generating strong returns, earnings and dividends.

Aegon’s strategic objectives

Aegon believes that it will achieve its ambition of becoming a trusted partner for financial solutions at every stage of life if it realizes the following strategic objectives:

Aegon’s business model

Aegon’s overall business model has six basic stages (though these may vary according to product, local market and distribution channel):

Acquisitions & divestments

Acquisitions can accelerate the implementation of Aegon’s strategy, provide it with access to new technologies and provide the scale needed in markets in which it is already active. Aegon is selective when determining which businesses it would like to acquire, generally targeting acquisitions that fit the Company’s mission of securing the financial future of its customers, and that are aligned with its four strategic objectives. The Company uses several financial criteria for determining the attractiveness of acquisitions, including: return on capital, internal rate of return, capital generation, and capital fungibility. Similar strategic and financial criteria are applied when considering the potential divestment of existing activities.

Risks and opportunities for Aegon

Aegon has identified several risks to successfully executing its strategy, which are both financial and non-financial in nature. The financial underwriting and operational risks are described in the ‘risk management’ section on page 94. The non-financial risks are described in the non-financial statement on page 13. Opportunities with regards to the most significant topics and issues affecting Aegon’s business are also described in the non-financial statement on page 13-14.

Operational and financial goals

Aegon has a number key financial targets, including:

Non-financial information is further described in the non-financial statement on page 16 (Performance indicators).

Culture

Refer to page 16 for overview of cultural change program (Non-Financial Statement).

Application of the accounting policies in the preparation of the financial statements requires management to apply judgment involving assumptions and estimates concerning future results or other developments, including the likelihood, timing or amount of future transactions or events. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from those estimates. Accounting policies that are critical to the presentation of the financial statements and that require complex estimates

or significant judgment are described in the notes to the financial statements.

A summary of historical financial data is provided in the table below. It is important to read this summary in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes (see pages 144-305) of this Annual Report.

Dividends

Aegon declared interim and final dividends on common shares for the years 2013 through 2017 in the amounts set forth in the following table. The 2017 interim dividend amounted to EUR 0.13 per common share. The interim dividend was paid in cash or stock at the election of the shareholder. The interim dividend was payable as of September 15, 2017. At the General Meeting of Shareholders on May 18, 2018, the Supervisory Board will, absent unforeseen circumstances, propose a final dividend of EUR 0.14 per common share (at each shareholders option

in cash or in stock), which will bring the total dividend for 2017 to EUR 0.27. With respect to the Common Shares B, each which has financial rights attached to it of 1/40th of a Common Share, the proposed final dividend will be EUR 0.0035. After taking the interim-dividend 2017 of EUR per Common Share B into account, this will result in a total 2017 dividend of EUR 0.00675 per Common Share B. Dividends in US dollars are calculated based on the foreign exchange reference rate (WM/Reuters closing spot exchange rate fixed at 5.00 pm Central European Summer Time (“CEST”)) on the US-ex dividend day.

Exchange rates

Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the euro and the US dollar will affect the dollar equivalent of the euro price of Aegon’s common shares traded on Euronext Amsterdam and, as a result, are likely to impact the market price of Aegon’s common shares in the United States. Such fluctuations will also affect any US dollar amounts received by holders of common shares upon conversion of any cash dividends paid in euros on Aegon’s common shares.

As of March 16, 2017, the USD exchange rate was EUR 1 = USD 1.2280.

The high and low exchange rates for the US dollar per euro for each of the last six months through February 2018 are set forth below:

The average exchange rates for the US dollar per euro for the five years ended December 31, 2017, calculated by using the average

of the exchange rates on the last day of each month during the period, are set forth below: